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Israel's defense minister plays the moderate card

While Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon is treated as a hero for his temporary refusal to let settlers invade two houses in Hebron, let's not forget his past and certain future support for the settlement enterprise.
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“Houses in Hebron should be treated just like houses in Tel Aviv,” said Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev, lashing out at her Likud Party colleague Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon during the Jan. 24 Cabinet meeting that dealt with, among other issues, the eviction of settlers who broke into two homes near the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

“And what if someone should want to buy a house in the heart of Nablus?” Ya’alon countered. He then went on to say that first of all, one must ascertain that the purchase is legal and second, “In communities in the center of the country, there are no repercussions for defense and diplomacy as there are in Hebron.”

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