Fledgling settlements won't be normalized, Gantz rules - Arutz Sheva Staff

 

​ by Arutz Sheva Staff

Plan to normalize status of 46 Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria shot down by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, as protests continue.

Benny Gantz                                                                                                                 Elad Malka

Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White) has ruled against a plan to normalize the status of dozens of Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, Kan reported Sunday night.

According to the report, Gantz met with legal advisers and Minister Michael Biton (Blue and White) Sunday morning in the Defense Ministry to finalize his decision on the plan to normalize the status of 46 fledgling communities in Judea and Samaria, regulating their legal status and enabling them to receive full integration into Israel’s infrastructure networks, including for electricity.

But at the meeting, Gantz ruled against moving forward with the plan, deciding not to normalize the status of towns which had not first undergone a process to enforce building regulations in the towns in question.

Gantz recently met with settlement leaders in a gathering hosted by Minister Omer Yankelevich (Blue and White). During the meeting, Gantz spoke with the leaders about the possibility of convening the Defense Ministry’s Higher Planning Committee to approve building plans for Judea and Samaria.

Galei Tzahal reported that Gantz promised “to help as much as possible”.

The Defense Minister’s office said in response that “Gantz has met and will continue to meet with all the populations which require the ministry’s help – from residents of Ashkelon and the Gaza frontier to people on the front-line in the north, and also residents of Judea and Samaria – both Jewish and Palestinian. The fact that the meeting and a general statement about assistance have been turned into headlines is puzzling.”

Earlier on Sunday, the widow of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, joined the hunger strike of the 'Young Settlements' in Judea and Samaria Sunday in order to pressure the government to regulate the communities and begin providing basic services to them

Shevach, who lives in the community of Havat Gilad, told Arutz Sheva: "I decided to join the hunger strike in the hope that it would not take very long, with the understanding that things should move forward."

 

Arutz Sheva Staff  

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294646 

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