Terror attacks in Israel turn settlers against Bennett
Disillusioned by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the leaders of the settlers are now campaigning against what they perceive as an unprecedented freeze of settlement construction in the West Bank.
Yesterday was one of the stormiest days in the relationship between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the settlers.
On March 26, the Yesha Council (the settlers' umbrella organization) announced its decision to start a campaign to topple the government because of what they described as an unprecedented policy of freezing settlement construction in the West Bank.
Ever since the establishment of the Change government last June, the heads of the Yesha Council were divided regarding whether to support a government that contained left-wing parties and an Arab party (Ra’am) that espouses the end of the occupation.
Some of them attacked Bennett and right-wing New Hope chairman Justice Minister Gideon Saar, and blamed them for causing the overthrow of a right-wing government and the rise of the left wing due to their political war against former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Nevertheless, some of the higher-ups in Yesha have supported the Change government and spoke in favor of Bennett and Saar, arguing that Bennett and Saar would support their right-wing interests nonetheless. This group was headed by none other than Yesha Council chairman David Elhayani, a close associate of Saar, who defended the Change government in the media.
