Olmert is being asked to provide explanations for his interview on Friday in Yediot Acharonot, in which he endorsed a unilateral withdrawal from most of Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha) in opposition to the party platform. In addition, the MKs will want to know if his recent decision to "abandon" goods made in Yesha is further proof of his left-ward veer. Olmert decided two weeks ago, in response to European Union demands, to mark the place of manufacture of all Israeli goods, so that the EU could slap tariffs on products made in Yesha.
Two Likud MKs came out in support of Olmert's diplomatic proposals: Avraham Hirschson and Eli Aflalo.
Yesha Council chief Adi Mintz was very critical of the anti-Yesha decision. "When Peres was Foreign Minister," Mintz told Arutz-7 today, "I met with his aide Avi Gil, and with then-Trade Minister Dalia Itzik [of Labor] and Meretz MK Ran Cohen, and they all promised me that they would never give in to the European pressure on this topic. They said that as long as the government allows Jews to live in Yesha, they must also be allowed to work and produce goods there. Suddenly, along comes along the Likudnik Omert with the new discovery that there are Arabs living in Yesha and that there is a demographic threat and that there is economic pressure from Europe! ... This is the beginning of a process in which Yesha will become Judenrein; tomorrow, one of us might get on a plane to Europe and they won't let us in, because they'll say that we live in marked areas and they don't admit Jews from there." Mintz added that Olmert's move was a grave mistake from other standpoints, noting that there are industrial zones in Jerusalem that the EU might also consider "occupied territories."
Two Likud MKs came out in support of Olmert's diplomatic proposals: Avraham Hirschson and Eli Aflalo.
Yesha Council chief Adi Mintz was very critical of the anti-Yesha decision. "When Peres was Foreign Minister," Mintz told Arutz-7 today, "I met with his aide Avi Gil, and with then-Trade Minister Dalia Itzik [of Labor] and Meretz MK Ran Cohen, and they all promised me that they would never give in to the European pressure on this topic. They said that as long as the government allows Jews to live in Yesha, they must also be allowed to work and produce goods there. Suddenly, along comes along the Likudnik Omert with the new discovery that there are Arabs living in Yesha and that there is a demographic threat and that there is economic pressure from Europe! ... This is the beginning of a process in which Yesha will become Judenrein; tomorrow, one of us might get on a plane to Europe and they won't let us in, because they'll say that we live in marked areas and they don't admit Jews from there." Mintz added that Olmert's move was a grave mistake from other standpoints, noting that there are industrial zones in Jerusalem that the EU might also consider "occupied territories."