A number of settler leaders are actively fighting on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite the freeze in the advancement of housing plans in West Bank settlements and other projects.
Among those who have taken the lead are regional council heads Yochai Damri from the South Hebron Hills, Israel Ganz from Binyamin and Shlomo Ne’eman of Gush Etzion. Last year, when it seemed that former US president Donald Trump’s peace plan might move forward, they campaigned against Netanyahu.
Now that it appears he will be replaced by a rotating coalition headed first by Naftali Bennett of Yamina and then Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid, these same settler leaders have risen to Netanyahu’s defense.
They have done so, even though Netanyahu had not advanced plans for new settler homes since US President Joe Biden took office in January. The last meeting of the Higher Planning Committee for Judea and Samaria took place just before his inauguration.
A date for its next meeting has not been set, nor is one expected in the near future, settlers have said they were told by Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
Those settler leaders advocating for a Netanyahu-led government fear the situation will be worse under a Bennett-Lapid one. There already are reports that Labor Party head Merav Michaeli would cut NIS1.5 billion from road work for the settlers should she become transportation minister.
Already last Thursday, Ganz symbolically placed his office in front of the Tel Aviv home of Yamina MK Ayelet Shaked.
Damri symbolically set up his own office on Tuesday outside the home of Yamina MK Nir Orbach in Petah Tikva to protest his continued support of Yamina’s decision to join the anti-Netanyahu coalition rather than help Netanyahu form a right-wing government.
“I hope that Nir will do the right thing and that he won’t support a government that includes those [Ra’am MKs] who support terrorism,” Damri said.
A strong nationalistic right-wing government is needed to protect Zionist and Jewish values as well as the settlement movement, he said, adding: “Nir, this is all in your hands.”
Gantz was responsible for the building freeze and for Netanyahu’s failure to advance the authorization of West Bank outposts, Damri told The Jerusalem Post. Netanyahu had been a strong supporter of the settlements during his 12 years in power and would continue to do so if he were to remain in office, he said in an interview.
As long as there is a left-wing minority in a Bennett- and Lapid-led government, of course, as a member of the Israeli Right, “I would prefer a right-wing government,” he added.
Damri said he was particularly concerned that a Bennett-Lapid government would cave in to the US, adding that Gantz, who will be part of that government, already had a history of doing so.
Netanyahu, in contrast, had stood strong against the US regarding Iran, Damri said, adding that the prime minister had addressed the US Congress in 2015 to warn against the Iran nuclear deal, even though then-president Barack Obama was one of its chief sponsors. Lapid at the time warned against the trip, he said.
Ne’eman also has blamed Gantz for the freeze on the advancement of settler housing plans and has warned that he is already operating as if he is part of the Bennett-Lapid government. Gantz has already worked out an agreement with the Biden administration for such a freeze, he has said.
“Over the past several weeks, the authorities in Judea and Samaria, along with the Yesha Council, made a humble appeal to Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Gantz to hold a ‘small’ committee meeting, not for major planning but to deal with small changes to existing master plans,” Ne’eman said last week. “However, our request was completely rejected by Benny Gantz.”
“The same Benny Gantz, who frequently accuses Netanyahu of deceitful politics, is pursuing an independent policy without the prime minister’s knowledge,” he said. “It turns out that Gantz agreed to a construction freeze with the Biden administration, even though the new government hasn’t even been formed.”
Bennett has denied that he would support a freeze, but he has not provided details with regard to a meeting of the Higher Planning Council.
Yesha Council chairman David Elhayani, who also heads the Jordan Valley Regional Council, broke with Netanyahu over a year ago. During the election campaign in January, he left the Likud Party and joined Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope Party, which is also part of the anti-Netanyahu coalition.
Elhayani has not wavered from that support, nor does he believe such a government would freeze settlement plans.
Some settler leaders were loath to weigh in publicly on the leadership battle between Netanyahu and the Bennett-Lapid coalition. Both Bennett and Sa’ar have a strong record as right-wing leaders, but they would be part of a coalition with Ra’am (United Arab List), an Islamist party, as well as with the left-wing Meretz and Labor parties. Settlers are concerned that these parties will set the agenda when it comes to the West Bank.
Efrat Council head Oded Revivi has not joined the political battle between Netanyahu and the Bennett-Lapid coalition, although he is known as a strong Netanyahu supporter.
In a conversation with the Post, however, he said he believed issues relating to Judea and Samaria and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be at a standstill under a Bennett-Lapid government.
“A major challenge for this government is that it is composed of many small parties,” Revivi said. “Each one will have veto power over any decision that is going to be made... In many facets, it will be a standstill government, and that is particularly true with respect to the settlements.”
“It’s hard to see how parties such as Meretz and Labor would agree” to building initiatives in Judea and Samaria, he said. But at the same time, the inclusion of Bennett and Sa’ar in the government would likely prevent any settlement demotions, he added.
Regarding the potential success of a Bennett-Lapid government, Revivi said he looked at it through a much wider lens than Judea and Samaria.
One has to ask, “Is it going to be a stable government? Is it going to be able to make decisions?” Revivi said.
That the Bennett-Lapid coalition is composed of many small parties creates a challenge, and it could be “very difficult” for the government to function, he said.
“I hope for the best,” Revivi said. “I hope for all of us that if they do get to form the government, that they will do constructive and positive things.”