Despite their protests, we’re going to normalize life in Judea and Samaria, says Finance Minister.
On Tuesday morning, Knesset members and ministers from the Religious Zionism party convened their party meeting in Givat Harel in the Binyamin region, following the decision of the state-security cabinet to legalize the community along with eight others in Judea and Samaria. Most of these communities have existed for years; some were established decades ago.
At the start of the meeting, those participating held a moment’s silence in memory of Asil Sawaed, the Border Police officer who lost his life following a terrorist attack on Monday.
Alluding to the Biden administration’s condemnation of the decision and the government’s intention to authorize the building of more residential units across the “Green Line,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “The American response is entirely understandable. The current administration knows that this government is committed to the settlements. There’s nothing wrong with two friends having disputes. They understand, and that’s the way things will continue.”
Smotrich added that, “I hope that in the next few days, the Prime Minister will end the saga of transferring certain authority in the Defense Ministry to me [as junior minister, as was agreed in the coalition accords]. We are going to normalize life here in Judea and Samaria.
“I am grateful to the Prime Minister and other members of government for leading this process, but we are obligated to legalize the status of all the communities in the settlements,” Smotrich stressed. “We must remove all the restrictions on construction in Judea and Samaria and embark on a period of building and developing our land. This area must be treated exactly as any other part of the country, and that is what will be happening.
“I well remember how many blows we absorbed 30 years ago when we first went up to Givat Haroeh, literally right here,” he added.
During the course of the meeting, Smotrich also referred to the anti-government protesters filling the streets day after day. “I admire and respect those who came out to protest yesterday,” he said. “They are not people of privileged status or elitists. We must advance dialogue with them and attempt to arrive at agreements, as far as is possible.”
Settlements Minister Orit Strock stressed the history of many of the settlement communities, saying that it was “unthinkable that pioneers who were sent by successive governments to settle in empty and frightening places, devoid of even the most minimal conditions, as the emissaries of us all, should be abandoned as if they had gone there of their own initiative. We already have the detailed report by Talia Sasson who describes this injustice. And it’s also something that the Americans are capable of understanding, even though we don’t need their understanding.”
The Israeli government gave the US administration advance notice of its intention to legalize the nine communities; likewise, the Biden administration gave the Israeli government advance notice of its intention to publicly condemn the move.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.