Jerusalem Mayor Barkat attacks the government from the right, saying that keeping the nation’s capital off the priorities list is harmful. Despite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's firm stance until now, he has agreed to postpone the vote and change the map. It is now being reported that Netanyahu has given in to pressure from the Labor Party – his left-wing coalition partner – and will not bring his new national priorities map up for a Cabinet vote today (Sunday). Instead, according to Labor's Minister Shalom Simchon, the Prime Minister has asked Defense Minister Ehud Barak – Labor’s chairman – to put together a ministerial committee that will formulate a new map and present it for a vote next week. It was earlier said that Netanyahu would present the new map for a government vote today, despite sharp criticism from both left and right. The Labor Party is upset that so many Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria are included. The Likud’s “defense” that the percentage of Arab citizens on the list has been increased five-fold – 40% of the Arab population is on the map – did not help. Jerusalem, Ashkelon, Maaleh Adumim and More Labor ministers also demanded that Ashkelon be included, while the Shas party wants Eilat and Maaleh Adumim. Some ministers have said that the communities in which the Gush Katif expellees are living must also be included. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat says the nation’s capital must also be included. The Ynet news site fanned the flames of controversy by listing prominently the 84 Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria that are on the list – and especially the 42 that are neither in “settlement blocs” nor in the Jordan Valley. It did not include in the same report a similar list of Arab towns on the new map. Labor Against Yesha Labor’s Cabinet Minister Avishai Braverman said he believes it is totally “nonsensical” to include towns such as Itamar and Yitzhar on the list: “We have to retain 5% of Judea and Samaria, in which most of the Jewish settlers live… and give Palestine [sic] 95% of the land.” In addition to Itamar and Yitzhar, the list of 42 “isolated” communities that Labor objects to retaining in Israel includes Kiryat Arba (population 7,300), Beit El (5,600), Eli (2,800), the Jewish Community in Hevron, Elon Moreh, towns in Gush Etzion and near Modiin, and more. Regarding Jerusalem, Barkat said this on Saturday night: “The government must show that it is working to promote and preserve its capital, not neglect it - and especially at this time. Jerusalem must be first on its agenda. It is certainly not less important than other cities. The decision to leave it off the list of national priorities is liable to lead industry to leave the city and cause financial harm to Jerusalem.”
