Last week something happened in Israel - a new government was formed, a full-on right-wing government.
It is no secret that I am a Likud member who supports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.
But an even more open secret is that the most important issue for me, which occupies me day and night, is the promotion of the city that I am at the head of - Ma'ale Adumim.
To do this, I must fight for the regeneration of the city and the region, and that is what I am doing.
As part of this struggle, I will not rest or rest until I see projects such as road construction and construction in areas that some mistakenly call "controversial", but they are an integral part of the State of Israel.
Yitzhak Rabin, may his memory be blessed, was the first who wanted to unify the road between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem and apply sovereignty to Ma'ale Adumim.
Therefore, he also gave us for construction the land to build the Mevasheret Adumim neighborhood, also known as Area 1E, between us and Jerusalem.
The second one who did this, with the Gushim plan, was Arik Sharon Zikarno LeBarach, who had already started planning the two roads connecting Ma'ale Adumim to Jerusalem, alongside planning bypass roads to Ma'ale Adumim for the Palestinians.
Unfortunately, these two plans did not come to fruition.
Benny Kashriel, Mayor of Ma'ale Adumim (photo: official website, photo: Ma'ale Adumim Spokesperson)
Gantz, froze construction
Today, with the establishment of a full right-wing government, there are no more excuses.
It is no longer possible to do as former Defense Minister Gantz did, who froze construction and program approvals for two years or more.
Like all the heads of the authorities in Judea and Samaria, I also expect the government to live up to its promises to plan and build what they have frozen, since there is a great demand for housing in Ma'ale Adumim in particular and in settlements in Judea and Samaria in general.
In addition, the government must also promote the issue of transportation in the region, with roads that are necessary both from a security point of view, both from a safety point of view and from a civil point of view, such as "The Fabric of Life", Route 60 and other roads.
The "Texture of Life" road, for example, is an axis that runs between Ma'ale Adumim and the Palestinian village of Al-Azriya.
This is a major road that connects Judea and Samaria and is used for the movement of Palestinian vehicles.
The road is not capable of carrying the volume of traffic that exists on it and its renovation and expansion are being planned in detail by the Moriah company, at a cost of 19 million shekels jointly financed by the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Transportation.
26 thousand new residents in Ma'ale Adumim
Now, with the entry of the new-old transport minister Miri Regev into the office, there is an unrepeatable opportunity to end it, in order to create a traffic separation between Israeli vehicles and Palestinian vehicles and immeasurably improve the security situation, as well as the unbearable traffic jams that the residents of the area suffer from on the way to Jerusalem and from her.
It is important for me to make it clear - we do not freeze or ask others to do our work for us.
At the same time as the demands from the government, we promote ourselves, together with the relevant bodies, huge projects such as a new exit interchange from Ma'ale Adumim that will connect to the "Jerusalem Bypass" road and allow travel to Gush Dan without traffic lights - and this is one example among many.
In addition, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, we are in a boom of building permits for new neighborhoods and these days we are promoting a series of urban renewal plans that include the construction of more than 6,000 housing units over the next few years.
These units will provide housing for more than 26,000 new residents, with a total investment estimated at approximately NIS 2.5 billion and in a design that includes great consideration for green and environmental construction.
Just to clarify, the average time to approve plans and obtain a building permit in Ma'ale Adumim is only three months, while the average in the country is a year and there are many places where it takes much longer.
The secret of our success lies in community and groundbreaking thinking, and this is also what we expect from the new government.
This is how we made our way in the field of education in Israel and we intend to make the same revolution in the field of housing, transportation and work complexes as well.
Maale Adumim is no longer an intermediate station, it is the destination.
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