Steinitz: Priority map a favorable message to settlers
Finance minister says cabinet's decision to include isolated settlements in national priority map meant to serve as sign of its support of settlers; adds Israel may rethink freeze if PA talks falter
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said Sunday that including isolated settlements in the now cabinet-approved national priority map was meant as a favorable message to their residents.
The move, he said, was meant to clarify that the government still supports settlers despite the settlement freeze.
Steinitz was speaking in a Hanukkah ceremony in Or Yehuda. The ceremony was attended by various Likud ministers, Knesset members and activists.
The finance minister added that Israel might end up reconsidering the decision to halt settlement construction, should no progress be made in the negotiations with the Palestinians.
"If we keep getting the cold shoulder from them, the cabinet will rethink the settlement freeze. We will not turn the other cheek and we won't accept a situation where we offer gestures and get incitement in return," he said
Turning his attention to Israel's peace talks with Syria and the subject of the Golan Heights – following the cabinet's favorable vote on the referendum bill – Steinitz said that while he was not opposed to such talk, "Israel will not cede the Golan Heights. It is a part of Jewish history."
Meanwhile, Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni (Kadima) condemned the cabinet's decision: "I don't understand how a responsible leadership, that understands what it takes to sustain Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, can encourage Israelis to settle in such remote places, when everyone knows that that is the price we have to pay in order to ensure the future of Israel."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh also slammed the decision to approve the map, saying the move encouraged the settlement movements and poses both an international challenge and another hurdle for the peace process.
Attila Somfalvi contributed to this report
