MK Yaakov Katz (National Union) hosted Minister without portfolio Yossi Peled (Likud) in Beit El's Ulpana neighborhood, in which 30 apartments have been slated for destruction on order of Israel's High Court.

During the visit Peled told Katz he did not believe the order would be carried out, saying, "I do not believe that the Prime Minister will give his hand to it.”

Didi Dickstein, a resident of the neighborhood,  the murderer of whose two parents and brother were released with the 1027 terrorists in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, told Peled, "when it comes to the murderers of my parents and my brother, the High Court says it's a political matter and refuses to intervene. But then the Court does intervene to destroy my home on political grounds without checking to see it was lawfully bought."

Minister Peled was very pleased to receive drawings and letters from children in the neighborhood. Among them, Peled said, were pleas from "children who do not understand why [the government] wants to come in the middle of the night to destroy their homes."

Peled said he was moved and disturbed that children in Israel feel such emotions and harbor such fears.

"It is very upsetting to me," Peled said. "It really bothers me." 

Of the visit MK Katz said, "We have today in Judea and Samaria more than 700,000 Jews, which is more than 10% of the population of the state of Israel... this is a very big success."

"It is very important to us that ministers and knesset members - from all parties - come and get the impression that this is an irreversible fact and that we must stay here forever," MK Katz added. "With God's help we will succeed."

MK Katz has hosted numerous senior members of the ruling coalition in recent month in his efforts to build a nationalist consensus within the government against destroying communities like the Beit El's ulpana neighborhood, nearby Givat Assaf, and others. Among them were the infuential Coalition Chairman MK Zeev Elkin and  Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Ayoub Kara, both of the LIkud party.