By Israel's approach to evacuating outposts appears to be a unique Israeli development: the surefire way to win the most media coverage while doing almost nothing.
A look at newspaper archives from the last seven years shows dozens of dramatic headlines reporting the upcoming evacuation of outposts in the West Bank. But the number of outposts that have actually been evacuated in that time can be counted on one hand.
Even Maon Farm, the first outpost to be evacuated by order of the Barak government in November 1999 is now expanding, less than a kilometer from its original location, and continues to make the lives of its Palestinian neighbors miserable.
Ehud Barak came up with the approach, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer enhanced it, and Ariel Sharon and Shaul Mofaz elevated it to an art form. It appears that Ehud Olmert is learning quickly.
Despite the extensive involvement on the issue of outposts, it has become clear that the evacuation of settlers is not expected - not from Hebron, not from the permanent homes in the Amona outpost, and not from the three illegal farms in the Nablus area.
At least not in the next week or two.
The explanations for the expected delay, in spite of previous assurances, are varied and complex. In Hebron, the army is waiting for permission from the politicians to evacuate the squatters living in stores in the Palestinian wholesale market.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces and police force are busy solely with preparations for a process liable to be deferred until close to the latest date by which the security establishment has committed to the evacuation - February 15. The Palestinian parliamentary elections, slated for next Wednesday, will in any case require an extensive allocation of forces, which will not allow the evacuation to take place before then.
As for the Amona houses, which were built on private Palestinian land, the Israel Defense Forces had planned to evacuate them this week, but preparations were suspended in light of an additional High Court of Justice hearing tomorrow.
And in Samaria, legal advisers discovered yesterday that a lengthy process is necessary, which could take several weeks.