Israel Ganz, Governor of the Binyamin Region and chairman of the Yesha Council, spoke to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News at the Binyamin Regional Council’s Independence Day event and shared his vision for the expansion of the communities in Judea and Samaria.
He was asked if there were any second thoughts about holding the Independence Day event in the shadow of the war and replied, "Obviously there should be an event - the question was in what manner to hold it. We have families who are hurting, bereaved, and wounded. We also have soldiers on the front lines. On the other hand, we must not surrender to an enemy who wants to demoralize us, therefore the balances had to be found."
On his vision as the new chairman of the Yesha Council, Ganz said, "The Yesha Council needs to return to its glory days. It has a national role. We will do everything so that the citizens of Judea and Samaria get what they deserve, that the State of Israel invests in this place and develops it. Judea and Samaria is the shield of the State of Israel."
"We are going to grow at the strategic level in the coming years. That there will be trade areas, that the infrastructure will be at a different level as the State of Israel deserves. This will bring growth and prosperity and hundreds of thousands of residents to Judea and Samaria as a whole and of course to Binyamin, that is the mission," he added.
Ganz explained that he supports the call for settlement in the Gaza Strip but emphasized that the country has previous commitments to fulfill. "I expect that the Israeli government and its leader will do what they promised and defeat Hamas - no less. With God's help there will also be settlement, the State of Israel will expand, but first of all we must eradicate the enemy and return the boys and all the residents to their homes."
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