More housing approved for Efrat, but does Naftali Bennett deserve any credit?
According to Israel National News, Yamina's chairman and soon to be ex-defense minister gave an approval for more housing in Efrat:
So again, if their party ends up on the outskirts of the coalition, I'm not feeling sorry for them. They didn't even get many votes from communities like these, as the residents clearly were getting tired of them. Hence, Yamina wound up with only 6 seats in the Knesset.
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett (Yamina) on Wednesday approved the expansion of the Efrat local council in Judea and Samaria by 1,100 dunams (271.8 acres).Now it's good if Efrat's getting more room for residency, but the question is, does Bennett deserve any thanks or credit here? According to the Jewish Press, a council member doesn't seem to think so, and may be right for reasons even the paper didn't ponder:
The expansion will allow for the construction of approximately 7,000 new housing units in the community, experts say.
This will enable the arrival of new residents and continued expansion of the community, significantly bolstering the greater Etzion Bloc area.
In response to Bennett’s announcement, Efrat Local Council Head Oded Ravivi issued a statement saying: “We Mark today an important moment in the 20-year journey during which we have gone through a host of political and legal entities to receive the appropriate credentials for Givat Eitam. This included a procedure that lasted about a decade in the High Court of Justice. Over the years, Efrat has become the beating heart of Gush Etzion and it is delighted by the trust it is receiving from the Israeli government under the leadership of prime Minister Netanyahu, for the ability to expand, build, and continue to absorb olim, young couples and families who seek a quality community near Jerusalem.”I would assume the reason Netanyahu is thanked rather than Bennett proper is because of all the trouble the latter caused for the former in the past decade, right down to the prior elections, where Bennett and Ayelet Shaked accused him most irrationally of intention to expel thousands of Jews from Judea/Samaria, hand it over to the PLO, this despite any and all signs to the contrary. If anything, the same duo who, as mentioned before, tried to damage Israel HaYom's business, acted very irresponsibly during the elections, and attacked Netanyahu far more than Benny Gantz or Yair Lapid. What Bennett and Shaked did was so irritating that it's hard to congratulate them for anything, and they did too little to improve the justice system on their part.
It is interesting that the head of the Efrat council expressed his gratitude to Netanyahu and not Bennett, maybe because Bennett is about to vacate his seat as defense minister while Netanyahu will continue to be Netanyahu for a long time. Please refer your inquiries to the department of which side your bread is buttered.
So again, if their party ends up on the outskirts of the coalition, I'm not feeling sorry for them. They didn't even get many votes from communities like these, as the residents clearly were getting tired of them. Hence, Yamina wound up with only 6 seats in the Knesset.
