"I congratulate the Government of Israel and the Minister of Housing, who are wise in their decision regarding the construction of housing units," MK Nissan Slomiansky (Jewish Home/Bayit Yehudi) stated Thursday. According to Slomiansky, the building tenders provide "both the necessary aid to resolve the plight of young couples in Israel and to send a message to ...the PA who chose to join hands and form a government with the Hamas terrorist organization."
Dani Dayan, foreign envoy for the Yesha Council which represents Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, agreed with that assessment.
Dayan added that he was baffled by America's opposing reactions to the building tenders and the PLO's decision to unify with Hamas.
Israel's Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz on Thursday accused the White House of "self-deception" for dealing with the new PA government while claiming that there would be no Hamas involvement.
Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Ze'ev Elkin echoed Slomiansky's sentiments, and urged the government to continue building even more.
"I congratulate the government on its announcement to build the 1,500 units," Elkin said. "But this is just a drop in the sea compared to what is really needed to ensure a continued Jewish majority in Jerusalem and secure borders for the state of Israel."