Lieberman Says Bibi’s Government Is Best For West Bank Settlers
Image by getty images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman reacted to criticism from settler leaders claiming that the government has frozen West Bank settlement construction to appease the Trump administration.
Liberman noted on Sunday at the weekly Cabinet meeting that plans to build 3,651 homes in West Bank settlements were approved last week.
“Anyone who claims that it was possible to approve more construction in the settlements is not just trying to stretch the rope but to tear it completely, thereby putting the entire settlement enterprise at risk,” he said, according to reports.
Since January 1, Israel has approved the construction of 8,345 homes in the West Bank, including 3,066 that are approved for immediate construction, the highest number of settler dwellings in 25 years.
Among the plans approved were 102 housing units for the new settlement of Amichai, the first new settlement in 25 years, which is being built for evacuees of the illegal Amona outpost.
“There isn’t and there hasn’t been a better government to take care of the Jewish settlement in Judea and Samara and to develop it,” Liberman said, using the religious terms for the West Bank.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
