Housing Minister Effie Eitam told Arutz-7 today that the construction industry is going through a tough time, "largely caused by the removal of many government subsidies for those purchasing new homes." He said, however, that he foresees a strong recovery fairly soon: "We will be submitting a plan to the government next week that will help prop it up - if the Finance Minister does not give in to the many pressures - difficult ones, to be sure - that threaten the new emergency economic plan." Asked if he was referring to the claims of the single-mothers, Eitam acknowledged that he was, and said that the country's economic goal has to be to encourage work. He said that whatever welfare aid is needed must be not be doled out in the form of grants, but rather as work subsidies and the like.
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal then asked,
"On the diplomatic front, two weeks have passed since the adoption of the Road Map and the hudna. There were 14 qualifications that you and your [right-wing] colleagues made sure to attach to Israel's consent to the Road Map. Yet yesterday, a senior IDF officer said that though there has been a drop in attacks, the terrorists are [using the hudna to] prepare for war: they are testing new advanced Kassam rockets, they are manufacturing 1,000 new Kassams, and there is a revolving-door policy in the PA. Muhammad Dahlan has released from prison a cell of terrorists who just a few days ago fired mortar shells at Israeli targets in Gaza. What is your party, the NRP, planning to do to make sure that the 14 points are actually implemented?"
Minister Eitam answered,
"I think that the NRP, together with the National Union, represent the core group that is overseeing and countering the slippery slope of this dangerous Road Map. We forced the Cabinet to accept these 14 points, which are an integral part of Israel's acceptance of the Road Map. These 14 points - and especially the first one which states that all diplomatic progress be made contingent upon the PA fighting and dismantling terrorist groups - are very important junctions in the Map, and we intend to ensure their implementation. At the same time, we know that this is a very dangerous situation, a slippery slope, that if we are not careful to watch over and activate the brakes, could lead to a Palestinian terrorist state with its capital in eastern Jerusalem, and even an existential danger for Israel."
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal then asked,
"On the diplomatic front, two weeks have passed since the adoption of the Road Map and the hudna. There were 14 qualifications that you and your [right-wing] colleagues made sure to attach to Israel's consent to the Road Map. Yet yesterday, a senior IDF officer said that though there has been a drop in attacks, the terrorists are [using the hudna to] prepare for war: they are testing new advanced Kassam rockets, they are manufacturing 1,000 new Kassams, and there is a revolving-door policy in the PA. Muhammad Dahlan has released from prison a cell of terrorists who just a few days ago fired mortar shells at Israeli targets in Gaza. What is your party, the NRP, planning to do to make sure that the 14 points are actually implemented?"
Minister Eitam answered,
"I think that the NRP, together with the National Union, represent the core group that is overseeing and countering the slippery slope of this dangerous Road Map. We forced the Cabinet to accept these 14 points, which are an integral part of Israel's acceptance of the Road Map. These 14 points - and especially the first one which states that all diplomatic progress be made contingent upon the PA fighting and dismantling terrorist groups - are very important junctions in the Map, and we intend to ensure their implementation. At the same time, we know that this is a very dangerous situation, a slippery slope, that if we are not careful to watch over and activate the brakes, could lead to a Palestinian terrorist state with its capital in eastern Jerusalem, and even an existential danger for Israel."
