Settler leaders are celebrating the approval of nearly 5,000 Israeli homes in the West Bank.
“We are happy our efforts have borne fruit and the approvals were advanced,” a statement from the Yesha umbrella settler group reads.
“Building in the area cannot be used as a bargaining chip in other matters or peace deals,” it adds, referring to the fact that Israel suspended plans to annex parts of the West Bank to reach a normalization deal with the UAE.
Binyamin Regional Council chairman Yisrael Gantz (left) and Yesha Council director Yigal Dilmoni speak to reporters in the Ateret settlement on June 16, 2020. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)
It calls for unfettered Israeli building across the West Bank to reach its goal of 1 million Israelis living in settlements.
Yisrael Gantz, head of the expansive Binyamin Regional Council in the central West Bank, says most of the approvals were for his area, and thanks the prime minister.
“We demand the full freeing of building in Judea and Samaria in line with the development needs we have here,” he says, using a biblical term for the West Bank. “Building in Judea, Samaria and Binyamin need to be like everywhere else in the country and not bound by diplomatic shackles.”
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Thursday, October 15, 2020
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