File footage: PA construction
File footage: PA constructionAbed Rahim Khatib / Flash90

Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan sharply criticized Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi for welcoming the approval of building permits for Palestinian Authority residents in Area C of Judea and Samaria.

"I respect the head of the Efrat council, Oded Revivi, he has many merits in the building of the Efrat settlement and of course he has his right to express his position," Dagan began. The position of most of the settlers in Judea and Samaria and certainly not the position of most of the public in Israel. However, it must be stated that Revivi's remarks do not represent the position of most of the council heads in Judea and Samaria, nor the position of the majority of settlers in Judea and Samaria and certainly not the position of most of the public in Israel."

''No one has the right to bind and condition the continued construction and expansion of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria on the construction and granting of building permits to the Palestinian Authority, and no one has the right to give their hand or permission to the Palestinian Authority to continue its takeover - to Israel's enemies in Judea and Samaria and throughout Israel. The settlements will continue to develop because this is our land, and we have returned to our land, period," said the head of the Samaria Council.

Last week, Revivi welcomed the decision of Defense Minister Benny Gantz to approve the construction of 1,000 housing units for Palestinian Authority residents in Judea and Samaria.

"We must remember that in the end we are waging a struggle in which we want to reach a decision in Area C and prove that we are the sovereign. The government takes a step and says: We decide where the Palestinians will build and when. And there are those who aren’t thinking and are coming out against it, instead of realizing that it is an act of demonstration of sovereignty," Revivi told Arutz Sheva.

Revivi claimed that the decision provides a decisive response to the Palestinian Arabs. "Today, some of their claims to the nations of the world about illegal construction are that the State of Israel never allows them to build in any area. So here they are allowed to build a bit and I would also like an in-depth discussion to take place on where they are building in order to make it clear that it does not interfere with future Jewish settlement and does not interfere with existing ones, but I would not rule it out immediately."

Turning to his fellow residents of Judea and Samaria who criticize the move, Revivi said, "I'm afraid there is some confusion and inconsistency in the messages. There was a time when they ran a campaign for Ma'ale Adumim first, Gush Etzion first, the Jordan Valley first and then when there was a Trump plan talking about sovereignty and they said it was not good because some areas were left out. We need to know how to accept what we have and see how to achieve more. If we say no to everything, we will end up with nothing."