With the Washington peace summit a mere week away, Likud members who are right off the party's political line are gearing for several protests meant to ensure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows his party will not abide the continuous suspension of settlement activity.
Members of the Likud's "right wing" have decided to hold a protest rally while Netanyahu is in Washington. Several senior Likud and Knesset members are expected to take part in it.
Meanwhile, the Yesha Council is also planning a public campaign, titles "Promises are meant to be kept," – referring to Netanyahu's pledge that the settlement freeze will end by September 26.
On this date, a tour of Samaria will be held for Likud members around the country. Hundreds of buses full of Likud members are expected to attend.
Livnat: Say no to consent of silence
Knesset Member Danny Danon, who is spearheading the Likud's fight against the building moratorium, said, "Netanyahu cannot rely on Meridor and Barak for his coalition to survive. We must remember this and remember what the Likud's position is."
Danon was not the only one to speak out against a continuation of the moratorium on Tuesday. Likud ministers, including Limor Livnat and Yuli Edelstein, have already expressed their opposition to the possibility that the building freeze will continue during negotiations.
"We must be prepared for the end of the freeze such that there is no way that it will be possible to continue it after September 26, not as a de facto freeze nor as consent by keeping silent," said Minister Livnat on Tuesday during a tour of the West Bank settlement Efrat.
Minister Edelstein said during a conference held at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, "It is a mistake to adopt a policy of foregoing our positions and withdrawal so that we will be liked in the world. Legitimization is granted only for a few days and then hostility returns to its old ways. Past actions prove that this is a mistake. This is also true regarding the freeze issue raised recently."
It is still unclear whether Minister Gilad Erdan, Minister Moshe Kahlon, Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Minister Benny Begin, and Minister Silvan Shalom will soon come out publicly against the peace talks and the possibility that the building freeze be continued under American pressure. However, members of the Likud's rightist camp hope that these ministers will take part in their campaign.
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