Transportation Minister (Likud) Yisrael Katz addressed a Yesha Settlement Council forum in Jerusalem’s Leonardo Plaza Hotel. The minister expressed his opposition to the construction freeze in Yehuda and Shomron, asking “by what authority can we freeze life for children in Ariel, Eli or Gush Etzion?”

Katz and Minister of Housing (Bayit Yehudi) attended the kenos, providing settlement leaders with an analysis of current political realities. Katz explained that he also opposed the previous building freeze, and this policy is a moral stain on the State of Israel in addition to being an affront to basic rights.

“Such a policy should be prohibited anywhere, including Tel Aviv and Um el-Fahm, for no government has the right to discriminate against its citizens… This will not advance negotiations and certainly not bring peace. On the contrary, it will encourage the other side to continue raising the bar with demands.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)