Settler leader: Likud must rid itself of Netanyahu
Yesha Council head David Elhayani spoke on the day that the Knesset was scheduled to ratify the historic peace deal between Israel and the UAE.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFPRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu stands next to his wife, Sara, after speaking to supporters at his Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv on March 3.(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
The Likud Party must rid itself of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yesha Council head David Elhayani told the Knesset Channel on Thursday.“The time has come to replace Netanyahu,” he said.Elhayani spoke on the day that the Knesset was scheduled to ratify the historic peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.He also spoke as the Higher Planning Council for Judea and Samaria advanced plans for close to 5,000 homes.At issue for Elhayani was the extent to which the UAE deal called for the suspension of West Bank annexation and gave a nod of approval to the Trump peace plan, which allows for the creation of a Palestinian state.He said he planned to remain in the Likud Party, but that the time had come for the party to put forward a strong right-wing leader and not someone like Netanyahu who acted more as if he is a US governor.Elhayani added an accusation he has made before about US President Donald Trump, saying that he is not “a friend” adding, “I will not miss him.”A person who sets out the borders of a Palestinian state and thus endanger the State of Israel, cannot be considered “a friend.”Efrat Council heads who support both Netanyahu, Trump, the UAE deal and Trump’s vision of peace to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict attacked Elhayani.“Trump is a true friend of the Israeli settlements,” Revivi said, noting that the approval of thousands of plans for settler homes was a testament to that.
“No other president gave such legitimacy to the settling of Judea and Samaria. It is not surprising that [US] Ambassador [to Israel] David Friedman became part of this family and visited the settlements dozens of times,” Revivi said.He charged that Elhayani was to blame for the suspension of annexation plans in favor of the UAE deal.Revivi is among those who believe that Israeli law would eventually be applied to settlements.In the interim, he said, it was important that Israel could move forward on settlement development."The annexation might seem far nowadays, but Trump's peace plan – peace to prosperity – allows us to build and expand,” he said.
