Binyamin Netanyahu
Binyamin NetanyahuReuters

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu started the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday morning with a call for the leaders of the community of Amona to accept the solution proposed at the end of a long meeting Saturday night.

The residents voted to approve the deal Sunday afternoon.

Netanyahu spoke of the meeting between himself, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, and representatives of Amona Saturday night.

"In recent months, especially in the past few weeks and the last few days, and yesterday, we have been making very great efforts to reach an agreed-upon solution in Amona. We have held dozens of discussions and submitted very many proposals, some I would say out-of-the-box, very creative proposals. We did so out of goodwill and love for settlement [of Israel]; love for settlement [of the country], truly," Netanyahu said.

"There has not been a government that showed more concern for settlement in the Land of Israel and no government will show more concern. We are making every possible effort. I think that Amona community leaders, who were with me and Minister Bennett in my office until the early morning, can attest to a simple fact: We have done the maximum." he added.

"Now I can only hope that the residents of Amona, who are now discussing the proposed plan among themselves, will accept it and this would be the right decision for them, for the community, for the entire people of Israel and for the State of Israel."

The new solution would increase the number of families which would be allowed to remain on the same hill from 12 to 24. The acceptance of the deal by the residents would prevent scenes of passive resistance and possible clashes with police forced to drag out residents and activists who have been gathering at Amona to defend the town from evacuation.