Religious Zionism Says No to Building Pause in Yehuda and Shomron

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM — The battle over Israeli policy in Yehuda and Shomron continued on Tuesday as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rejected a report that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏ has agreed to pause construction in the region, yielding to pressure from Washington.

Netanyahu reportedly told the Americans that he would dramatically downscale building in Yehuda and Shomron, and also halt demolitions of illegally built Arab homes in Area C, which is under full Israeli control.

Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party issued a series of No’s: “There will be no construction freeze in Yehuda and Shomron, period. There will be no damage done to Israeli deterrence against terrorists, period. There will be no continuation of illegal construction and Arab land-grabbing in open areas, period.”

Smotrich, who has the status of minister within the Ministry of Defense, was last month  in a confrontation with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over unauthorized outpost in the Shomron named Or Chaim after the late Rabbi Chaim Druckman z”l.

Gallant countermanded an order from Smotrich to allow the outpost to stand, and security forces dismantled it. Netanyahu sought to mediate between the two ministers; in the end, the outpost was not rebuilt.

“The government supports the settlements but only when it is done in a legal way and in coordination with the prime minister and the defense establishment, which did not happen,” said a statement at the time from the Prime Minister’s Office.

On Monday, Smotrich reportedly invoked Netanyahu’s position in a meeting with Yesha council members, and later told a meeting of his party that “Our ambition is not to have to resort to illegal measures. We want the government to officially adopt a policy of recognizing all the communities in the settlements and also, of establishing new communities, in line with natural growth. None of us considers himself above the law. We are the government, and this will take more than a day or two, but I’m convinced that we’ll see substantial changes occurring in the near future.”

Minister of National Missions Orit Strock (Religious Zionism) stated on Tuesday, “A nationalistic government does not freeze the settlement of the Land of Israel, and certainly does not abandon its land to Palestinian land-grabbers.”