Dozens of senior ministers and Knesset members from Likud and other right-of-center parties overnight signed a declaration to support the “Nahal” movement, which promotes a settlement plan from the time of former prime minister Yitzhak Shamir, according to a report published Tuesday by Israeli press. The movement's goal: Two million settlers living in the West Bank.The senior officials who signed the declaration, according to the Israeli report, included Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, ministers Israel Katz, Yariv Levin, Ze'ev Elkin, Gilad Erdan, Ayelet Shaked, Naftali Bennett, Miri Regev and Tzachi Hanegbi.
The plan reflects a significant shift in policy from that of the current government, including unbridled building within the current settlement blocs and establishing new settlements throughout Judea and Samaria.
In the past two weeks, the Nahal movement has held protests in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home, demanding that the government establish basic guidelines to allow Jewish building in all of Judea and Samaria, and annul any declarations of a two-state solution.
The commitment was signed on the eve of the Likud primaries, which are taking place Tuesday across the country.