Public Security Minister Uzi Landau, who oversees the police department and law enforcement, had very strong words against his colleague Ben-Eliezer for his "selective" attitude towards illegal construction. "The law must be enforced, of course, but only if it is done equally. Can you imagine a policeman walking up and down the street and giving tickets only to Labor Party parking violators? It is unacceptable that the government does not enforce building regulations against the massive illegal Arab construction... [Former Prime Minister] Barak also wanted to take the Jewish outposts down, but he gave in because he saw their importance - and also because he didn’t have primaries coming up… Ben-Eliezer's decision is influenced by his political motivations..."
Minister Landau said that the "illegality" of the outposts is merely in that "some of them have not completed their approval process - but this is how many things have been done in Yesha for many years; if they want to start changing things, then it must be done across the board."
One of the Ofrah residents who arrived at Assaf last night was Arutz-7's Haggai Segal, who noted the tremendous turnout even during a sudden hail-and-rain storm: "Many dozens of cars were parked along the highway, and hundreds of youths were there. One might have thought that these long-time veterans of Yesha would be tired already of this 'ritual' of running around the hilltops and the like - but in fact we see that this was not the case. They were all out there, ready to do what they could to prevent the uprooting of a piece of the Land of Israel."
Yesha leaders attribute great importance to Assaf, as it provides Jewish control of an important junction along the highway and enables convenient and safer transportation for local residents.
Minister Landau said that the "illegality" of the outposts is merely in that "some of them have not completed their approval process - but this is how many things have been done in Yesha for many years; if they want to start changing things, then it must be done across the board."
One of the Ofrah residents who arrived at Assaf last night was Arutz-7's Haggai Segal, who noted the tremendous turnout even during a sudden hail-and-rain storm: "Many dozens of cars were parked along the highway, and hundreds of youths were there. One might have thought that these long-time veterans of Yesha would be tired already of this 'ritual' of running around the hilltops and the like - but in fact we see that this was not the case. They were all out there, ready to do what they could to prevent the uprooting of a piece of the Land of Israel."
Yesha leaders attribute great importance to Assaf, as it provides Jewish control of an important junction along the highway and enables convenient and safer transportation for local residents.