Settler campaign: 'Build, Bibi, build!'
Following fear of 'bold political move', lack of construction permits, Yesha Council to launch new campaign against PM Netanyahu. 'He's worse than Barak and Olmert,' they say
Settlers are slated to launch a large-scale campaign against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday under the banner "Build, Bibi, build!," Ynet learned.
Following the end of the settlement construction freeze, settler leaders hoped building in Judea and Samaria will be fully resumed, at least in the major settlement blocks – those meant to remain under Israeli sovereignty as part of a future peace deal - but Netanyahu has not approved a single tender since his election and some describe him as "worse than Barak and Olmert."
During a Likud faction meeting last Monday, the prime minister explained why he is loath to approve construction in the West Bank. He said the international community was pressuring him and that he was trying to maintain the existing communities.
What motivated the settlers to launch the new campaign were concerns over a "bold political move" sparked by reports of a new peace plan the prime minister is slated to unveil in the near future.
The Yesha Council refused to disclose the amount of money invested in the new campaign but claimed it was not smaller than the sum allotted to the previous campaign held during the end of the freeze period.
Construction in Ariel (Photo: Ido Erez)
The campaign will see various newspapers quoting Likud ministers and MKs calling for the resumption of construction in the West Bank and settlement blocks as welll as ads in billboards.
The campaign is aimed at showing Netanyahu he has no backing for the effective renewal of the moratorium, a Yesha Council element said.
"Since the Six Day War no leader has ever fully frozen new tenders in Judea and Samaria towns. Not Peres, not Rabin, not Olmert, not Sharon and not even Barak – they all built. Only Bibi freezes," a statement on behalf of the Yesha Council noted.
Settlers continued their protest against the razing of houses in the illegal outpost of Havat Gilad on Saturday. Right-wing activists temporarily blocked Route 465 in the Binyamin sector.
Meanwhile, several dozen activists rallied outside Prison Six protesting the arrest of Shimon Weisman who was expelled from the IDF and sentenced to 30 days in military prison after vowing not to return to service following the razing of his home in Havat Gilad.
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