Israel on Sunday granted legal status to the previously unauthorized Samarian outpost of Havat Gilad, near Nablus, in response to the Palestinian shooting attack last month that killed one of its residents, Rabbi Raziel Shevach. The Israeli military is still searching for the terrorists.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the unanimous cabinet decision to retroactively authorize the 50-family outpost aims to "allow the continuation of normal life there."
"Our policy is executed on two fronts," Netanyahu said. "First, the execution of justice. We will not be silent until we bring them [the terrorists responsible for Shevach's murder] to justice, and we will bring all of them to justice."
Netanyahu said the second issue that "guides our policy is strengthening the settlement enterprise. Whoever thought that the despicable murder of a resident of Havat Gilad, a father of six, will break our spirit and dishearten us is bitterly wrong. Facing those who sanctify death, we sanctify life."
Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu spoke with Shevach's widow, Yael, and told her, "The entire nation and all coalition members embrace you and your children during your days of grief."
In response to the cabinet decision, Yael Shevach said, "It's a shame that we got to this day, but if we are here, then I'm glad we have succeeded in taking from it the most comforting response possible. Raziel certainly would have said the Hallel [prayer of praise] and that this is what redemption looks like."
Habayit Hayehudi chairman Naftali Bennett said the legalizing of the outpost " is a necessary step," but "it would have been better if it had been made before the murder of Rabbi Shevach, of blessed memory. This is our obligation to the Shevach family and to the entire Jewish settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria."
Residents of Havat Gilad who heard the news began dancing and celebrating with champagne. Havat Gilad was founded 15 years ago by Itai and Bat-Zion Zar in response to the murder of Itai's brother, Gilad Zar.
"I am sure that Raziel [Shevach] is happy and smiling now from up high," Zar said in response to Sunday's decision. "We always believed that Havat Gilad would one day be a regular settlement. This happened faster than we thought. We are proud of our government for taking this step."
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan called the move "an exciting and historical moment. The pioneers of Havat Gilad proved that the spirit cannot be beaten."
The Yesha Council, the umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, issued a statement saying, "This is an important step toward a proper Zionist response to terrorism."
However, Palestinian officials condemned the move and said it seems to be the result of the change in U.S. policy in favor of Israel. In December, U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, breaking with decades of U.S. policy that the city's status must be decided in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
"Netanyahu is trying to create facts on the ground. All settlements in the West Bank, including in Jerusalem, are illegal," said Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's executive committee.
The anti-settlement group Peace Now called the effort to legalize the outpost a "cynical exploitation of the murder."
MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) also criticized the move, and said it amounts to "the government's surrender to the minority, which along the way also sent a message that it's profitable to break Israeli law."
MK Nachman Shai (Zionist Union) said that "the ones who will be hurt the most are the outpost's residents, who will have to leave in the end."
