Ministers of Netanyahu's government participate in illegal takeover of evacuated settlement

Wednesday May 13, 2009 08:51 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Fundamental extremist ministers of the Netanyahu coalition government participated and supported on Tuesday at night in the takeover of a northern West Bank settlement evacuated four years ago under the disengagement plan.

The ministers expressed support to more than 1500 extremist radical settlers who illegally reoccupied the Homesh settlement which was evacuated under the disengagement plan.

The settlers were granted a permit to hold the protest, while former inhabitants of the evacuated settlers read letters written by members of the Israeli cabinet.

 Minister of the so-called strategic affairs, Moshe Yaalon, of the Likud party, wrote in his letter that he supports the settlers in “realizing the Zionist way”, and “offered his blessing” to the illegal takeover.

Shas religious party chairman, Israeli Interior Minister, Eli Yishai, said in a letter addressed to the head of the Gershon Mesika, head of the  Shomron Regional settlement Council, that he “admires the courage and determination of the settlers”, and that he is sure they would rebuild the settlement.

 Furthermore, Knesset member Michael Ben Ari of the National Union Party, who participated in the takeover, told the settlers that “the return to Homesh settlement and to settlements in the West Bank is a message to Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the US president, Barack Obama”.

 The protesters said that they expect the Israeli government to change facts on the ground, rebuild evacuated settlements, expand existing illegal settlements and construct more of them in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Under International law, all Israeli settlements built on Palestinian lands are illegal and constitute a war crime.

Consecutive Israeli governments encouraged and boosted illegal settlement construction and expansion in the occupied West Bank in direct violation to the international law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions.

Although the current government did not officially declare its policies, Netanyahu and his cabinet ministers said that Israel will not evacuate illegal settlements and will expand existing ones even if this issue could put the relations with the US at odds.