Barak tells settlers outposts will be evacuated
Defense minister meets with Yesha Council heads, tells them 'a law-abiding state cannot accept a situation in which each person does what he wants.' Settlers demand settlement construction be resumed
According to the minister, these outposts have been defined as requiring evacuation by three different governments – Ariel Sharon's, Ehud Olmert's and Benjamin Netanyahu's.
During the meeting, held at the Kirya base in Tel Aviv, the settler leaders asked the defense minister to resume construction in settlements. According to the settlers, Barak admitted that there has been a slowdown in the building of settlements.
The meeting, which was held at the defense minister's request, was attended by Yesha Council head Danny Dayan, Yesha Council Director-General Pinchas Wallerstein, Amana Director-General Zev Hever, Ma'aleh Adumim Mayor Benny Kashriel, Binyamin Regional Council head Avi Roeh and Karnei Shmoron Council head Herzel Ben Ari.
Shomron Regional Council head Gershon Mesika said he would not attend the meeting. "It's a sold game of politics. The outpost issue has nothing to do with law issues. The defense minister has been avoiding signing the outline plan for years with his right hand for political reasons, and now he is trying to destroy the same places with his left hand, explaining that they are illegal as he himself hasn't signed them."
The meeting lasted about an hour and a half. Dayan told Ynet that "the meeting was okay. We reiterated our unequivocal demand to lift the construction freeze, which is taking place for many months. The settler leaders described the intolerable distress in the communities as a result of the complete freeze and the failure to issue new building permits."
As for the outposts, Dayan said that a dialogue on the outposts would only be possible after the construction freeze would be lifted.
Dayan said during the meeting that "the outpost issue is a political matter rather than a legal one. It has nothing to do with the rule of law, so any attempt to carry out a one-sided aggressive more is wrong and will ignite a great fire.
"With all due respect to the defense minister, the entire government or a special ministerial committee must decide on the outpost issue, as well as on the construction freeze."
A preliminary meeting was held about two weeks ago between settlers leaders and the defense minister's assistant, Eitan Broshi.
Wallerstein told Ynet that "the importance of the meeting is in the fact that it was held. There were difficult sessions. The defense minister admitted there was a slowdown in the settlement construction and made a distinction between the outpost Israel promised to evacuate and other outposts.
"The evacuation of outposts is a move which we have not agreed to and is unacceptable to us, and there will be no dialogue on this issue until the construction freeze is lifted in the Judea and Samaria communities."
