The Jerusalem Post

Homesh, Evyatar must be coalition redlines, right-wing politician­s insist

- • By TOVAH LAZAROFF

The coalition must not allow evacuation of the West Bank Homesh yeshiva or countenanc­e any delay in the authorizat­ion of a seminary on the Evyatar hilltop, right-wing politician­s and settler leaders said over the weekend.

“This faltering government has no majority, and no mandate to evacuate Homesh,” Land of Israel Caucus co-chairs MKs Yoav Kisch (Likud) and Orit Struck (Religious Zionist Party) said over the weekend.

They spoke out in response to a Channel 12 report that Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White) had informed MK Idit Silman (Yamina) of the Evyatar delay and the pending Homesh evacuation when the two met on Wednesday.

The evacuation of Homesh is a withdrawal from territory that is part of the Land of Israel and a reward for terrorism.

“We call on each coalition member that is part of the caucus to announce that a

Homesh evacuation is a redline for them,” Kisch and Struck said.

They spoke out amid a government crisis, in which Silman’s resignatio­n from the coalition has brought its membership down from 61 to 60, removing its majority in a 120-member parliament.

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, in whose region both Evyatar and Homesh are located, warned that he would take action if Gantz made good on his statements to Silman.

“We will embark on a public struggle that will shock the nation. Settlement in Samaria

will not be dragged down by a cynical internal political struggle between different parts of this government,” Dagan said.

On Tuesday, he and Silman were among thousands who marched to the Homesh hilltop to demand that Gantz authorize the yeshiva there.

 ?? (Sraya Diamant/Flash90) ?? PROTESTING SETTLERS demand the right to return to the Evyatar outpost, near Nablus, in February.
(Sraya Diamant/Flash90) PROTESTING SETTLERS demand the right to return to the Evyatar outpost, near Nablus, in February.

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