The Gush Emunim condemned a coalition agreement reached in Kiryat Arba which provides for the mass dismissal of Arab workers employed by that municipality and hiring restrictions based on race.
Daniella Weiss, secretary general of the militant movement of West Bank settlers, said that while it was proper to favor Jewish labor, there was no justification to fire Arabs already employed by the local council or organizations.
The agreement in Kiryat Arba, a Jewish township adjacent to Hebron, was signed last week by the United Kiryat Arba list and the Kach list, comprising supporters of Rabbi Meir Kahane. It has been denounced in Israel as tantamount to apartheid.
Weiss told the Voice of Israel Radio last Thursday that she personally favored the closure of Arab universities in the West Bank and the appointment of Jews to head town councils in Arab towns in the territory.
Meanwhile, the Likud Party leadership is trying to replace the coalition agreement with an alternative agreement between a Likud-supported list and the United Kiryat Arba list which consists of both religious and secular elements. This has failed so far because of personal differences between the leaders of the two lists.
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