Defense Minister Amir Peretz warned Monday that Israel's gestures to the Palestinians are meaningless in the face of the abuse inflicted by a settler on her neighbors in Hebron, referring to footage of such abuse recently aired on television.

Addressing the annual Herzliya Conference, Peretz said that "Israel is fighting against terror, not against the Palestinian people," and said that he has instructed to ease travel restrictions in the West Bank.

"I have taken significant measures that include less strict searches at roadblocks and the opening of additional terminals. It has an impact on the sense of cooperation. We have changed out search policy at roadblocks. But it all dwarfs in comparison to footage of a settler who curses and humiliates a Palestinian family," Peretz told the conference.

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According to Peretz, the conduct of Hebron settler Yifat Alkobi is "a disgrace to our moral codes as a state, and such footage serves the interests of anti-Israeli incitement."

"The government has established a panel that includes the foreign minister and the minister of public security, which I am heading. This panel understands that it is impossible to explain to the world that the soldier [who witnessed the abuse] seen in the background is legally helpless. Around the world this [incident] is perceived as an act performed under the auspices of the [Israeli] regime, and I do not intend to allow these phenomena to continue taking place," Peretz said.

The defense minister also presented at the conference a diplomatic plan.

"It is clear that a new diplomatic plan must be put in place, because the standstill is working against us," Peretz told the conference. He said that he intends to bring before the government a three-stage plan that he devised.

The first stage includes a comprehensive cease-fire, an agreement for trading prisoners, coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security forces and the removal of illegal outposts established by Israel after March 2001.

At the second stage, Israel will launch negotiations with the "Palestinian President" on a permanent agreement. These talks will last approximately six months and at their conclusion an international conference will present its achievements. This stage will also include the transfer of territory defined as Area B (currently inhabited by Palestinians but under Israeli military control) to full Palestinian control; reopening the international airport in the Gaza Strip; and travel between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank will be allowed under certain restrictions.

The third stage, expected to last at least 18 months, will include detailed negotiations on the permanent peace accord.

IDF source: 44 West Bank obstacles said removed didn't actually exist
Peretz's comments came a day after the Israel Defense Forces admitted Sunday that the 44 dirt obstacles it said had been removed from around West Bank villages did not actually exist.

Last Tuesday, the IDF announced that it had removed 44 dirt obstacles that blocked access roads to West Bank villages, to fulfill promises made by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting a month ago.

Olmert had pledged measures to ease the lives of Palestinian civilians.

A military source admitted Sunday, however, that these obstacles "had either been removed before the political level decided on the alleviations or had been bypassed by Palestinians earlier, and a decision had been made not to rebuild them."

This statement confirms a claim made recently by United Nations organizations operating in the territories: that most of these barriers were not removed, because they had not existed for months.

In response, the IDF Spokesman's Office said: "The IDF recently removed 44 barriers in an effort to ease the movement of the Palestinian population in Judea and Samaria. These actions are being carried out in line with assessments of the situation."

The IDF has erected close to 400 such dirt obstacles in recent years.