By HERB KEINON AND KHALED ABU TOAMEH, 17/09/2010
Despite considerable pressure from both the US and Egypt to continue the settlement construction moratorium for another three months, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s senior ministers, a forum known as the septet, decided this week not to extend the freeze.
Since a cabinet decision was needed to put the freeze into effect last November, another cabinet decision would be needed to extend it, and the septet decided, before Netanyahu’s meeting in Jerusalem with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday, not to ask for an extension.
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Defense Minister Ehud Barak reportedly was in favor of an American compromise to extend the moratorium for three months in order to come to an agreement with the Palestinian Authority on final borders, so that it would then be clear where Israel would, and would not, be able to build.
Clinton, however, reiterated in a Channel 10 interview that the US still wanted to see the moratorium extended, although she said she understood Netanyahu’s argument that the PA did not take advantage of the moratorium in place for the last 9-1/2 months to enter into talks.
MKs Seek Forgiveness for Freeze
Tishrei 9, 5771, 17 September 10 10:58, by Maayana Miskin
(Israelnationalnews.com) Members of Knesset from the Jewish Home and Yisrael Beiteinu “confessed their sins” Thursday, saying the Judea and Samaria construction freeze was a bad decision and they were sorry it had begun. Jews traditionally confess their sins prior to Yom Kippur and apologize to those they have wronged.
Minister of Science Daniel Hershkowitz, head of the Jewish Home party, said, “Everyone has their personal introspection to do, but as a minister in the government, on a national level, the greatest mistake was the construction freeze, the decision made ten months ago. We came to the land to build and be built, and also, putting politics aside, it is absurd to freeze construction only for Jews.”
If it weren't for the decision to freeze Judea and Samaria construction for Jews, the government would not currently be under pressure to continue the freeze, Hershkowitz said. “The mistake was that we set the standard that we can freeze construction, that is the sin and the great mistake, and I hope that regarding what we did, the damage can be rectified,” he said.
Israel can repent for the freeze by refusing to extend it despite pressure from the United States, and renewing construction on September 26, he concluded.
MK David Rotem of Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) made a similar apology. “We sinned in that we did not sufficiently strengthen our settlement in the land of Israel, and as a result, we did not sufficiently resist the construction freeze. For this we must ask forgiveness,” he said.
Rotem listed other national sins as well. “We sinned in that we did not allow the soldiers of the IDF to protect the people of Israel with all their might. We sinned in that Gilad Shalit is still not home, because we should have carried out a strong, serious operation to bring him home,” he said.
He added an apology to non-Jews who have been mistreated while attempting to convert to Judaism. “I want to request forgiveness from all those who wish to convert, and we create unnecessary obstacles,” he said.
“I want to request forgiveness from all of those I mentioned, and I hope the next year will be a better year,” Rotem continued. He concluded, “We must make every effort to fix things, we may not always succeed, but we must make the maximum effort.”
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