Silvan Shalom: Gov't must prepare for settlement construction after freeze

Negev and Galilee Development Minister Silvan Shalom spoke in the Knesset with leaders of the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night, and said that it was "up to the government" to make sure settlement construction continues at the end of the 10-month moratorium. "It's up to the government to make decisions that will allow people to get on with their lives," he added. Shalom also referred to dozens of death threat letters received by Defense Minister Ehud Barak since the freeze was announced, which he said were "not useful to settlements, but rather make settlers look like extremists, even though they're not." "These days, we need to find what unifies us, rather than what divides us," he stressed.