Netanyahu pledge $75m for settlement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to fulfill the demands of right wing parties who join his coalition and provide 300 million Israeli shekels ($75 million) for building news settlements in the occupied West Bank, local media outlets reported yesterday.

According to the Israeli Army Radio, Netanyahu made the pledge in secret deals between Likud and other right-wing parties.

It noted that the former Financial Minister Yair Labid had previously stopped such payments.

Meanwhile, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said that Netanyahu had pledged to pay another 50 million Israeli shekels ($12.2 million) as a monthly payment for the Settlements Department which would be supervised by the new agriculture minister who is supposed to be a Jewish Home member.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz also said that Netanyahu had pledged to the Jewish Home that he would work on legitimising illegal settlements built on occupied Palestinian lands. He promised to form a special team to work on this issue.