Thursday, December 03, 2009

AFSI APPLAUDS CALLS FOR END OF FREEZE

AFSI
www.afsi.org

Likud leaders, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Minister Benny Begin, and Chairman of the Knesset Subcommittee for Judea and Samaria Affairs MK Zev Elkin, have all come out in opposition to the “draconian” manner in which the construction freeze in Judea and Samaria has been implemented. Considering that PM Netanyahu maintains that “the decision does not apply to 2,500 units under construction, to 500 additional housing units we recently approved…”, the Likud leaders are outraged by Defense Minister Barak’s stop-work orders on all construction in Judea and Samaria, including all of the above.

It is interesting to note that Steinitz, Ya’alon, Begin and Elkin all voted for the freeze, believing that it would proceed as stipulated in the Cabinet decision. They apparently didn’t anticipate that Barak would enforce it in the brutal manner that he has implemented.

In the face of this, Netanyahu maintains that he “has no choice” but to keep the freeze in place. Who has given him “no choice”? The Prime Minister of Israel must have the choice to preserve the land and the people of Israel in the best way possible. There can be “no choice” to destroy peoples’ lives and livelihoods.

The Likud leaders should never have voted for the freeze. They must anticipate the aggressive and destructive manner in which the Defense Minister would implement the “permission” he received to destroy Jewish homes and lives, while turning a blind eye to rampant and illegal Arab building throughout the land of Israel. This Labor Minister does not belong in a Likud government.

Finally, one must question the purpose and meaning of a freeze when it obviously makes no difference in the supposed “peace process.” The Arabs have already rejected it as inadequate in satisfying their demands. This meaningless action only does harm to Israel’s legitimacy.

We commend those who are calling for a halt to the freeze, and urge PM Netanyahu and Likud to remember the party mandate to preserve the Land of Israel for the Jewish people.

Comment: This is the first true test of the Netanyahu government-Israel's enemies are close to a victory-there is more than one way to defeat a country-more on this in another post.

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