Israel plans to deploy hundreds of troops to destroy illegal structures and prevent settler violence in order to enforce West Bank settlement restrictions, a security official said on Sunday.
The plan follows the declaration of a 10-month moratorium on the building of new houses in the settlements announced by Israel's hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November after months of US pressure.
The Israeli army, in co-ordination with police and the Shin Bet internal security services, has drawn up a plan to enforce the freeze and destroy all structures built without authorisation since the moratorium took effect, the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The plan, which was widely reported by the Israeli media on Sunday, includes air surveillance of West Bank settlements in order to identify any new building, he said.
Dozens of inspectors have deployed across the West Bank in recent weeks in a bid to enforce the government decision as settlers have tried to prevent them from entering settlements and continued building in protest at the decision.
Under the plan, hundreds of soldiers and police officers will be used to enforce the restrictions by destroying illegal structures in the settlements and preventing protests by sealing off the areas where they are operating.