By Yoni Kempinski, Israel National News—
Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz on Wednesday evening called at a meeting of the Likud convention to promote an initiative to apply Israeli law to “the communities of greater Jerusalem”.
He listed Maale Adumim, Givat Ze’ev, Beitar Illit and Gush Etzion as communities that should be annexed, and noted that full construction in the Jewish neighborhoods around Jerusalem should be promoted. Katz also called to cancel the freeze on construction in Judea and Samaria and build according to the needs of the residents there.
Minister Katz also discussed the ongoing wave of terrorism and said, “Families of terrorists should be expelled to enhance deterrence. If we advance the Israeli initiative we will not have to deal with the French or Arab initiative or any other initiative. We need to cancel the moratorium on building. We are condemned for everything anyway. One decision followed by condemnation is better than partial decisions and condemnations all the time.”
“The time has come to decide to promote the initiative to build an artificial island opposite Gaza which will have a seaport and airport, and finally complete the disengagement from Gaza,” he added.
Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin spoke at the gathering as well and said that “the latest wave of terrorism is rooted in the incitement and fervent hatred of young people who can enter a room and murder a child in her sleep. The origins of this incitement are in educational institutions, sermons in mosques on Fridays, incitement in the media and statements by the leaders of the Palestinian Authority. It’s incomprehensible that salaries for terrorists in an Israeli prison are the same as the salaries of Palestinian ministers!”
Minister Elkin added, “Everyone today realizes that one of the biggest mistakes in Oslo was the concept that everything in the education, media and incitement of the Palestinian leadership is none of our business. Today we are paying the price. The future will also bring us challenges in the post Mahmoud Abbas era and the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority. This will be a challenging time period in terms of security and we must prepare for this ahead of time before it’s too late.”
He referred to the various peace initiatives on the agenda and said that “Prime Minister Netanyahu was right when he said that as long as the Arab initiative includes the 1967 borders and dividing Jerusalem – we reject it outright. It is impossible that this initiative will be the basis for future negotiations with the Palestinians. The same goes for the French initiative. We will never be able to accept any initiative that attempts to impose a plan that will harm the national security interests of the State of Israel.”
