MK Otniel Schneller (Kadima) spoke out on Saturday night against the possibility of a complete construction freeze in all Jewish cities in Judea and Samaria.  If Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised Jordan’s King Abdullah that Israel would freeze construction, Schneller said, or if he were to make a similar promise to United States President George Bush, “it will drive peace further away, and Kadima will fall.”

Half of the Israeli public would not support a freeze on Jewish construction, Schneller explained, and a freeze would lead to a loss of support.  Kadima “would lose its last chance to be a strong centrist party,” he said.  He called on the government to make it clear that Israel plans to keep “settlement blocs” within Judea and Samaria, thus maintaining public support.  “Before we make peace with the Palestinians, we have to make peace within the people of Israel,” he explained.