Rebels gather before cabinet session on 2nd construction moratorium; Danon sends letter to Ovadia Yosef saying "we'll do everything we can."
By JPOST.COM STAFFYuli Edelstein 311(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem / The Jerusalem Post)
Pressure was mounting over the second settlement construction freeze on Monday, as Likud rebels met in the office of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein.During the meeting, MK Danny Danon announced that he had sent a letter to Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. "We will do everything we can to thwart the freeze. The issue is at the hands of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef to who I have written today," he told the meeting.In addition to Edelstein and Danon's attendance at the "emergency meeting," coalition chairman Ze'ev Elkin, MKs Miri Regev, Haim Katz, Yariv Levin and Tzipi Hotovely also attended. "We are opposed to the freeze and we will do everything we can to stop it. It is not a suitable decision," said Levin. "We must say no to an additional freeze in Judea and Samaria."Naftali Bennett, director-general of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and Ze'ev Haver, head of the Amana settlement movement, also attended the meeting."We have 48 hours to take action. Every proposal offered by Israel is like a one-way street with no exit points," said Edelstein."The key is in the hands of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef," said Danon. "If Shas ministers will cooperate in the cabinet, the decision will pass," he said. "At the same time, we are taking action here in order to prevent the Israeli government from accept a decision like this [a freeze] - which is not in line with Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria," Danon added.
