Avi Roeh
Avi RoehHezki Baruch

Yesha Council Chairman Avi Roeh responded optimistically Sunday evening to the decision by the Israeli cabinet to limit Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria to the existing boundaries of towns over the Green Line.

In his response, Roeh noted that the government had approved construction of a new Jewish town in Samaria – the first officially sponsored community over the Green Line in more than two decades.

“This is both a fulfillment of the Prime Minister’s promise,” Roeh told Arutz Sheva, “and a sign of things to come.”

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pledged to Amona evictees that a replacement town would be established for them in Samaria, after the Supreme Court blocked plans to relocate Amona to an alternative site on the same hill as its original location.

The Yesha leader also argued that an understanding between Israel and the US in place regarding the dimensions of Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria would constitute a breakthrough for the movement to settle Judea and Samaria.

Despite the limitations outlined by the cabinet, Roeh emphasized that the new directives did not constitute a building freeze.

“We will approve the 10 existing [building] plans that are on the Civil Administration’s desk that were delayed by the Prime Minister, said Roeh. “This is a great breakthrough.”

“They [the government] will approve [building] plans as needed, and won’t need to run to the Americans every time [they want to allow construction]. It’s true that no new towns or outposts will be established, but that’s a limitation that exists everywhere in Israel.”