In defiance, Israeli settlers who was removed by army in a outpost in occupied West Bank, returned later in the day to try to piece together the flattened wooden structures.

Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai said the army "would prevent all the some 24 outposts being rebuilt."

Israel's removal of about several settler outposts in the occupied West Bank has become a "central issue" for the current government, Vilnai said on Saturday.

The United States, Israel's main ally, has put increasing pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to halt all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, part of territory Palestinians want for a future state.

Israel removed five families in the West Bank at the outpost of Maoz Esther on Thursday, leaving more than 100 other settlements free in northeast of the Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah.

Netanyahu met U.S. President Barack Obama for talks at the White House on Monday and the U.S. president afterwards reminded Israel of its commitment under a 2003 U.S.-backed peace "road map" to stop West Bank settlement activity.

The United States and the European Union see all settlement activity as an obstacle to peace and the EU and the World Court have deemed all settlements illegal.

Reuters