简体中文
Thousands of Israeli right-wing protesters, among them parliament members and ministers, gathered in the West Bank Thursday to encourage settlements construction and to protest against the ongoing peace talks, local media reported.
The protesters marched through the E1 corridor, which links Jerusalem with Ma'ale Adumim. The spot is highly sensitive since, by building Jewish settlements there, Israel is blocking territorial continuity on the lands set to be part of a future Palestinian state.
Among the Israeli politicians who attended the protest were Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, Housing Minister Uri Ariel, Deputy Foreign Minister Ze'ev Elkin and Member of Knesset ( parliament) Danny Danon.
Housing Minister Uri Ariel, a settler himself and one of the founders of the settlement movement, called to keep on the construction in the West Bank settlements, especially in the E1 corridor, according to the Ynet news website.
The current peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are based on the two-state solution according to which a Palestinian state should be established in the West Bank territories alongside Israel.
The protesters called upon Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "not to cave to foreign entities," referring to efforts made by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to push forward the peace talks.
Although Israel announced thousands of housing units in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in recent months, in November Netanyahu ordered Ariel to withdraw plans to construct 1,200 housing units in the E1 corridor, fearing international backlash on top of the already international criticism toward Israel's settlements policy.
Far right wing politicians, members of Netanyahu's coalition, have repeatedly expressed their objection to many aspects of the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, with hawkish Economy Minister Naftali Bennett calling the possibility of a future Palestinian state a "pending economic disaster."
