Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon criticized on Sunday settlers who used violence against evacuating soldiers during a recent uprooting of illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank.

At a meeting held by Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Sharon joined them in slamming those settlers who attacked a lieutenant colonel last Thursday during the evacuation of four illegal outposts in the Kadoumem settlement near Nablus in the West Bank.

Peres condemned the violence and said he supported Mofaz' stance against enlisting anyone who has ever employed violence against a soldier in the army.

Sharon said Peres' words should be issued as an official announcement.

"There is no reason that harsher words should not be used in the matter of violence against soldiers," Sharon said.

Meanwhile, Mofaz called on the government to stiffen punishment against the "hilltop youth", who have settled in illegal outposts, and to issue an unequivocal message stating that Israel will not permit citizens to attack their protectors, and anyone who violates this basic principle will not be enlisted into the army.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has recently proposed the establishment of a body to receive complaints of soldiers and officers that have been harmed by settler violence to ensure that offenders will be properly investigated.

Some 150 settlers in the Kadoumem settlement were evacuated by force on Thursday, after they ignored an earlier notice of voluntary evacuation.

Settlement outposts without government approval are deemed illegal in Israel, which completed evacuation of troops and settlers from the entire Gaza Strip and northern West Bank last month, ending Israel's 38 years of occupation in Gaza.

Source: Xinhua