Settler leaders decline meeting with Barak
Defense minister's associates say he and prime minister 'working hand in hand' to enforce settlement freeze, agree to formulate protocols for easing lives of settlers as much as possible. 'Grey areas' to be taken into account, such as initial construction, building additions. Barak summons settler leaders to meeting, only two agree to attend
Enforcement of the building freeze is in full effect, but the government will try as much as possible to ease up on settlers within the framework that has been established. This is the message coming from Defense Minister Ehud Barak's office ahead of a Wednesday meeting he summoned with settler representatives in his Tel Aviv office. Apparently, leaders from only two settlement towns agreed to attend the meeting with the defense minister.
The settler representatives are also slated to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday morning
The defense minister's media advisor, Barak Seri, declined to comment directly on the meeting, to elaborate on the issues on the agenda or who will be in attendance. However, Yesha Council leaders were quick to clarify that they do not plan on being at the meeting, citing their meeting scheduled later with PM Netanyahu as being sufficient. The Yesha Council also disclosed the two municipalities whose representatives will be meeting with Barak: the veteran secular settlement Alfei Menashe and the small village Megilot on the shores of the Dead Sea.
"The two representatives who will meet with the defense minister this evening do not represent the settler population as a whole," reported the Yesha Council.
"Contrary to reports, the Yesha Council and council heads are not meeting and do not intend to meet with the defense minister. Presenting today's meeting as if it were a meeting with settler representatives is shameful spin on the part of the defense minister's office. Yesha leaders will not be meeting with the defense minister."
Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan added in a conversation with Ynet, "We will not let Ehud Barak create such spin. As far as I know, except for the two consented to the invitation, none of the Judea and Samaria leaders or the 'settlers' leaders' are willing to meet him because the prime minister is the appropriate address from our perspective."
Earlier on Wednesday, Barak met with Netanyahu to discuss with him enforcement of the temporary West Bank building moratorium. Defense Minister's entourage said that the meeting dealt with enforcement protocols to be distributed in the coming days by the Defense Ministry with the goal of easing the lives of West Bank residents during the freeze.
"The two are working hand in hand," said Barak associates, "out of a total understanding that the Israeli government's decision must be enforced while taking into consideration the fabric of (settler's) lives."
The Barak-Netanyahu meeting on Wednesday was a follow-up meeting of a discussion the two initiated Tuesday evening. During the meeting, the two discussed the building freeze orders, as well as the possibility for residents to appeal the orders.
Barak and Netanyahu agreed that the defense establishment will formulate protocols that will ease up on settlers as much as possible, with an emphasis on allowing settlers currently in a transitory phase or kind of "grey area" to continue building. This will include, for instance, buildings whose foundations have already been poured but not completed and various building additions to existing buildings.
It was agreed that the Defense Ministry's legal advisor will be responsible for issuing instructions for the Civil Administration's immediate implementation of the protocols. Real-time updates of issues in the field will continue to be issued.
'Five days late'
During their meeting, the defense minister updated the prime minister as to the enforcement measures taken in the field thus far. Efforts for recruiting additional Civil Administration inspectors have been completed. Clashes with West Bank residents, as have been witnessed in recent days, were not brought up during their meeting.Barak and Netanyahu agreed to continue meeting throughout the 10 months of the building freeze in order to stay current on the policy's enforcement.
Barak's office estimated that additional budget will be needed in the future for compensating residents who suffered financial losses as a result of the freeze. However, according to his office, this issue has yet to be raised between the two statesmen.
Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan criticized Barak's decision to use inspectors from his ministry for building enforcement in the settlements. Following Barak's meeting with Netanyahu, Erdan criticized Barak's actions regarding easements for the settlers.
"The protocols to be issued by the defense establishment were necessary from the outset," he claimed. "Anyway we are five days late. This isn't new building, but renovations needed so that the settlers can live normally. It was not necessary to wait for a public protest."
