From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Netanyahu reneges on Beit El settlement expansion project
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNetanyahu vetoes an expansion project for the settlement of Beit El in the West Bank that would have seen the construction of 300 new housing units in the community.
The prime minister orders the proposal be removed from the agenda of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation’s Sunday meeting.
The prime minister publicly pledged to build the 300 units five years ago, following the court-ordered razing of five illegally built houses in Beit El’s Givat Ulpana neighborhood.
Last month, the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement saying Netanyahu met with Beit El Mayor Shai Alon and told him that the units would be approved for the next stage in September.
Jewish Home party MK Betzlel Smotrich in response calls Netanyahu’s move “undemocratic” and says pressure from the US was behind the flip-flop. He says he will bring the bill to the Knesset for a preliminary plenum vote, bypassing committee stage.
The Times of Israel Community.