Danny Dayan, the head of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha), says he believes Netanyahu does not want or expect to give away Judea and Samaria, but “the very mention of this possibility in his speech has grave educational ramifications.”
Dayan told Arutz-7’s Shimon Cohen that the true test for Netanyahu and his government will be whether construction in Yesha resumes on a large scale or not: “In the end, that which will determine whether a Palestinian state is established, Heaven forbid, or whether our land is divided, will be the extent of building. We must demand that Netanyahu fulfill his partial declaration that normal Jewish life has to continue in Judea and Samaria. This means not only natural growth, as has been said, but natural development and new blood. If he allows the continued development of this great settlement enterprise, which spreads from the outskirts of Afula to the outskirts of Arad – then this will make up, to some extent, for what he said. This will be the test.”
“Yes, the Americans don’t want us to develop Yesha,” Dayan acknowledged, “but here we will see whether Netanyahu has a strong backbone and can stand up for what he believes in. If he gives large-scale building permits, this will determine whether there will be a Palestinian state – and this is the test not only of Netanyahu, but of his entire government coalition.”
Dayan said that the very mention of a Palestinian state, even a demilitarized one, “is very grave - not only because of the political ramifications, that it may lead to withdrawals and the like - but also because of the educational message given to the public, as if it is acceptable to give away parts of our homeland. It is bad to say this, even if he said it only for tactical reasons. And even if he believes that the Arab side will never fulfill the conditions he laid down – and I believe that he thinks this is what will happen, and I believe that he truly doesn’t want to divide the land - but just like there are things you don’t joke about, there are things that are not used for tactics or manipulation or politics, and one of these things is the wholeness of the Land of Israel. Therefore the damage is long-range.”
Four years ago, the Yesha Council – headed at the time by Bentzi Lieberman – came under severe criticism for not waging a determined struggle against the destruction of Gush Katif. Dayan says that in the current war for the new neighborhoods known as “unauthorized outposts,” the same thing will not happen.
“There is no reason for the government to destroy the outposts,” Dayan said, “because whatever legal problems there are can be solved in no more than five minutes, and we are willing to meet with the government to show them how. But if the government wants to act violently and heavy-handedly, then I can tell you that there will be a fight, and we will call the public to take part in it, and we will stand at its head. This must be made clear.”