Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Photo: Reuters
Defense Minister Ehud Barak
Photo: Gil Yohanan
PM's aides: Barak okayed settlements named in priority map
Prime Minister's Office puzzled by defense minister's nay vote on national priority map; says it was Defense Ministry that prepared list of isolated settlements included in it. Barak aides counter: He wanted list diluted
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office were puzzled Sunday by Defense Minister Ehud Barak's objection to the national priority map, saying it was the Defense Ministry that authorized the inclusion of the 90 isolated settlements named in the map in the first place.
A source in the Defense Ministry said that Barak "objected to the decision to include the isolated settlements and asked in advance to dilute the list."
Prioritizing
Roni Sofer
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According to the sources in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, the 90 settlements in question were included in a Defense Ministry list of settlements under security threat.
"Under these circumstances, it is odd that Barak voted against the national priority map, saying no funds should be allotted to these settlements," said a PMO source.
Barak's office, however, offered a different take on the move: "The list of settlements was drafted by the IDF as a list which included communities under threat.
"While it was clear the list was made ahead of deliberations over the national priority map, Barak asked in advance to thin it out and exclude settlements which are known for acting against government decisions."
The motion detailing the new national priority map was carried by a majority of 21 ministers Sunday afternoon, with Labor's five ministers voting against it.
Earlier, the prime minister gave in to Shas' demands and agreed to include former Gush Katif residents' communities in the Lachish Region in the map. The Jewish settlement in the West Bank city of Hebron was also included in it.
While settlements included in the national priority map stand to receive various benefits, those benefits do not include construction permits. Settlements still defined as illegal outpost were excluded from the map.
Meanwhile, Jerusalem is gearing for any international backlash the national priority map is expected to evoke.
Jerusalem expects criticism over the various incentives settlements stand to received under the map's outline, despite the cabinet's decision on a settlement freeze.
Various elements in the Left have already slammed the map as unfathomable.
