by Shlomo Cessana
Prime Minister's Office says special team "will begin to work in the immediate future in order to find a location and to establish the settlement" • Defense minister stresses that all settlement construction is new, does not recycle previous tenders.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
|
Photo credit: Dudi Vaaknin  |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday
announced the first step toward the establishment of a new settlement
in Judea and Samaria, indicating a shift in policy for the first time in
several years.
According to the prime minister, the
establishment of the settlement will be determined by a special team, as
was promised to the leaders of the settler movement about six weeks
ago. The team will include settler representatives, the defense
minister's adviser on the settlement enterprise and the Prime Minister's
Office chief of staff.
The Prime Minister's Office released a
statement saying, "The team will begin to work in the immediate future
in order to find a location and to establish the settlement."
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman stressed
Wednesday that this initiative will not recycle existing construction
plans or permits.
"We are in a new period in Judea and Samaria,
returning to the normal, proper track, and we will provide a fitting
response for the needs of those living in the area," Lieberman said. "We
are managing a broad campaign, so sometimes you lose a battle here and
there, but it is more important to win the campaign. The fact is that it
is possible to build 5,700 housing units in Judea and Samaria, and -- I
repeat -- 3,600 will be built and put on the market immediately.
"I have seen some attempts to downplay the
importance, to lead public opinion astray a bit. I hope everyone knows
... that you can take the list of all the 5,700 housing units and see
that none of them have been announced before."
The decision to expand the settlement enterprise was met
with condemnation from the European Union. The French Foreign Ministry
and Turkish government also expressed opposition.
Shlomo Cessana
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=40051
Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment