Israel started dismantling settlement outposts and Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas reiterated his commitment to the US-backed peace roadmap, as both sides appeared intent on implementing the blueprint despite opposition from hardliners. "In line with a government decision, the Israel defence forces have started dismantling unauthorised outposts," Israeli military sources said Monday, without naming the outposts or saying how many were targetted. But a spokesman for the settlers said among those being evacuated was Neve Erez, an uninhabited outpost of a few pre-fabricated homes on a hilltop near the settlement of Maaleh Mikhmas, between Jericho and Ramallah. No incidents were reported yet, but the army proceeded with the evacuations despite warnings by radical settlers that they would fiercely oppose the moves. The evacuations also came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon faced harsh criticism at his right-wing Liukd party's convention over the roadmap. During last week's Israeli-Palestinian-US summit in Aqaba, Jordan, Sharon vowed to dismantle "unauthorised outposts", probably referring to no more than 20 or 30 uninhabited hilltop settlements. There are more than 100 settlement outposts in the West Bank. More than 60 have been built since Sharon came to power in 2001 are due to be dismantled under the terms of the roadmap, which Israel accepted. Abbas also staged a press conference Monday to iron out differences with hardline groups over his dovish statement in Aqaba, whilst reiterating his commitment to the roadmap. "What I announced in Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheikh is the position to which we are committed and it has been fully coordinated with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat," Abbas said in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Railing against those who would "question the credibility and representative nature" of his five-week-old government, Abbas said he would submit his Aqaba statements to the Palestinian parliament for approval. Palestinian groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad harshly criticized Abbas for his vow to "demilitarize" the uprising against Israel and for equating their operations with "terrorism". But Abbas stressed his government's determination to rekindle ceasefire talks with the hardliners. Hamas quickly welcomed the overture, as did Islamic Jihad, which nevertheless urged the parliament to reject his Aqaba statement. The United States warned the Palestinians that statehood was a long way down the road and that radicals were a threat to their national project, but US President George W. Bush nevertheless said he was "optimistic" about peace prospects. **5 Israeli Soldiers Killed in Last 24 hours*** Five Israel soldiers were killed in two separate incidents yesterday in the first major attacks since last week's Aqaba summit. Four soldiers were killed and four others were wounded yesterday morning when three Palestinians dressed in Israeli military uniforms infiltrated an army position overlooking the industrial zone at the Erez junction. In the attack all three Palestinians were killed. The Erez attack began around 5:30 A.M. The gunmen, using the cover of a thick morning fog, slipped into a line of Palestinian workers waiting to enter Israel, then jumped over a fence and advanced toward the army post, circling back to the rear of an army outpost overlooking the border crossing. The three, dressed in Israeli military uniforms and carrying Kalashnikov rifles and hand grenades, then jumped over a small retaining wall and made their way to the rear gate to the fort. Following the Erez junction shooting, the industrial zone and border crossing were closed barring some 4,000 Palestinians from getting to their work in the industrial zone and another 10,000 from crossing through the junction to get to their work in Jewish state. Three of the dead soldiers in Erez were reservists, while the fourth was a career soldier. Later in the day, an Israeli soldier was also killed in Hebron's casbah when soldiers chased two Palestinian gunmen who earlier had wounded a Border Police on guard. Israeli defense sources said the Israeli troops would respond to the killings, according to its wellknown policy after every Palestinian attack. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz instructed the army not to change its policy. They killed the first soldier working on a tank parked at the entrance, shooting him in the head. They then advanced toward the camp, killing two more soldiers at the entrance. While one of the Palestinians remained near the entrance, the other two penetrated deeper into the fortification, firing at soldiers who were gathered at the empty square in the heart of the fort. The entire action lasted less than 20 minutes. The second killing in Hebron began when two Palestinians pushing a car pulled out two Kalashnikovs and began firing at a group of Border Police on the scene. One of the border policemen was lightly wounded in the leg, and the two gunmen managed to escape into the casbah. The army immediately imposed a curfew in the casbah and Nahal and Golani soldiers chased them, going from house to house. When a unit tried to reach a rooftop in the casbah, shots were fired, killing the soldier. The two Palestinians were then killed in a brief firefight. Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces arrested in Nablus more than 30 Palestinians. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Jewish settler youths and members of the media run towards a convoy of Israeli army trucks, the first one, left, carrying a water tower after the troops removed it at Armona, the only structure at this West Bank outpost, near the settlement of Ofra Monday June 9, 2003. Settlers blocked the way of the troops demonstrating against them after they began dismantling uninhabited West Bank settlement outposts, taking down a few of the dozens of outposts Israel has to remove under a U.S.-backed peace plan. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)