Benny Katzover
Benny KatzoverIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The heads of Yesha Regional authorities were under pressure when they wrote a letter in support of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Samaria (Shomron) Residents' Committee head Benny Katzover said on Thursday.

"Some of them are members of the Likud, but the Prime Minister used them in an inappropriate manner," Katzover told Arutz Sheva. "They had no choice but to agree. Once upon a time they thought they could only have an influence through the Likud, but now reality has changed."

He expressed his regret that the support letter did not also include criticism of some of Netanyahu's actions over the last four years.

"I hope that at least they put things on the table and demanded that he retract the Bar Ilan speech, and adopt the Levy Report. If this did not happen, and we have not seen it in the letter, I can only regret it," said Katzover.

Saying that he is convinced that the letter of support will not affect all the voters, Katzover said, "Even some of the signatories did not mean it. The public is not stupid. They signed the letter because they were forced to and had no choice. Netanyahu feels that he is losing seats to the Jewish Home and is trying to stop it."

Katzover's comments follow those of a spokesperson for the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El, who slammed the heads of local councils in Judea and Samaria for endorsing Netanyahu for Prime Minister.

The spokesperson, Harel Cohen, said that the Council had no business endorsing Netanyahu, because his policies have been anything but pro-Yesha.

“The public has not forgotten how the Likud and the Prime Minister imposed the building freeze on Judea and Samaria, how they destroyed Migron and the Ulpana neighborhood, and acted to prevent the imposition of Israeli law on Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria," said Cohen.