The National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu party is again in the news. The Moledet faction, founded 13 years ago by the assassinated Minister Rehavam Ze\'evi, decided last night to go along with the other two factions - Yisrael Beiteinu and Tekumah - and not leave the government coalition at this time. It was decided that MK Benny Elon would take Ze\'evi\'s place as Tourism Minister; he will be sworn in tomorrow.
In addition, Beit El Mayor Uri Ariel will become a Knesset Member in place of the assassinated Minister Ze\'evi. \"If I hadn\'t received the blessing of his family, I wouldn\'t have done it,\" Ariel, a founding member of the Tekumah faction, told Arutz-7 today. Asked if he identifies with Gandhi\'s call for a transfer of the Arab population out of Judea and Samaria, Ariel said, \"Gandhi always spoke of a willful transfer on the part of the Arabs, and of course I identify with the goal of having more Jews here and less Arabs. I don\'t think that it is particularly realistic for today, but on the other hand things change here so quickly that I would not recommend removing this option from our agenda. We should also remember that the founding fathers of today\'s Labor party also talked of this as something worthy.\"
\"What\'s your opinion on the party\'s decision to rescind its pre-assassination resignation from the government?\" After a short hesitation, Ariel responded, \"I am not so happy with the decision to return to the government. There are many problems, such as bypass roads not being paved; defense budget monies not being allocated to the Yesha towns; the Temple Mount has not been ours for the last 13 months; Prime Minister Sharon\'s reliance on Jibril Rajoub despite his own pledge that we can rely only on ourselves... but if this is the decision, then we\'ll unite around it. We\'ll have to continue judging the government by its actions, and we\'ll see.\"
Asked on what he would concentrate as a Knesset Member, Ariel said, \"My goals will be to deal with settlement all over Israel, in the Negev and Galilee as well as Judea and Samaria. I will also concentrate on Aliyah [immigration to Israel] and absorption, which appears to me to be the most important thing for the People of Israel at present... Also education as well, if I can contribute.\"
In addition, Beit El Mayor Uri Ariel will become a Knesset Member in place of the assassinated Minister Ze\'evi. \"If I hadn\'t received the blessing of his family, I wouldn\'t have done it,\" Ariel, a founding member of the Tekumah faction, told Arutz-7 today. Asked if he identifies with Gandhi\'s call for a transfer of the Arab population out of Judea and Samaria, Ariel said, \"Gandhi always spoke of a willful transfer on the part of the Arabs, and of course I identify with the goal of having more Jews here and less Arabs. I don\'t think that it is particularly realistic for today, but on the other hand things change here so quickly that I would not recommend removing this option from our agenda. We should also remember that the founding fathers of today\'s Labor party also talked of this as something worthy.\"
\"What\'s your opinion on the party\'s decision to rescind its pre-assassination resignation from the government?\" After a short hesitation, Ariel responded, \"I am not so happy with the decision to return to the government. There are many problems, such as bypass roads not being paved; defense budget monies not being allocated to the Yesha towns; the Temple Mount has not been ours for the last 13 months; Prime Minister Sharon\'s reliance on Jibril Rajoub despite his own pledge that we can rely only on ourselves... but if this is the decision, then we\'ll unite around it. We\'ll have to continue judging the government by its actions, and we\'ll see.\"
Asked on what he would concentrate as a Knesset Member, Ariel said, \"My goals will be to deal with settlement all over Israel, in the Negev and Galilee as well as Judea and Samaria. I will also concentrate on Aliyah [immigration to Israel] and absorption, which appears to me to be the most important thing for the People of Israel at present... Also education as well, if I can contribute.\"