The Yesha (Judea and Samaria) council held a demonstration on Sunday morning opposite the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem as the cabinet met to discuss policy. Activists called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his ministers to begin issuing building permits in September, when the 10-month construction freeze in Judea and Samaria is set to end.
While Netanyahu has not said anything about extending the freeze, activists have decided to take a proactive approach in light of foreign pressure to keep the freeze going indefinitely.
Demonstrators set up dozens of mock street signs with the names of potential new neighborhoods, all named after members of the cabinet. Among the suggested names for new projects were Naot Yaalon, Ramot Erdan, Nofei Livnat, and Maalot Yishai, in honor of ministers Moshe Yaalon, Gilad Erdan, Limor Livnat and Eli Yishai respectively.
Council members clarified that they are seeking not only an official end to the construction freeze, but also the distribution of building permits, without which they say an official end to the freeze will be meaningless.
Sunday's demonstration was part of a campaign titled, “We're building on your promises,” in which the Yesha Council has sought to remind ministers of their commitment to end the freeze as scheduled. The council hopes to counter the pressure being brought to bear on Netanyahu by the Palestinian Authority and by foreign leaders who want Netanyahu to give in to PA demands.
Other Judea and Samaria-based organizations are taking part in the fight for the end of the freeze as well. On Friday, members of the Samaria Residents Council, the Binyamin Residents Council, local politicians, and members of the Komemiyut movement met to discuss strategy.
“When the freeze began people were shocked, but said, 'it's only 10 months,'” participants in the meeting said. “Now there's a feeling that 'enough is enough,' people have suffered for 10 months and they are not willing to sit quietly for even one additional day.”
This week activists plan to hold a major conference in the Samaria city of Ariel, where they will discuss a new campaign that is to begin this week. The focus, they say, will be on pressuring the ruling Likud party from within.