JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli troops have cleared three Jewish wildcat settlements in the occupied West Bank, the army said on Monday. The three outposts, one of whom was built six months ago and the other two set up on Sunday by right-wing activists, were removed during the night by border police and army troops, it said in a statement. Wildcat settlements, considered illegal by Israel, are generally built on ridge tops, close to settlements recognised by the Jewish state. About 100 wildcat settlements dot the West Bank, some consisting of just a few trailers and others made up of a dozen mobile homes connected to the power grid. The international community regards all West Bank settlements as illegal and the Palestinians say continued settlement construction is a major hurdle in the US-backed peace process. More than 260,000 Israelis are estimated to live in government-authorised settlements across the West Bank, with another 200,000 in settlements in annexed east Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Monday was given an additional two weeks to form a government in her bid to become Israel's second woman prime minister, public radio reported. President Shimon Peres granted Livni's formal request for more time to negotiate a new coalition led by the centrist Kadima party. Peres had asked Livni on Sept 22 to form a new government after she was elected to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as head of their Kadima party. Olmert resigned last month to battle a wave of graft allegations, and police have called for him to be indicted on corruption charges. If Livni is unable to form a new coalition by Nov 3, either the president asks another MP to try form a new government, or snap general elections will be scheduled for 2009, which polls indicate could bring the right-wing Likud party to power.