Likud leaders claim Netanyahu blocks settlements
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu freezes construction in settlement blocs, hoping to keep the diplomatic process underway — not for the sake of reaching an agreement — and reduce international pressure.
Heads of local authorities who are Likud Party members are protesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's not approving construction plans in Judea-Samaria, despite that negotiations with the Palestinians have reached a dead end.
They claim that they discovered that plans authorized by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon were halted by the prime minister’s office under Netanyahu’s direct instruction. Thus, for example, while Ya’alon approved in recent days building plans in the settlement of Oranit near the Green Line, the authorization was frozen by order of Netanyahu.
According to the Likud mayors, the greatest damage wrought in recent years was the construction within the settlement blocs because these are in the US line of fire. Following the blowup in the talks with the Palestinians, the heads of local authorities assumed that Netanyahu would now unfreeze planning and building procedures in Judea-Samaria.
They say that they were disappointed to discover that the prime minister chose to halt most of the plans instead of taking advantage of the window of opportunity to permit construction in the settlement blocs.
