At the protest tent
At the protest tentIdo Zeevi

Following the setting up of a protest tent outside the home of Defense Minister Benny Gantz, several of the heads of the settlement enterprise have sharpened their discourse as they focus on the several traffic problems in Judea and Samaria.

Over the course of Thursday morning, settlement activists will be hanging placards across Judea and Samaria with the legend, "Defense Minister Benny Gantz is blocking the settlements."

The initiative was launched by Binyamin Region head Yisrael Gantz, who noted that demands for changes to be made to ease road conditions have already been presented to the Defense Minister, who has opted to take no action. "Just as you knew how to make compromises for Abu Mazen [the PA chairman, Mahmoud Abbas] and authorize the entry of tens of thousands of Palestinian laborers into Israel, you know how to pay attention to tens of thousands of Israeli citizens who are stuck at barriers because of decisions you are delaying on making. We won't give up until we get answers. I'm not expecting magic, but there are a number of practical steps that will ease conditions and Benny Gantz knows full well what they are."

Gush Etzion regional head Shlomo Ne'eman added, "The barriers in Judea and Samaria have become an acute problem, both security-wise and in general. The hands of the regional heads are tied as we can do nothing to deal with these problems, because the issue of the barriers is dependent on the decisions of the Defense Minister. We have plans and solutions, but the system is unwilling to listen. I call on the Defense Minister: Roll up your sleeves and take down the crossings that are stifling the settlements. It doesn't make sense that the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of people have turned into a nightmare, when a solution is readily available. Give the settlements a green light and make our lives easier."

Mount Hebron regional council head Yochai Dimri stressed that, "We have to make progress here and turn the barriers into free-flowing arteries. Everyone knows that turning the barriers into open channels will promote our security as well as economic development, benefiting the local residents and those who live in the settlements. Unfortunately, to date the issue has not been dealt with in an organized fashion, but only with ad hoc solutions. We must invest at least two billion shekels to enable us to live normal lives here."

Hebron-Kiryat Arba Mayor Eliyahu Liebman seconded Dimri's words, saying, "We're no different from any other Israeli citizen, but our residents suffer from terrible traffic jams that even promotion of public transportation can't solve. There's only one man in the country who can solve this right now and his name is Benny Gantz. We will not rest until a solution is found and implemented."