Israeli Minister: Legalization Of Outposts A ‘Holiday Gift’ From Netanyahu

[Purveyor]

April 26, 2012

(JTA) -- Israeli Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar called Israel's legalization of three West Bank settlement outposts a "holiday gift" for the nation's Independence Day from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The remark came a day after a spokesman for the prime minister, Mark Regev, was quoted in The New York Times as saying that the recognition of the outposts of Bruchin, Sansana and Rechalim did not constitute legalization of unauthorized settlements but rather resolution of "procedural and technical" issues such as improper permits and mistakenly building on the wrong hill.

--CLIP

"From this spot, we'll send our recognition to the prime minister," he said, according to Haaretz. "Because the Jewish settlement in the land of Israel is the realization of a right, a return to the right of our forefathers, on which will be intertwined with the Israeli people's right for national security."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that he was "deeply troubled" by Israel's announcement on the outposts.

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http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/04/26/3093911/israeli-minister-legalization-of-outposts-a-holiday-gift-from-netanyahu

[Jefferson23]

1. Well I am so glad to hear Ban Ki-moon is deeply troubled, big changes to come.