THE REGULATION BILL WAS DEFEATED. BUT IS THERE A SILVER LINING?

So Netanyahu managed to get the majority he wanted to defeat the bill. And that's very sad. That said, he has on the positive side authorized 300 more houses:

JERUSALEM - (AP) -- Israel's prime minister on Wednesday ordered construction of 300 new homes in a West Bank settlement, a move aimed at placating settler anger over the planned demolition of an illegally built outpost nearby.

The decision infuriated the Palestinians, who have refused to conduct peace talks while Israel expands its settlements on occupied land. It also risked drawing an international backlash.

It's just like the AP to say that. While that is something to appreciate, it's still no excuse for Netanyahu's offensive stance against the ministers who supported the bill, who didn't help themselves by abstaining in the end.

And the sad part is that if he's going to go through with the demolition of those 5 houses, he will lead to resentment, if the following news tells anything:

The headquarters for former Yesha Council chairman and Jewish Home leadership candidate Naftali Bennet launch a "leave the Likud" application on Wednesday.

The new application, established under the guidance of attorneys and experts, is located on the "Israelis" website "Israelis," and includes a feature that allows users to select "I want to stop the outgoing Likud."

Doing so downloads a special form with instructions for how to cancel membership in the Likud party.

The system provides a parallel feature for joining Jewish Home, but does not require it.

Bennett's staff explained, "The number of requests we receive from people who want to leave the Likud has increased in recent days. Now it is simple, and we expect a mass exodus of Likud voters – especially since the regulatory law was voted down."

"Now they also have simple and easy solution," they added.

Bennett himself said "The Likud's historic role ended today when it ceased to represent the nationalist camp. Thousands in the Likud feel it is not their home, and that it is time to established a real nationalist alternative."

Even there, they're going to have to bear in mind that if they don't come up with a constructive campaign that focuses clearly on the left and avoids overly attacking the Likud/Netanyahu, they could easily sabotage their better chances of success in next year's election. If they want to be an alternative, they could help themselves by adding more issues to their campaign platform, including finance and technology, for example. There's more in here about how Zevulun Orlev's asked his party to leave the government after the bill failed.

Update: this article says that there'll be at least 551 housing units approved.

Update 2: in this article, they tell that a special committee has been formed for authorizing new neighborhoods without a full cabinet decision. However, they say that Ehud Barak may be part of it. In that case, I'm not sure if this'll work out well.