Lawmakers call on PM to increase settlement building

Two lawmakers who head up the Knesset’s Land of Israel Caucus are demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approve the building of additional settlement homes in the West Bank

A letter from Yoav Kish and Betzalel Smotrich tells the prime minister the recently approved settlement homes “do not meet the needs of the population after an eight-year freeze.”

“In our opinion this is an unacceptable mistake that must be rectified.”

Netanyahu has admitted that pressure by the Obama administration slowed settlement building in the West Bank over the last eight years, but he has repeatedly denied the scaled-back construction amounted to a freeze.

Many on the pro-settlement right saw the election of US President Donald Trump as an opportunity to expand Israel’s settlement enterprise. However, the US leader has cautiously walked back his blanket support for Netanyahu’s government polices since taking office in January.