Netanyahu in 'sulha' with his coalition whip Elkin

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Coalition Chairman Zeev Elkin on Tuesday to discuss Elkin's behavior in trying to pass the controversial so-called "arrangement law" before it was defeated in the Knesset last week. Elkin apologized to the prime minister for pushing to get the proposal passed in the lead-up to the Knesset vote, despite the prime minister's opposition to the proposal.

In April, the High Court of Justice ordered the evacuation of five apartment buildings in the Beit El neighborhood of Ulpana in Samaria, ruling that they were built on privately owned Palestinian land. The deadline for the evacuation and demolition has been set for July 1.

The proposed "arrangement law," also dubbed the "High Court of Justice bypass law," stipulated that any Judea and Samaria community whose property is in dispute would be protected from evacuation, even when a Palestinian landowner successfully proves ownership over the land, as long as the community is at least four years old. The bill also stipulates that a district court can order compensation — either monetary or alternative property — to be paid to the landowner.

Before the vote took place on June 6 and ended in a landslide majority of 69 MKs against its approval to 22 in favor of it — which effectively removed the proposal from the government's agenda — Elkin criticized Netanyahu's handling of the issue, prompting speculation within the Likud that Netanyahu might replace him with MK Carmel Shama Hacohen or MK Ofir Akunis, although Netanyahu said he had no intention of doing so.

At the end of his meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday, Elkin said "Last week, our emotions were in turmoil and things were said that shouldn't have been said."

Meanwhile, preparations for the eviction of 33 families from the Ulpana neighborhood reached another milestone early Monday morning, when a dozen semitrailers unloaded six prefabricated homes at a nearby military base. The housing units are to serve as temporary residences for the would-be evacuees until the relocation of their homes is complete in a few months.

The government is moving full steam ahead to provide the residents with temporary accommodations even though the exact details of the evacuation have not yet been finalized. The residents have so far refused to commit to a peaceful evacuation. According to logistics officials at the Defense Ministry, several additional temporary homes will be brought to the military base in the near future. The officials expressed hope the residents would consent to move.

A statement released by the Defense Ministry said the construction of the new neighborhood was being overseen by Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak and was coordinated with the settler leaders in Beit El. "The ministry is working around the clock to complete the construction of the temporary neighborhood and to allow Ulpana residents to resettle in temporary facilities in a most dignified and convenient manner," the statement said.

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