Right-wing activists and settlers said they intended to form a new outpost today in the West Bank, with the support of at least nine right-wing action groups. Approximately 100 youths prayed yesterday on the ruins of the settlement Homesh, which was evacuated two years ago.

The area for the new settlement is adjacent to Efrat, a prominent and veteran settlement, which is located south of Jerusalem between Bethlehem and Hebron. The right-wing activists intend to build the new settlement on Eitam Hill, which belongs to Efrat's municipal territory. The Housing Ministry had previously planned to build 2,500 housing units on Eitam Hill. However, the Separation Fence cut Eitam Hill off from Efrat proper, which is home to some 7,500 residents.

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"The new settlement of Eitam is the first step of a five-stage plan to lift the chokehold that the cabinet has imposed on the settlement in Judea and Samaria," the organizers of the event said.

Additionally, settlers of the evacuated settlement of Nisanit in the Gaza Strip said they intended to return there tomorrow. Security forces are preparing to block the attempt.