In her eulogy for the murdered Rabbi Michael Mark, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked spoke of the importance of Judea and Samaria and of the need to continue building and strengthening the communities there.
Shaked represented the government at the funeral of Rabbi Michael Mark who was murdered in last Friday's terror attack.
She stressed that "The residents of Judea and Samaria are not the problem, they are the solution. The dedicated residents here are Israel's front-line defense against terrorism. With infinite self-sacrifice, they prevent the creation of an ISIS state, a Hamastan meters from anywhere in the country.
"This is how we must look at the communities in Judea and Samaria and at its residents. They are the combat soldiers for all those living in 'little Israel,' who continue more and more to perform their reserve duty, men, women and children. They don't even have time to unpack their 'duffel bag' before the next incident."
Minister Shaked emphasized that "these warriors without uniforms defend the rest of the citizens of Israel with their bodies. Any attempt to attack those living deep in Judea or Samaria is one less attempted terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, Netanya, Kfar Saba. The attacks in those cities are only by those who managed to sneak through. Without the defensive wall of Judea and Samaria, there would be nothing to stop the flood [of terrorists].
"The residents [of Judea and Samaria] are not only a defensive shield, are also a political defensive shield. Anyone who thinks that returning to the '67 borders would remove international pressure [from Israel] is living in a dream world. The evacuation of these residents will not end the Arab-Israeli conflict and will not stop Israel being blamed by the world. The Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel."
She also said that "the forces of darkness are opposed to the light of [Rabbi] Michael [Mark] and the young girl Hallel-Yaffa Ariel. This makes it clear to us that this is not a territorial dispute. There is a single common thread between the attacks in the United States, Paris, Tel Aviv, Kiryat Arba, Netanya and Otniel - the hatred by extremist Islam."
"Our answer to murder must be construction. A lot more construction. Much more than what is happening today. This has always been the way of Zionism and of the settlement movement in all parts of the Land of Israel. The is the best solution and should also be implemented today. We will work to do so in a significant way, even here in Otniel. But this is not sufficient. We will pursue the murderers and catch them. If their families support their actions they will also pay a high price," promised Shaked, a member of the security cabinet.