(Jpost).Vice Premier Shalom criticized Netanyahu on the settlement issue in a series of radio and TV interviews on Thursday.
"A clear, wide majority in the Likud would not give a hand to any step that would strangle the settlements, which is one of the party's banners," Shalom said. "We need to take steps to advance the diplomatic process, but with conditions, and one of them must be not freezing the settlements that we built. The Palestinians cannot ask us to make unilateral, irreversible, far-reaching concessions that impact the permanent [borders] just for agreeing to meet with us."
Shalom predicted that Netanyahu and Obama's diplomatic process would "blow up in our face and lead to a dead end."
"A clear, wide majority in the Likud would not give a hand to any step that would strangle the settlements, which is one of the party's banners," Shalom said. "We need to take steps to advance the diplomatic process, but with conditions, and one of them must be not freezing the settlements that we built. The Palestinians cannot ask us to make unilateral, irreversible, far-reaching concessions that impact the permanent [borders] just for agreeing to meet with us."
Shalom predicted that Netanyahu and Obama's diplomatic process would "blow up in our face and lead to a dead end."
*********
Amid headlines suggesting that Netanyahu has already agreed to a freeze, more than half of the Likud faction has accepted an invitation to speak at a hawkish rally at the party's Tel Aviv headquarters on Wednesday in favor of expanding settlements.
The 16 MKs to attend the event include Vice Premier Silvan Shalom, ministers Gilad Erdan, Moshe Kahlon, Yuli Edelstein and Michael Eitan, and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.
Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon has not decided whether to attend, while Minister-without-Portfolio Bennie Begin and several other lawmakers who might have come will be abroad.
The 16 MKs to attend the event include Vice Premier Silvan Shalom, ministers Gilad Erdan, Moshe Kahlon, Yuli Edelstein and Michael Eitan, and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.
Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon has not decided whether to attend, while Minister-without-Portfolio Bennie Begin and several other lawmakers who might have come will be abroad.
