Daniella Weiss is head of the Nahala organization and one of the heads of the Gush Emunim movement. In an interview with Israel National News - Arutz Sheva, she discussed the recently passed Electricity Law, which she sees as yet another step the current government is taking toward the abyss.
"This was a shocking, terrible moment in the history of Zionism," Weiss said. "I actually think that it was the moment at which the government sealed its own fate - it's going to fall."
Weiss had hoped that at the very least, the Electricity Law would also be applied to the "Young Settlements" in Judea and Samaria, enabling not just Negev Bedouins but also Jews in new towns to connect their homes to the power grid. But her hopes were dashed. "At various points I thought that maybe, just maybe there could be a measure of equality, even in this corrupt government that relies on Arabs and the extreme left. But nothing came of my hopes. This government has to be stopped and sent packing."
Asked whether Naftali Bennett is not a better prime minister than Netanyahu was, Weiss replied, "I think that Bennett started out trying not to be worse than Netanyahu, but what he didn't comprehend was that trying to stay in the same place and doing what Netanyahu did leads to falling back.
"All the same," she added, "anyone who makes the effort to remember the past can call to mind Amona, the Ulpana neighborhood, and Migron. The Nahala organization endured a lot at the hands of Netanyahu, and his coming out in support of 'two states for two peoples' was probably worst of all. To a large degree, Netanyahu prepared the ground for what Bennett is now doing, including the negotiations he held with Mansour Abbas. No one can pretend that Netanyahu wasn't planning to set up a government together with Arabs. It was only Bezalel Smotrich who prevented that from happening. So Bennett has become a kind-of fake Netanyahu - but he thinks that doing 'copy-paste' is going to work."
In that case, what is her preferred scenario for the future? "Whenever you want to change the government, you have to first consider what you will be exchanging it for. We haven't heard any clear statements from the right wing about changes in policy, and we already know all too well what kind of policies Netanyahu pursues. People talk about getting rid of Bennett and returning Netanyahu to power, but if we do that, without Netanyahu changing his relationship to the Land of Israel, things are only going to get worse."
According to Weiss, the current government's attitude to the settlement enterprise is reflected in the way it relates to Evyatar and to Homesh. "Unfortunately, the government cannot be trusted," she said, "from Naftali Bennett through Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, who was the person who handled the negotiations on Evyatar. There was a survey and we talked about a construction plan - and that was it. So in Evyatar, we saw clearly that the government cannot be trusted. But we won't remain silent. We will call on the general public to apply pressure on the government to fulfill its promises."
In conclusion, Weiss stressed her history as a Netanyahu supporter and described how she worked to have him reelected in the past. "But there's a kind of naivety about his supporters; they think that all they need is to have him back in power and everything will be okay. Certainly there were things that he did well, and he should continue to do them, if he returns to power. But when it comes to the Land of Israel, Netanyahu could not be trusted in the past, and he has to change."