.
Sharon’s motives in asking Sason to prepare the report remain unclear. Because Gaza disengagement was his priority, it was widely understood that the government would not want to waste its political capital in dismantling the outposts at the same time. Whatever his motives, however, Sharon must have been shocked when Sason delivered her report in 2005. After meticulous research, Sason outlined systematic and systemic illegalities and misconduct on the part of the government in support of settlement outpost activity. Indeed, the Sason report indicted an array of Israeli official behavior, spread over many years.
Sason found that the settlers themselves had in some cases made their way into government offices responsible for various aspects of settlement activity, including the housing ministry, or they had found allies ready to circumvent the law, even lawyers to make legal what clearly was not. Budgets were redesigned to divert funds to the outposts. Indeed, the pattern of outpost activity was transparent and patently illegal: Settlers would stake an unauthorized claim to a piece of land and bring in caravans in which to live. Shortly after that, the authorities would establish linkages to electricity and other infrastructure, including paving some roads. In short order, the “illegal” or unauthorized outpost was being treated to essentially the same level of government services and support enjoyed by settlements that had gone through the formal processes of approval. In Sason’s words:
The “engines” behind a decision to establish outposts are probably regional councils in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, settlers and activists, imbued with ideology and motivation to increase Israeli settlement in the Judea, Samaria and Gaza territories. Some of the officials working in the Settlement Division of the World Zionist Organization and in the Ministry of Construction and Housing cooperate with them to promote the unauthorized outposts phenomenon. After the mid nineties, these actions were apparently inspired by different Ministers of Housing, either by overlooking or by actual encouragement and support, with additional support from other Ministries, initiated either by officials or by the political echelon of each Ministry.
Therefore it seems that violation of the law became institutionalized. We face not a felon or a group of felons violating the law. The big picture is a bold violation of laws done by certain State authorities, public authorities, regional councils in Judea, Samaria and Gaza and settlers, while falsely presenting an organized legal system. This sends a message to the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces], its soldiers and commanders, the Israeli police and police officers, the settler community and the public. And the message is that settling in unauthorized outposts, although illegal, is a Zionist deed. Therefore the overlook, the “wink”, the double standard becomes it. This message has a very bad influence–both on the IDF and on the Israeli police.
The establishment of unauthorized outposts violates standard procedure, good governing rules, and is especially an ongoing bold violation of law.
The unpleasantly explosive nature of Sason’s report and the diversion of the government’s attention to the Gaza disengagement combined to consign the outpost report to a relatively forgotten place in the archives. Nothing was done to address or correct the systemic abuse of power and violations of law. Since 2005, fewer than a handful of outposts have been evacuated–often to be repopulated within days–and an even more pernicious process has begun to “legalize” some of the outposts ex post facto. The most noteworthy pending case involves one of the earliest and largest outposts, Migron, which appears headed toward being legalized and integrated into the nearby settlement of Adam.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
