Uri Ariel, the mayor of Beit El, is scheduled to become a Knesset Member, in place of the assassinated Rehavam Ze\'evi. Ariel appears on the joint list of Knesset candidates submitted for the 1999 election by the National Union party, which comprised the Moledet, Tekumah, and Herut factions. The party received four seats - Benny Begin, Ze\'evi, Chanan Porat, and Michael Kleiner. Begin and Porat soon resigned, making way for Benny Elon and Tzvi Hendel. Uri Ariel, 7th on the list, is therefore next to enter the Knesset following the terrorist murder of Ze\'evi.
Ariel\'s four-year-term as the first mayor of Beit El comes to an end a few weeks from now, as the town will soon hold its first municipal elections since becoming a local council. Ariel, a member of the Tekumah party, is a long-time member of the Gush Emunim organization for settlement in Judea and Samaria. He was appointed mayor of Beit El by then-Interior Minister Eli Suissa, and was very popular among the townspeople.
Ariel\'s four-year-term as the first mayor of Beit El comes to an end a few weeks from now, as the town will soon hold its first municipal elections since becoming a local council. Ariel, a member of the Tekumah party, is a long-time member of the Gush Emunim organization for settlement in Judea and Samaria. He was appointed mayor of Beit El by then-Interior Minister Eli Suissa, and was very popular among the townspeople.