Economy, security Lapid complains that settlements are damaging the economy all round: “They hurt growth, gross domestic product and economic ties with the world,” he said in a speech this month. Citing two small, religious settlements that have seen violent clashes with Palestinians, he added: “There is money buried somewhere between Yitzhar and Itamar, which could have given us smaller school classes, better healthcare, narrower gaps between rich and poor... and a stronger army.” The settlers’ main body, the Yesha Council, hit back, accusing Lapid of sowing national division and referring to his career as a broadcaster: “The claim that billions are hidden there is cheap and more becoming of populist media rather than a finance minister who understands the economy,” it said. While for many settlers the main draw is cheap housing, many also cite deep religious and historic ties to the land and argue that the enclaves serve to strengthen Israel’s security. Netanyahu, who rejects the argument that his expansion of settlements has undermined peace negotiations, says that to give up all the occupied territory would return Israel to borders left by a ceasefire in 1948 that he says would be indefensible. While far from over, the argument now being framed in terms of economics has revived fundamental differences over the role of settlements that may affect future state spending on them. Finance committee chair Slomiansky, who himself co-founded a settlement, cited deaths among residents in Palestinian violence and said settlers did a service for fellow Israelis: “People are willing to live in Judea and Samaria with great self-sacrifice.” But Livni, the coalition’s negotiator with the Palestinians, said the opposite was true: “The settlements are not providers of security, they are consumers of it,” she said. “Roads are paved with billions of our tax money under the premise of security — but in reality they serve a handful of homes bit.ly/1mfjHet
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 17:53:28 +0000
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