by Eliav Breuer
The spiraling political crisis over the West Bank demolition also involved National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party.
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Minister of Finance and Head of the Religious Zionist Party
Bezalel Smotrich and Orit Strock, National Mission Minister at a faction
meeting in the Jewish settlement of Givat Harel, in the West Bank,
February 14, 2023.
(photo credit: SRAYA DIAMANT/FLASH90)
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The Religious Zionist Party will hold an "urgent" closed-door party meeting today at 12:30 in response to the demolition of an olive grove in the West Bank that the party believes is in violation to the coalition agreements between it and the Likud, party chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Wednesday morning.
The meeting was called "in wake of Defense Minister [Yoav] Gallant's conduct, uprooting the grove in the Shilo Valley and the harsh police violence against settlers this morning," according to a party announcement.
Smotrich attacks Gallant
Minutes earlier Smotrich wrote on Twitter, "The uprooting of the grove in the Shilo valley is an injustice that cries to the heavens and could and should have been prevented. A years-long injustice by the Civil Administration and the High Court of Justice. We demanded and received in the coalition agreements the responsibility over the Civil Administration and the civil life in Judea and Samaria precisely in order to end this discriminatory maltreatment of settlers.
"The defense minister's denial of the unequivocal agreement and the prime minister's dragging his feet are unacceptable and we will not allow them to continue. This is a provision that was clear to everyone was central in our agreement, and the basis of the coalition's existence is the respect the coalition agreements. I demand that the prime minister immediately hand over the authorities to me.
"If Galant has a problem with that, he is welcome to quit. I am convinced that there are many in the Likud who would be happy to take his place in the defense ministry," Smotrich wrote.
Israel Border Police soldiers uproot an Israeli-run olive grove on
disputed land in the West Bank, February 15, 2023. (credit: OFFICE OF MK
LIMOR SON HAR-MELECH)The spiraling political crisis also involved National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party.
Ben-Gvir argued that the incident was in violation to the coalition agreement between the Likud and his party as well, since the agreement stipulated that the Border Police's Judea and Samaria Division, which carried out the evacuation, was supposed to be put under his jurisdiction. The national security minister argued that the Border Police's conduct, which included closely encircling Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech in order to restrict her movement despite her parliamentary immunity, showed precisely why he demanded the Judea and Samaria division.
Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroyzer said on KAN Radio regarding the evacuation that "the moment we see that our influence is not being implemented in this government, we will consider our steps and whether to continue being a part of it."
Kroyzer's comments echoed those of Ben Gvir himself last week, after the government did not carry out what he argued was a harsh enough response to a number of terror attacks and rockets fired from Gaza.
The case concerning the grove began in 2007, when Chen Ben Eliyahu and the Eretz Zeit Shemen Muvchar company began working on the land. About a year later, Palestinians who own land in the area claimed that Ben Eliyahu and the company were infringing on their property.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) stated on Wednesday that security forces had begun evacuating the plot as it had been invaded by settlers illegally and without the approval of the competent authorities several years ago.
COGAT added that Ben Eliyahu had promised the Supreme Court and regional authorities that he would independently vacate the plot by February 1, but had failed to do so.
Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.
Eliav Breuer
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-731648
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