Likud Knesset members spent the morning visiting communities in Binyamin (between Jerusalem and the Shomron) that have suffered terrorism casualties in the past several months. The towns on the itinerary included Ofrah, Shilo, Ateret, and N\'vei Tzuf. Faction head MK Ze\'ev Boim said that the group\'s goal was to formulate a more up-to-date party policy regarding Judea and Samaria.
Communications Minister Ruby Rivlin said that the Likud is against Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer\'s announcement, which he repeated today, that he plans to remove 15 outposts from alongside Yesha highways: \"I don\'t know which government Fuad [Ben-Eliezer] is in, but in my government, it\'s almost certain that there will be a majority against dismantling these outposts, which were built based on bitter experience of people traveling on the highways of Israel being butchered. This is not an ideological issue; they are there only to maintain security, such that it is inconceivable that an Israeli government would act to remove them.\"
Public Security Minister Uzi Landau said today that Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer was not authorized to make a decision to evacuate the outposts, and that the issue would be discussed in the next Cabinet meeting: \"After the entire country was taught a difficult lesson from the withdrawal/retreat from Lebanon, and then the same from Joseph\'s Tomb - two events that breathed new life into the terrorists around us - I hope that we will not make the same mistake again. Every further retreat by us simply throws fuel onto the fire of terrorism around us...\"
Yesha Council sources say that not only do the outposts not present a security danger, but they actually grant extra security to the travelers on the roads. Most of the outposts are in fact manned or guarded by soldiers.
Communications Minister Ruby Rivlin said that the Likud is against Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer\'s announcement, which he repeated today, that he plans to remove 15 outposts from alongside Yesha highways: \"I don\'t know which government Fuad [Ben-Eliezer] is in, but in my government, it\'s almost certain that there will be a majority against dismantling these outposts, which were built based on bitter experience of people traveling on the highways of Israel being butchered. This is not an ideological issue; they are there only to maintain security, such that it is inconceivable that an Israeli government would act to remove them.\"
Public Security Minister Uzi Landau said today that Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer was not authorized to make a decision to evacuate the outposts, and that the issue would be discussed in the next Cabinet meeting: \"After the entire country was taught a difficult lesson from the withdrawal/retreat from Lebanon, and then the same from Joseph\'s Tomb - two events that breathed new life into the terrorists around us - I hope that we will not make the same mistake again. Every further retreat by us simply throws fuel onto the fire of terrorism around us...\"
Yesha Council sources say that not only do the outposts not present a security danger, but they actually grant extra security to the travelers on the roads. Most of the outposts are in fact manned or guarded by soldiers.