Israel Matzav

Deja vu all over again: Netanyahu orders 'settlement freeze,' National Religious Party Jewish Home to stay in government

The more things change the more they stay the same. Mr. Flip Flop himself, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to a 'settlement freeze.' (His father, who had a highway interchange named after him on Sunday, must be flip-flopping in his grave over his son's fecklessness. Vinegar the son of wine indeed).

The 'Jewish Home' party, the successor to the 'National, Religious and Must be in the Government' party, is not only going to stay in the government, but one of its ministers is going to carry out Netanyahu's orders.

And all this just a day after the 'Palestinians' made clear to their fellow Arabs that they aren't budging one inch regardless of what Netanyahu does.

This is from the third link.

The reported freeze came as the country is under international pressure not to advance West Bank settlement projects, including those that were direct responses to unilateral Palestinian statehood efforts at the United Nations, such as the unbuilt area of Ma’aleh Adumim known as E1.

Army Radio quoted a government clerk as saying "most of the tenders are prepared and ready to be issued at any minute."

While neither Netanyahu nor Ariel immediately responded to the report, Bayit Yehudi MK Ayelet Shaked was quoted by Army Radio as saying that "the Housing and Construction Ministry has prepared tenders that it is interested in issuing in the West Bank settlement blocs. They require the prime minister's signature, and for some reason that is not happening. It's a shame, there are many housing units ready to be tendered."

Last week, Ariel warned that Bayit Yehudi would not support the 2013 budget in the Knesset unless construction projects in West Bank settlements are fully funded.

“I turned to the prime minister today and warned him that if the 2013 budget doesn’t include full funding for building projects in Judea and Samaria, including those decided upon in reaction to the Palestinians’ unilateral statehood bid at the United Nations [this past fall] and additional projects, Bayit Yehudi will consider its coalition agreement as having been violated, and it won’t support the budget unless a solution is found for the promised funds,” Ariel said.

International pressure to freeze settlement building has only grown stronger now that the Arab League has modified its 2002 peace plan to include minor land swaps – a move that is seen as a possible prelude to renewed negotiations.

Palestinians have also told the US that they won’t attempt to pursue Israel at the International Criminal Court as long as Israel refrains from moving forward on the E1 project of 3,500 new Jewish homes.

In other words, the 'Palestinians' are determined to bide their time until some point in the future where they believe that they are strong enough to defeat us, and in the meantime they are attempting the 46-year freeze on the status of the territories liberated from Jordan 46 years ago this week. 

So is Netanyahu 'calling their bluff'? How many times does it have to be called before it's enough? What could go wrong?

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Jewish Home party, Naftali Bennett, National Religious, settlement freeze, Uri Ariel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:46 PM