Early in its tenure the government moved to reverse the policies of the previous Rabin and Peres administrations regarding settlements in the territories. It decided to concentrate these activities under the authority vested in the defense establishment, in accordance with instructions of the Prime Minister. Mr. Netanyahu explained his views on this matter saying he intends to correct what he termed the discrimination against the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Text of section 3 of the cabinet communique follows:
At the Government meeting today, 2.8.96:
Regarding planning and construction, the Cabinet decided that Government offices will operate with respect to settlement activities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, under the authority vested in the defense establishment and the Minister of Defense in this sphere, and within the framework of the State budget as approved in the appropriate sections and all these in accordance with the instructions of the Prime Minister.
The Cabinet also decided that all new permission for planning, the discussion of zoning plans, and the granting of authorization to these plans, will be granted only after the Minister of Defense gives his approval.
Some ministers expressed reservations about the need to obtain the Minister of Defenses approval, and also proposed that a ministerial committee on settlement be created. These reservations were not put to a vote, and the decision was unanimously approved.
The Prime Minister said:
1.The previous government placed chains and bonds upon the natural development of the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
2. It obviously placed no such chains upon Arab communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, or upon Jewish communities within the Green Line.
3. Thus, for example, if one wanted to open a kindergarten in Ariel, it would have been necessary to appeal to the committee on exceptions comprised of ministers of the Government of Israel and, even then, it was unclear whether this exceptional permission would be given.
4. Clearly, this situation is unacceptable to us. Accordingly, we are today issuing a proposal to correct this discrimination against the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
5. Obviously, within the context of removing these chains, there are also natural supervisory measures governing the construction and settlement process, as required in all countries governed by the rule of the law, and these are outlined in the proposal before us.
The Prime Minister also said that this decision is designed to replace sweeping authorization which created unjust discrimination against the development of existing communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
If a proposal for the creation of a new community is made, it will require the special approval of the full Cabinet.