Deal preserves West Bank settlement

  Ramat Gilad, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, will not be destroyed but half the homes there must be relocated from the disputed area, officials said. The settlement will be preserved and become part of the Karnei Shomron under an agreement between the Yesha Council, an umbrella group of municipal councils, and Ramat Gilad residents, Army Radio reported Tuesday, The Jerusalem Post said. But five of the 10 caravan homes must be relocated from the disputed area. Dani Dayan, head of the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, said Tuesday that attacks last week by right-wing settlers almost derailed the plan. "The agreements were already 95 percent ready on Monday night, before the attacks," Dayan said. "Suddenly, Defense Minister Ehud Barak created a provocation of preparing forces to evacuate Ramat Gilad and that's what led to the violence." Moshe Zar, who said he owned part of the property on the settlement, called the deal a compromise to avoid further clashes. "We are willing to come to an agreement in order to avoid clashes with the [Israel Defense Forces], police and Border Patrol," Zar said. "We are ready to give up even though it is in complete contradiction with our ideology." An Israeli defense official said the deal is not final.