Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin visited small Israeli towns in Samaria (Shomron) on Tuesday where he met with residents of Rachelim and Havat Gilad (Gilad’s Farm).
Locals told him that they are plagued by a lack of access to basic infrastructure, including water and electricity, despite the fact that their communities are legal.
“Everywhere that Jews are living legally, on land purchased for the full price, the government must assist in organization and in creating the appropriate infrastructure,” Rivlin declared.
However, he said, the current government is now a transitional government, the makeup of which may change following the upcoming elections. “The issue must be placed at the doorstep of the next government,” he said.
Rivlin also linked the issues residents brought up to the United States elections. If current U.S. President Barack Obama is reelected, he said, that might make fixing such problems more difficult.
“Obama’s diplomatic approach is well known from experience,” he said. “If the current [American] administration is elected a second time, then alongside the positive cooperation, the next [Israeli] government will have difficulties, both in terms of security and in terms of diplomacy, regarding everything involved in strengthening settlements.”