For the second time in a week, members of the Knesset's Finance Committee held up funds that are earmarked for the Defense Ministry in order to put pressure on Defense Minister Ehud Barak to honor his obligations to yeshivas and to the residents of Judea and Samaria.
In Monday's committee session, MKs Uri Ariel (National Union) and Finance Committee Chairman MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) prevented the transfer of NIS 0.5 billion to the Defense Ministry. They intend to release the money if and when Barak establishes a Petitions Committee to serve residents of Judea and Samaria who were financially hurt by the recently announced freeze on construction in those areas.
"It is unacceptable that Civil Administration inspectors raided all of the communities of Judea and Samaria and put up work stoppage orders – some of them wrongly, even according to the people who initiated the orders – yet there is no place the victims can turn to,” MK Ariel said.
He added: "This is part of the campaign of abuse that the Prime Minister and Defense Minister have launched against the residents of Judea and Samaria – a campaign that began with the ill-advised decision to issue the freeze order, and continues with the harassment of innocent residents.”
Last week, MKs Gafni, Ariel, Ze'ev Elkin (Kadima) and Uri Orbach (Jewish Home) held up NIS 3 billion that were about to be transferred to the Defense Ministry because the ministry had not released funds meant for the Hesder yeshivas and for bulletproofing vehicles. They succeeded in causing the ministry to release those funds, and released the NIS 3 billion.