MK Danny Danon
MK Danny DanonIsrael news photo: (file)

MK Danny Danon, a member of the Likud party, says Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's agreement to a building freeze in Judea and Samaria goes against traditional Likud values. “It's outrageous that this is happening while we are in power,” he told Israel National Radio's Tovia Singer.

The government's lack of support for Jews in Judea and Samaria is a betrayal of the Israeli voter as well as the Likud party platform, he said. “We were elected to change the policy of Kadima and Labor, and not to implement the policy of Meretz and Labor,” Danon stated.



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Many Likud members share his feelings, Danon said, as do members of the Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) parties.

Netanyahu will eventually come to agree as well, he continued. “Frankly, we have no partner,” he said of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. “It's not a matter of compromise, it's a matter of issues and values. And Netanyahu will eventually have to face it. Deep inside he knows the truth, but there's a lot of pressure from Washington.”

While he alluded to pressure from the United States, Danon doubted rumors that the U.S. administration has insisted that Israel freeze construction in order to win support for an air strike in Iran. American leaders understand that Iran is a threat to the entire Western world, and not only to Israel, he said.

Danon also criticized government policy regarding “good will gestures” to the PA. The government has removed dozens of checkpoints and roadblocks in order to provide faster passage to PA Arabs within Judea and Samaria, a step that local Jews say endangers Israelis.

In the eyes of the Israeli government, “the life of Jews in Israel must come before anything else,” Danon said. The government is responsible first and foremost to protect its citizens, he said.

Despite his public disagreements with Netanyahu over the latter's negotiations with the PA, Danon said that he and the prime minister work well together. “I think [Netanyahu] knows that he can trust me on all issues,” he said.

"But he cannot be sure,” Danon added, “when it comes to compromising the land of Israel. He will find a strong group of people... who will tell him that this is not a policy of the Likud.”