Israeli gov't approves national priority map of WB settlements

December 14, 2009

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC) -- The Israeli government on Sunday endorsed the national priority map that would be considered as of that date areas of national priority and would receive hefty financial backing.

Ma'ariv website said that 21 cabinet ministers voted for the decision while only 5 rejected it, noting that they were all labor ministers.

The decision is trying to win the satisfaction of settlement leaders who opposed the ten-month settlement freeze announced by the government recently.

The website said that the map would include around 110,000 settlers in the West Bank.

Finance minister Yuval Steinitz said Sunday that including isolated settlements in the now cabinet-approved national priority map was meant as a favorable message to their residents.

The move, he said, was meant to clarify that the government still supports settlers despite the settlement freeze.