(IsraelNN.com) Likud Member of Knesset Ofir Akunis said Monday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu promised him that Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria would see changes soon. Interviewed on Arutz Sheva's Hebrew news journal, Akunis said that Netanyahu was most suitable for leading the country, not just now but for a long time.
Akunis added that while he did not like the construction freeze for the region, since it was accepted, it was necessary to minimize its damage. He said he had entered Sunday's meeting with an eight-paragraph list of demands that included exemptions for evictees from Gush Katif and accelerated construction of educational facilities.
In his Monday morning appearance at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the building freeze in Judea and Samaria does not include construction that is already underway.
Netanyahu defended the freeze by saying, “We said that we want to stop new construction – not construction that has already begun. During [Ehud] Olmert’s term as prime minister, there was no construction, but we stopped this freeze. The mini-cabinet’s decision has nothing to do with building that has already started. There must be coordination between the decision and its implementation.”
Akunis added that while he did not like the construction freeze for the region, since it was accepted, it was necessary to minimize its damage. He said he had entered Sunday's meeting with an eight-paragraph list of demands that included exemptions for evictees from Gush Katif and accelerated construction of educational facilities.
In his Monday morning appearance at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the building freeze in Judea and Samaria does not include construction that is already underway.
Netanyahu defended the freeze by saying, “We said that we want to stop new construction – not construction that has already begun. During [Ehud] Olmert’s term as prime minister, there was no construction, but we stopped this freeze. The mini-cabinet’s decision has nothing to do with building that has already started. There must be coordination between the decision and its implementation.”