Israel's ministry of defence has rejected an appeal to save eight West Bank Palestinian villages in the southern Hebron hills that are slated for demolition to make way for an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) training ground. Defence minister Ehud Barak reiterated to Israel's high court on Sunday the state's position that the Palestinian villagers are not full-time residents of the land and should be removed to the nearby town of Yatta. They would be allowed to return to tend their land and graze sheep at weekends, Jewish holidays and two one- month stints every year when soldiers do not train.