The 15-member Knesset faction of the Democratic Movement for Change (DMC) urged the government yesterday to refrain from establishing new settlements in the administered territories as long as peace negotiations with Egypt continue. Several members demanded that the DMC pull out of the Likud-led coalition if the government persists in its settlement policies.
But a majority of the faction accepted the position of its leader, Deputy Premier Yigael Yadin, to work quietly within the government against new settlements. The faction emphasized that its call for a halt on new settlements was not connected to its stand on settlements in principle.
Yadin told the MKs that the U.S. government could not understand or accept Israel’s arguments for retaining its settlements in Sinai once peace was established with Egypt. He said Israel’s continued insistence on keeping the settlements was damaging its position in the world. The settlements issue was the subject of sharp debate at a special Cabinet session Monday. It will be continued at the Cabinet’s regular weekly session next Sunday.
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