Settler leader Dayan
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Settlers: Construction freeze must be fought
Yesha Council disappointed over plan to build only hundreds of homes in West Bank
The notion of a temporary settlement construction freeze is deceptive, settler leaders said Saturday, while vowing to keep fighting against the move.
"We must not stop for even one moment to fight against the planned freeze," Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan said. "What will happen a year from now? If we can't face up to the Americans today, does anyone think we'll be able to do it a year from now?"
Referring to plans to build hundreds of apartments before the construction freeze takes effect, Dayan noted the plan does not address the acute need for new homes in Judea and Samaria.
"Let's assume that in towns such as Maaleh Adumim or Beiter – towns with close to 40,000 residents in each – we'll see the approval of 50 housing units. What good would that do? That's two apartment buildings. It's a drop in the sea. We need hundreds of housing units in each community."
The settler leader also slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that "it's quite pathetic to see Netanyahu lauding the fact that a Likud government will complete the construction started by the Kadima government."
Dayan noted that a settlement freeze in the large blocs indicates that Israel is willing to negotiate their future.
"There is nothing that signals to the Arabs that we can be brought back to the 1967 borders more than this freeze," he said. "Netanyahu spoke last week to students about the need to reinforce our hold over our land, yet education starts with personal example, and he's providing the opposite example."
