The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that plans to build 1,000 homes in the Binyamin community of Eli will be fast-tracked in response to Tuesday’s deadly terror attack there.
The announcement said that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich were in agreement on the move.
“Our answer to terrorism is to strike it hard and build our country. It was agreed upon to immediately advance the planning of approximately 1,000 new housing units in Eli, adjacent to the site of the attack.”
Four Israelis were killed in a shooting attack at a gas station near Eli on Tuesday and another four were injured. The terrorists were affiliated with Hamas.
Around 1,000 Israelis currently live in Eli.
The move comes after the Israeli Cabinet advanced plans for more than 4,000 housing units in Judea and Samaria on Sunday.
During the weekly Cabinet meeting, much of the authority to approve construction in Judea and Samaria was transferred to Smotrich. In addition to serving as Finance Minister, he holds a ministerial-level position within the Defense Ministry playing a key role in overseeing civilian affairs in Judea and Samaria.
Historically, this role was held exclusively by the Defense Minister and that ministry’s Civil Administration.
The Palestinian Authority responded to Sunday’s announcement by saying it would boycott high-level meetings with Israeli officials while State Dept. spokesperson Matthew Miller said the U.S. was “deeply troubled” by the move.
Israel’s Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Committee is set to meet on June 26, in order to approve 4,560 new housing units in communities throughout Judea and Samaria.
