Prime Minister Sharon commissioned the report in June 2004, largely in response to U.S. accusations that Israel was not keeping its promise to freeze settlement activity and dismantle illegal outposts in the West bank. The seven-month investigation——complicated by the dispersion of information among various government bodies and the stonewalling of many officials——was conducted by Talia Sasson, a former chief state prosecutor. Sasson also wrote the report (the ““Opinion Concerning Unauthorized Outposts””) and the fifty-page summary of the ““findings, conclusions, and recommendations”” from which the excerpts below are taken. Bolding, italicization, and underlining are as in the original. The full report and summary are available on the Web site of the Prime Minister's Office at www.pmo.gov.il.
University of California Press