Gantz on a tour
Gantz on a tourElad Malka

Channel 12 reporter Yaron Avraham published new details from Defense Minister Benny Gantz's meeting with renegade Yamina MK Idit Silman on Wednesday.

Silman recently withdrew from the coalition government and has since engaged in a campaign to convince other MKs to follow her lead.

According to the report, Gantz told Silman that the approval of construction for the community of Evyatar would be long in coming. Right-wing activists claim this is contrary to the agreement with local residents, who say they were promised to be incorporated into the Israel-ruled areas of Judea and Samaria.

Gantz proceeded to tell Silman that he was only upholding the decision of former Attorney General Mandelblit, that the lands would be declared state property but that it would take 45 days for appeals to be heard, and that new residents would be allowed to arrive only by the end of that time period.

The Defense Minister also said the community of Homesh would soon face another eviction. According to Gantz, all the coalition partners, including Bennett's Yamina and Sa'ar's New Hope party, are familiar with his position that the question is not "if" but rather "when" it would be carried out.

Gantz tried to sweeten the deal by promising Silman that the Supreme Planning Council would probably convene in the first week of May and approve new construction for both Israelis and PA Arabs in Judea and Samaria.

The Religious Zionism party sharply criticized Gantz's comments, saying that neither of the two communities were slated for eviction. "Gantz's announcement on Homesh signifies a reward for terror attacks and the murder of [Homesh native] Yehuda Dimentman in stark contrast to promises made by Yamina MKs Shaked and Nir Orbach," party officials were quoted as saying. Smotrich's associates called Gantz's promises a "new record in appeasement."

"This horrendous government succumbs to terrorism on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Evyatar, Gaza, [and all other places where terror has risen its head]..," added a statement by the Smotrich's associates. "Unlike of the Islamic Movement (Ra'am Party), which knows how to draw limits and overcome its [coalition] partners, the people that once aligned themselves with the Right don't have a breaking point or a way of controlling Gantz and the Left," they concluded.

MK Silman met Gantz at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

Silman and Gantz are known to have cooperated in the past on issues of ranging from health, to defense and security.