Minister of Education Gideon Saar and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz visited the Ariel University Center in the Shomron on Sunday and vowed to overcome the Defense Minister's objections and grant the learning institute the fully fledged status of a university by the end of the academic year.
The Council for Higher Education approved the upgrade as far as the University Center's academic level is concerned, but Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who must do so to have the change go into effect, has not.
Barak broke away from the Labor Party and formed the leftist Independence Party which may not pass the electoral threshold. Recognizing a university in Judea and Samaria would reduce those chances even further.
The ministers spoke to Arutz Sheva and said that the decision can be expected in "a very short time."