Ketzaleh: Government agreed to destroy eight communities near Shchem (Nablus) as part of 'interim agreement'
Former National Religious Party MK Yaakov Ketzaleh Katz is calling upon the Jewish Home party (the successor to the National Religious Party) to depose party chairman Naftali Bennett on the grounds that Bennett has agreed to an interim agreement with the 'Palestinians' that would see
eight established Jewish communities around Shchem (Nablus) destroyed and their inhabitants expelled at the end of the current round of 'talks' eight months from now (Hat Tip:
Shy Guy).
Katz says Bennett knows that the current “peace talks” are rigged to
lead to the eviction and demolition of eight Jewish communities around
Shechem.
Katz says Bennett is complicit in the impending demolition because he is staying in the Coalition, rather than leaving it now.
"I call on the Knesset members of Bayit Yehudi to convene immediately
and depose Naftali Bennett from all of his functions in the leadership
of the party, because of the impending destruction of the Torah world
and demolition of the settlement enterprise that we are facing,” the
former leader of the religious Zionist party wrote on his Facebook page.
"Bennett knows, just as I do, that Bibi-Livni-Kerry-Abu Mazen have
already agreed on an interim agreement in which, 8 months from now, the
Jewish communities around Shechem will be razed.
"Just as Bennett knew about the harsh cut in funding for yeshivas and
Torah educational institutes, and told his faction and the heads of the
institutions that nothing would happen, just to keep them quiet, so
today, Bennett is hiding the great threat to the settlement enterprise
from everyone today.
"Everyone now knows that Bennett's messages of calm were
baseless. 66% of the funding for the Torah world was cut, and the same
thing will happen now if the Bayit Yehudi postpones Bennett's dismissal
until the presentation of the agreement for destruction of communities.
"By then it will be too late, and our public will again have to face
the same horrific sights that it experienced only 8 years ago in Gaza
and northern Samaria," he said, referring to the forced deportation of
9,000 Jews from Gaza and four communities in Samaria during the 2005
"Disengagement."
Katz called on the party to "fix what has been twisted and
immediately conduct negotiations with its natural partners in the
hareidi parties, for their entry into the government instead of Lapid.”
Katz was referring to Yair Lapid, the head of the Yesh Atid party,
currently the second largest Knesset faction with 19 seats. He envisions
a coalition in which the hareidi parties, which number 18 MKs together,
would take Lapid's place.
Unfortunately, this is way too believable. The difference between now and eight years ago is that the slogan this time isn't going to be "we have love and it will win" as it was in Gaza. This time, everyone will know it's for real. And some of the Jewish towns around Shchem have some of the toughest people around.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Gaza expulsion, Jewish Home party, Middle East peace process, Naftali Bennett, Yaakov Katz
Bill to protect human rights of 'evacuees'
In a few weeks, it will be seven years since the Jewish residents of Gaza were expelled from their homes. Seven years later, many of them are still refugees, without permanent homes and jobs, and now without money. One of the major concerns regarding the residents of the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El, who were expelled from their homes last month, was that they would God forbid meet a similar fate. National Union leader Yaakov Katz has introduced a bill in the Knesset to ensure that cannot happen. The bill is supported by Shas and United Torah Judaism, and support is being sought from other parties in the coalition.
The bill protects the human rights of 'evacuees.'
“The Bill to Protect Human Rights of Evacuees” seeks to make the government responsible for ensuring the preservation of settlers’ “basic human rights and the fabric of their lives.”
If peace talks or other arrangements require that outposts, neighborhoods or whole settlements be demolished, the government would have to provide equivalent homes and neighborhoods.
Among the government’s responsibilities would be building schools, religious services and infrastructure, including electricity, phone lines, water, sewage and roads.
Anyone whose home was demolished must be given employment opportunities with a salary similar to what he or she earned previously.
Should the bill pass, evacuees who do not find work can collect unemployment payments for up to 24 months.
In addition, the Finance Ministry would be required to increase the Welfare and Social Services Ministry’s budget to fund care for the evacuees.
The bill only applies to structures that were built with approval from government ministries.
Katz plans to submit the bill this week, in the hope that it will be brought to a preliminary vote before the Knesset summer session ends on July 31. Lawmakers from Shas and United Torah Judaism have co-signed the legislation, and Katz is working to garner support from Likud, Kadima and Habayit Hayehudi MKs that previously backed his outpost legislation.
Though the bill is not expected to pass, sources in National Union said they plan to launch a public battle over it similar to the lead-up to Katz’s failed Outpost Bill last month, calling out right-wing MKs who do not promise their support.
What's left unsaid here (but should be obvious) is that if the bill passes it will become much more expensive to expel people from their homes. There was talk about building housing for those expelled from Gaza during the 2004-05 run-up to the expulsion, but it never happened. Under Katz's bill, there would have to be housing and jobs in order for an expulsion to happen. That's enough to make any government think twice about doing it. But it would also make sure that we don't turn our brothers into refugees.
Labels: Gaza expulsion, Jewish refugees, Yaakov Katz
A plot against Netanyahu?
The decision to expel the Jewish residents of Beit El's Ulpana neighborhood is
a plot to topple Prime Minister Netanyahu according to Yaakov 'Ketzaleh' Katz, the leader of the National Union party.
“There are two people who have a bad influence on the Prime Minister and want him to fail,” Ketzaleh said. “The first is state secretary Tzvika Hauser, who has crossed all the red lines and sides with Peace Now and Yesh Din who want to demolish 9,000 homes in Judea and Samaria.”
The second is Defense Minister Ehud Barak, he said. “Barak knows that his time in office is over, and wants to bring Netanyahu down,” Ketzaleh said. He added, “I’m sure that if the Regulation Law falls on Wednesday – as the far-left Hauser and Barak want – Netanyahu will fall from power due to the destruction it will bring on thousands of people in Judea and Samaria.”
Ketzaleh called on members of Netanyahu’s government to fight back. “The ministers’ support for the [Regulation] bill will save Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, and will save the people of Israel from civil war and destruction,” he urged.
He warned them not to be persuaded by Netanyahu’s suggestion to move the homes. “We looked into it, and it’s impossible to ‘move’ the buildings,” he said. “They will be torn down to the very foundations.”
Ketzaleh also called on the general public to fight the planned demolition. “The Israeli public should come in its masses to the Ulpana neighborhood and build a tent city, to protect it with their bodies,” he suggested.
He may be right about Hauser and Barak, but he's doing some wishful thinking about Netanyahu. Our Prime Minister has difficulty making up his mind where he stands on anything. This 'compromise' is just part of it. And deep down, Netanyahu seems to be trying to let his inner Leftist to come out.
Labels: Beit El, Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, outposts, Supreme Court, Yaakov Katz
Knesset pushing to annex Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria
The leaders of four Knesset factions sent a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu on Tuesday asking him to consider
annexing the Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria, and to sanction the 'Palestinian Authority' for its behavior at the United Nations. Three of the four factions behind the letter are from within Netanyahu's coalition, and one of them is his own party.
The letter, written by caucus leaders Likud faction chairman Ze'ev Elkin and MK Arye Eldad (National Union), as well as the faction chairmen of Shas, National Union and Habayit Hayehudi said that sanctions will show the PA that "Israel will not agree to be its punching bag."
"Israel will defend its interests, and turn the crisis into an opportunity," the letter reads. "Any diplomatic attack will be turned into a victory."
The Land of Israel Caucus called for a gradual annexation of settled areas in Judea and Samaria, as well as increased building and development of the region. The letter also demanded that any Palestinian construction in Area C be prevented, and that funds no longer be transferred to the PA.
"The Palestinian commitment to avoid unilateral steps is the only thing Israel got in return for all it has given up since the Oslo Accords," the MKs wrote. "The PA's unilateral bid for recognition of statehood in the UN is a clear violation of the agreements, which for the last 18 years cost us a high price."
The letter also explains that any country that cooperates with the PA in its statehood bid may no longer serve as a mediator in future peace talks.
If Netanyahu does not take such steps, the MKs wrote, he will "encourage the Palestinians to continue acting against [Israel] in the international arena."
"The international damage to Israel from the UN vote is much smaller than the damage Israel may inflict on itself if we do not follow the principle of 'if they give, they will get, if they don't give, they will not get,'" the letter reads, referring to a well-known quote from Netanyahu's first term as prime minister. "This principle has saved Israel from deteriorating into the abyss opened by the engineers of the Oslo Accords."
I'm all in favor. The fact that the 'Palestinians' have paid no price for their behavior - and that the world continues to oppose Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria - is absurd.
Labels: annexation, Arieh Eldad, Aryeh Deri, Binyamin Netanyahu, Judea and Samaria, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, Unilateral declaration of independence (UDI), Yaakov Katz, Zeev Elkin
What Ketzaleh thinks Bibi should say to Congress
What will Prime Minister Netanyahu say to Congress on Tuesday night? National Union leader Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh)
wrote a speech that he sent to Netanyahu, and he asked Arutz Sheva to translate and post it (Hat Tip:
Gershon D).
If only he would say it.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, joint session of Congress, Yaakov Katz
Bibi to expel 130,000 Jews from home?
National Union party leader Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz has accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of preparing the
expulsion of 130,000 Jews from their homes in Judea and Samaria.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s seeming agreement to surrender Jewish communities outside of “settlement blocs” sets the stage for the largest expulsion of Jews since the Spanish Inquisition in 1492, National Union chairman and Knesset Member Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz charged Tuesday.
The Prime Minister did not spell out which “settlement blocs” he meant during his Herzl Day speech in the Knesset Monday night.
“Now the truth has become clear,” said MK Katz. “This is the first time that the Prime Minister has stood up and declared, contrary to the platform of his Likud party, that he is prepared to expel 130,000 Jews, residents of the hills of Judea and Samaria, in effect advancing Kadima party policies.
“There has been no such wholesale expulsion since the Spanish Inquisition by the worst Jew-haters of Europe." He urged MKs and ministers of the Likud to join the National Union “to be true to the platform on which they were elected.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu may not have spelled out which Jews he intends to expel from their homes in Judea and Samaria, but Ketzaleh has. If you go to Arutz Sheva's Hebrew site, there's a
list of communities Netanyahu intends to keep and a list of those he intends to give up with their populations (Hat Tip:
Avraham F). Even I was surprised.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, settlement blocs, Yaakov Katz
Throw the traitors out!
'Israeli Arab' MK's Ahmad Tibi, Taleb a-Sanaa and Mohamed Barakeh (pictured) attended Wednesday's signing ceremony between Hamas and Fatah in Cairo and were pictured with Hamas' leaders. Now, lots of Israelis would like to see them
thrown out of the Knesset.
National Union Chairman MK Yaacov Katz called on Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin to intervene and “throw out the traitors and the murderers and the collaborators with those who want to destroy” the very Knesset in which they serve.”
Almagor, a terror victims’ advocacy organization called on Attorney-General Yehudah Weinstein to open a criminal investigation into the participation of Ahmed Tibi, Mohammed Barakeh and Taleb a-Sanaa in the ceremony.
The organization argued that because Hamas is officially recognized as a terror organization, anyone participating in an event involving Hamas has violated an law prohibiting attending a meeting of a terror group.
“Public support of a unity agreement with a terror organization is the peak of expressing support of the organization and renders useless all attempts by legislators to differentiate between legitimate organizations and organizations that should not exist at all,” wrote Almagor in the letter to Weinstein.
Indeed.
Labels: Ahmed Tibi, Almagor, Fatah, Hamas, Mohamed Barakeh, Taleb a-Sana, Yaakov Katz, Yehuda Weinstein
Haaretz seethes: Netanyahu tried to get National Union to join coalition
Over at Israel's Hebrew 'Palestinian' daily, the denizens are seething: Prime Minister Netanyahu tried to get the
National Union party to join his coalition.
Netanyahu has been engaged in talks recently with National Union faction chief Yaakov Katz over the prospect of Katz joining the coalition along with party colleagues Uri Ariel and perhaps Aryeh Eldad.
The prime minister did not ask the National Union's fourth MK, Michael Ben Ari, who is identified with the late Meir Kahane's extremist Kach movement, to join the coalition.
At this time, the discussions have run aground because the prime minister has refused Katz's demand that Netanyahu publicly declare an intention to carry out large-scale building in Jerusalem and in the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim just outside the city.
In the course of the talks, there was discussion of Katz being appointed a cabinet portfolio, either as social affairs minister or as minister for the development of the Negev and Galilee.
The social affairs portfolio is temporarily being filled by Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon, while Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom is serving as minister for the development of the Negev and Galilee.
A source close to the prime minister said no agreement had yet been struck with the members of the National Union because "Netanyahu is a man of principles."
Nonetheless the effort has been met with surprise in the political establishment in light of the prime minister's intention to announce a far-reaching diplomatic initiative while in the United States, to include the transfer of additional West Bank territory to the Palestinian Authority's control.
The overture to National Union MKs is seen as a reflection of Netanyahu's view that there is no chance of having Kadima or a portion of the centrist faction join the coalition.
I can see why the Likud would want to do this - they want to make up the seats they lost when Labor split and half the MK's left. But why would National Union want to do this? Ketzaleh selling his soul for a ministry? Say it isn't so....
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Likud party, National Union, Yaakov Katz
Shame on the Likud and their partners
On Sunday, I reported on a proposed law that would
apply Israeli civil law to Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria. The law's main goal was to take the right to approve construction in Judea and Samaria out of the hands of Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Later on Sunday, the law came up for a vote in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. And it was
unanimously voted down.
The result is that all coalition members are expected to vote against the bill when it comes to a vote in the Knesset on Wednesday, which will then bury it for another six months. The bill was first proposed four years ago by then-MK Rabbi Benny Elon, and was co-signed by numerous Likud MKs - including Binyamin Netanyahu; the Likud was in the Opposition at the time. The bill foundered, but it was re-submitted by MK Katz in the present Knesset and came up for a vote in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation one year ago. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked Ketzaleh to postpone the vote for three months, and Ketzaleh agreed.
Since then, the Committee - which is headed by Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman - has ignored requests by Ketzaleh to discuss the bill again. Minister Benny Begin, who has been the acting head of the committee lately, declared that "an injustice has been done to the NU" and that he would raise the bill for a vote in the committee posthaste.
The Committee voted unanimously against the bill. Besides Ne'eman and Begin, the Committee includes Ministers Gideon Saar, Yuli Edelstein, Gilad Erdan, Moshe Cachlon, Michael Eitan, Limor Livnat, Dan Meridor, Yossi Peled, Yisrael Katz, and Yuval Steinitz (all of the Likud), Yitzchak Aharonovich, Sofa Landver, Orit Noked, Stas Misezhnikov [all of Yisrael Beiteinu. CiJ], Meshulam Nahari, Daniel Hershkowitz, Yaakov Mergi [Nahari and Mergi of Shas, Hershkowitz of Jewish Home-NRP. CiJ] and Shalom Simchon [of Ehud Barak's Independence party. CiJ].
Knesset Coalition Chairman MK Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) put pressure on Ketzaleh to withdraw the bill yet again, so as to save Likud embarrassment. However, Ketzaleh refused.
"On Wednesday," Ketzaleh said, "the Nation of Israel will have to see with its own eyes who is loyal to the Land of Israel in talk and signatures but turns his back on it when the time comes for action - and who is truly loyal."
Unfortunately, the loyalists are in short supply. What could go wrong?
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Judea and Samaria construction, Yaakov Katz
Bill would place Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria under Israeli civil authority
A bill has been proposed in the Knesset that would place the Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria under Israeli civil authority. Currently, those towns are under the authority of a 'military occupation.' The change would remove from the hands of Defense Minister Ehud Barak the ability to cause a
de facto freeze in Judea and Samaria by refusing to approve any building plans. The change is not the same as annexing the territory.
The bill is being proposed by Yaakov Katz (National Union) and 24 co-sponsors. A similar bill in the last Knesset garnered support from 12 current cabinet ministers, plus Prime Minister Netanyahu.
MK Katz said that he expects the Likud officials to support the new legislation, just as they did previously. The former backers include Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz of Likud, Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov of the National Union, and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, a veteran Likud member.
“The time has come to begin to bring the 350,000 Jews in Judea and Samaria under Israeli government law” and not under military rule, MK Katz said. “It is not reasonable that they should be Class B citizens who are dependent on the whims of the Defense Minister, who decides the fate of building for Jews in Judea and Samaria.”
Passage of the bill would virtually block a freeze on building for Jews in Judea and Samaria, a policy officially rejected by Israel but in partial effect due to Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s refusal to approve hundreds of building requests. The bill removes his authority and transfers it to the Housing Ministry.
However, the proposed law would not officially annex Jewish communities as part of Israel, as has been done in the past for United Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
I'm afraid MK Katz is doing some wishful thinking. But it's a nice idea.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Judea and Samaria construction, Yaakov Katz
