Justice Minister calls for end to construction freeze in Hebron

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called for Israel to “build and build” in Judea and Samaria, adding that there will be no more “excuses” for continuing a construction freeze when Trump takes office.

During a visit to the biblical city of Hebron, Israel’s Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said that Israel must end its construction freeze on the small Jewish community living there.

“Israel needs to build and build, to develop Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria because this is our home and this is our right,” she asserted. “It’s unreasonable that construction in Hebron is stuck for such a long time.”

Israel has abided by a construction freeze throughout Judea and Samaria, including Hebron, as a result of massive pressure from the European Union and Obama Administration against any building beyond the 1949 armistice lines. The justice minister expects this will no longer be relevant when US President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated in 10 days.

“From this place I want to say that starting in another 10 days, the excuses are over,” Shaked stated.

“It is specifically at this time, when the UN condemns Israel’s right to build in Judea and Samaria, it is important to come here, to strengthen the Jewish city in Hebron and to proclaim that we will indeed hold the right to keep building in Judea and Samaria,” she added, implicitly referencing a UN Security Council resolution on December 23 that condemned any Israeli presence in Judea, Samaria and parts of Jerusalem won by Israel from Jordan during the Six-Day War in 1967.

Shaked’s remarks and visit to Hebron are noteworthy in light of the upcoming international summit in Paris that will concentrate on implementing a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. A first copy of a summary text of the summit calls on the Israeli government to “disavow” elected Israeli officials like Justice Minister Shaked, who oppose a two-state solution.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News