Liberman advances gov’t resolution to recognize Havat Gilad
The resolution would empower the defense minister to instruct the relevant authorities to undertake the necessary steps to formally establish the settlement legally and with regard to infrastructure.
By JEREMY SHARONUpdated: JANUARY 15, 2018 02:07Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman tours southern communities who have been experiencing rocket fire from the Gaza Strip(photo credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY/ARIEL HERMONI)
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman submitted a draft government resolution on Sunday to the Cabinet Secretary’s Office to recognize the Havat Gilad outpost as a legal settlement, following the murder of Rabbi Raziel Shevach last week.Shevach was a Havat Gilad resident and a mohel (trained to perform male circumcision according to Jewish law). He was killed by suspected Palestinian gunmen in a drive-by shooting just outside the outpost on Tuesday night as he returned home after providing follow-up care to two baby boys he circumcised on Monday.None of the buildings and infrastructure in Havat Gilad were built with legal permits, and the settlement is classed as an unauthorized outpost. Security services have demolished structures at the site several times, but residents and activists have rebuilt them every time.Liberman’s draft resolution states that a new settlement should be established on land in the region under Israeli ownership and will “operate within the framework of the Samaria Regional Council, will receive an independent settlement insignia, and will take in residents who are today living on private land.”The resolution would empower the defense minister to instruct the relevant authorities to undertake the necessary steps to formally establish the settlement both legally and with regard to infrastructure.“The settlements project was, and always has been, an important component in the general security of the Zionist movement, since the days of the stockade and tower [settlements],” said Liberman following the submission of the resolution.“Today too, Jewish settlement has made a great contribution to the preservation of the borders of the land and the borders of the homeland.”A crowdfunding initiative on causematch.com has been established by friends of the Shevach family to help provide for Shevach’s widow and six orphaned children.In just a few days, it has raised over half a million shekels for the Shevach family.“We have the merit to support the family financially and to ease the feeling of helplessness. With God’s help, the Jewish people will not know any more troubles.”
