Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development Silvan Shalom criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday night regarding Netanyahu’s intention to freeze construction within Judea and Samaria. “One doesn’t need to pay the closing price just for a meeting with Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ pseudonym]. The Likud was elected in order to implement the party’s way,” Shalom said at a Likud activists’ conference. “The Likud has three flags, the flag of striving for peace while safeguarding security, the social flag, and the flag which is the glory of our creation – the settlement enterprise. We were elected to proudly wave these three flags and we mustn’t lower them to half-staff.”
Shalom criticized those who claim that his attack on Netanyahu is personal. “I have great appreciation and respect for Netanyahu and it’s clear to me that he wants what’s good for the state. But with all due respect to Abu Mazen, one doesn’t need to do him a favor in order to meet with him.” Shalom added that a construction freeze within Judea and Samaria is a topic that shouldn’t be addressed at a preliminary stage of talks.