Settlers call for united wing party

Failed pullout battle taught Yesha council importance of Knesset power.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
yesha council 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
yesha council 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Settler leaders on Wednesday called on all political parties faithful to the land of Israel to unite into a single right wing bloc. With talk of new elections in the air, the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip sent a document to all regional council heads in the territories in which they are calling for such a union. One of the lessons the council learned from its failed battle against the Gaza pullout was the importance of political power in the Knesset, said council spokeswoman Emily Amrusi. While the document did not list any parties in particular, Amrusi said, the hope is that the National Union and the National Religious Party would run together as a single party. In the last election, the National Union won seven Knesset seats and the National Religious Party had six seats. NRP has since lost two of them to the National Union. A poll commissioned earlier this month showed that such a joint bloc could obtain anywhere from 21 to 26 seats. With those numbers, said Amrusi, the party could be very powerful in the Knesset. There are even thoughts that some of the less nationalistic religious parties such as Shas or UTJ could join the bloc. The National Union and the NRP have been talking about such a move but have yet to come to any agreement on the matter.