Yesh Atid chairperson Yair Lapid may no longer be able to cut off funds to thousands of Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria at his own whim as Finance Minister, but that isn't stopping him from calling on Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to do so.
Lapid visited the town of Be'eri located adjacent to Gaza on Sunday, where he was hosted by Eshkol Regional Council head Chaim Yelin who lives at the kibbutz and just last week joined Lapid's Yesh Atid party.
Lapid began by speaking about the rocket attack from Gaza last Friday, calling it "a direct result of the fact that (Operation) Protective Edge didn't end decisively. There was no decisive military (victory), and the IDF needs to respond with full force and full strength over the renewal of fire without hesitating."
"There also was no political decisive (action). This government was afraid of going for a decisive political (action). It still isn't too late," said Lapid.
Outlining his plan, Lapid said "the money for rehabilitating Gaza still hasn't been transferred, and it isn't too late to demand the demilitarization of Gaza in return for the rehabilitation of Gaza and to go for a brave political process that will bring quiet to residents of the south."
Doing so according to Lapid would "let it be known that Protective Edge wasn't just another round, but rather the last time they fire on their homes, on their shelters and children."
'Ugly politics'
Lapid continued, saying "yesterday night I sent a letter to the attorney general in which I demanded he stop the transfer of hundreds of millions of shekels to isolated settlements."
"I'm talking about money for (security) bypass roads to Tapuach, for a public building in Yitzhar," Lapid continued "this money is an elections bribe for the settlers in isolated settlements who took over the Likud Central Committee and threaten Likud senior figures through primaries. We need to stop this. This isn't fair, it isn't legal."
Lapid continued "this is money that's needed here in the Gaza Belt, for the large Gaza Belt rehabilitation plan, and not for places who in the end won't be part of the state of Israel in any peace agreement," in an open attempt to predetermine the fate of the Jewish presence in Israel's Biblical heartland.
Likud Central Committee Chairperson MK Danny Danon responded to Lapid's statements on Sunday, saying "Lapid is trying to make political gains on the backs of the residents of Judea and Samaria, in his failed attempts to get voters from (far-left) Meretz."
"Lapid is trying now to make a selection between citizens of Israel because of the elections campaign he is leading," charged Danon. "Developing the settlements in Judea and Samaria is an uppermost obligation for every government in which the Likud movement stands at its head."
Despite Danon's comments, it is worth noting that in the last government led by Binyamin Netanyahu, construction for Jews in the region has been frozen for many long months in a covert freeze that was not implemented on the official behest of any foreign entity.
After Lapid earlier this month made an identical charge of "election bribery," Coalition Coordinator in the Finance Committee MK Gila Gamliel (Likud) fired back: "the former finance minister decided to hold his party's elections campaign at the expense of Judea and Samaria residents, just like he did to the hareidi public in the previous elections campaign."
Gamliel reminded that Jewish citizens of Judea and Samaria are just as much citizens of the state deserving of their rights and equal funding allocations as all the rest.
Lapid also came under fire from MK Yariv Levin (Likud), who said "the old and ugly politics of Lapid is raising its head again. He apparently forgot that in the short time that he served as finance minister he chose to transfer many millions to Arab regional councils ruled by the Islamic Movement in Israel."
Lapid's freeze on budget transfers to Judea and Samaria in October was lifted earlier this month, reportedly under the impetus of outgoing Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud).
For Lapid, the recent freeze that was lifted is far from his first. In February the Yesh Atid party head took similar measures, and did the same two months later - when roughly 563 million shekels ($162,173,276) earmarked for the Housing Ministry were cut until further notice.