בניה. משה סוויל
בניה. משה סווילצילום: אלירן אהרון

Moshe Saville, interim head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, responded to Be'er Sheva Mayor Ruvik Danilovich's claim that, "If the Negev were given the billions that Judea and Samaria receives, we would be in a different place today."

Saville, who was deputy head of the Council and took over his new position after the former head resigned, wrote, "Although I very much admire your work to develop the Negev, you seem to have fallen prey to inciters and those with personal interests. As someone who stands at the head of a council, and as a colleague who, like you, sees the growth of all areas of Israel as a personal goal, and wishes to provide the best services to his residents, I have difficulty understanding where your anger is coming from."

He also wrote, "We are the pioneers, who are developing the land in Judea and Samaria, the Negev and the Galilee, and we need to stand together and insist that the budgets be diverted from the established center to the periphery. We must not fight amongst ourselves."

Saville invited Danilovich to Gush Etzion, saying, "I invite you to come to Gush Etzion, to see how the educational system here, as well as the factories and businesses, have blossomed. I invite you to meet the businessmen who are fighting to succeed, without any special grants and with a lot of hard work and faith. They fight and they succeed. I invite you here so that you can see that we are true partners. Let's not blame each other for things that don't exist."