Supporters of the settlement movement arrived shortly after another confrontation
with Leftists and Arabs

Dozens of vehicles, decorated with the national flag, participated in the protest rally against the anarchists and the police maltreatment of the local Jewish residents. When they arrived at Mitzpe Yair they heard that just that morning another confrontation had occurred between the residents and the Leftists and Arabs who claim ownership of the land.

The car convoy from across the country to the South Hebron Hills’ communities was an impressive success. Dozens of vehicles from across the country set out on the morning of Friday, October 19th, decorated with Israeli flags, on a journey to show their support and solidarity with the local Jewish residents.

The participants of the event, which was supported by several national organizations and was held at the initiative of the “Women in Green” movement, protested against the acts of incitement from anarchists in Israel and the world against the South Hebron Hills’ residents. In addition the participants protested against the police’s harassment of the local Jewish residents, harassment which manifested itself in the culminating event, during which undercover “Arab” officers were dispatched to the outskirts of the Susiya community with the intent of arresting the residents.

The event’s supporters include the Binyamin Residents’ Committee, headed by Itzik Shadmi, the Samaria Residents’ Committee, headed by Benny Katsover, and the Ko’me’mi’yut movement, headed by Yehuda Amrani.

As mentioned, the event that presented “the final straw” and led to the decision to embark on the solidarity journey was the recent event in Susiya, during which the police dispatched officers disguised as Arabs to the outskirts of the community, and when the residents came out to defend their homes, they were arrested under the false pretense of violent behavior. The detainees were brought to trial,and are now under house arrest.

MK Prof. Aryeh Eldad, Chairman of the HaTikva party, participated in the event, declaring: “The People of Israel are tired of the provocations of the Arabs’, the Israeli Left-wing and the international anarchists, who constantly harass the Jewish communities in the Hebron Hills. The People of Israel are tired of the support given to these provocations by the legal system. I call to the Israeli government, and all its facets, to immediately embrace the Edmund Levi report with all its components, in order to once again declare that the Land of Israel belongs to the People of Israel, both by law and justice”.

The participants of the solidarity convoy met Rabbi Eliezer Altschuler in the expansion neighborhood of Susiya, where he gave them an overview of the local occurrences, including the actions taken by the anarchists and Leftists against the community. Later they arrived at Mitzpe Yair where they were presented with the local products – honey, wine and olive oil.

During the visit at Mitzpe Yair the convoy participants were informed of another event that had occurred that morning, when Arabs arrived to the area in an attempt to take over it, despite the fact that for over a decade it has been held and cultivated by the local Jewish residents. Avidan, one of the residents and farmers who cultivate the land, gave the visitors a detailed account of the chain of events since the first confrontation, about 2 years ago, when a group of Arabs arrived to the area with tractors and began destroying and defacing a planted area, and did not leave before stealing iron bars and fences.

Avidan continued and told of how last summer Arabs and Left-wing activists arrived to the area, which is cultivated by Jews, and how the event repeated itself that morning at approximately 6:30am, about an hour after the Jewish farmers had begun plowing, when police, soldiers and border patrol personnel arrived, accompanied by an Arab resident from the nearby village who claimed the land was his. Avidan points out that the area had been cultivated by Jews for over a decade freely and without any complaints. The Civil Administration ordered that all work cease until the matter was cleared, and an hour later a group of Leftists arrived to support the Arab complainant. 2 hours had passed before a Closed Military Zone order was issued to prevent the incident from escalating. Avidan’s account of that morning’s events was a live example for the convoy participants of the almost weekly occurrences in the area.

After the visit the car convoy proceeded to meet the residents of the Avigayil and Havat Maon communities.

Women in Green heads Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, who organized the events, refer to the “undercover” incident at Susiya and to the solidarity convoy and say: “We are peaceful people, but if attacked – ‘He who wishes to kill you, rise first to kill him’, and that is why the Shulkhan Arukh [the most authoritative legal code of Judaism] has stated that if gentiles lay siege to Israeli cities and it is a matter of life and death, we must go out with weapons, even if it means desecrating the Sabbath, and even more so in a frontier community, and the Rama [Rabbi Moshe Isserles] adds: ‘And even if they have not come yet but [displayed clear intentions that they] wish to come’. The people of Susiya, who live on the frontier, after being told that security forces are unable to assist, went out towards the enemy, as is dictated by all religious and natural self-defence doctrines, and attempted to get rid of the enemy. What do people want? Do they want the enemy to enter the community? Enter the farm, when it’s already too late? Thank G-d, there are people who are willing to charge, to risk themselves and disperse the enemy from the gates of the community”.

Katsover and Matar add: “Instead of giving these young people a medal, they were arrested. Even if instead of policemen dressed as Arabs they had been real Arabs, they still would have been arrested and tried. Is that normal? Isn’t this an attempt to emasculate? Is there no agenda to create a deterrent from striking our enemy, as dictated by the Leftist school of thought? And then it will be said: ‘They should call the security forces’. They did! And that is the most painful part – the security forces are the ones who dispatched the undercover ‘Arabs’ against Jews. Every last red line has been crossed!”.

The two view the event as part of “an overall attempt to de-legitimize the ‘settler’ population, a population which is the most contributing, volunteering and idealistic. According to every survey conducted, the majority of the IDF is composed by ‘settlers’ and their supporters, including the reserve forces and the special forces. We must not forbear! That is why we embarked on the car convoy to the South Hebron Hills, to tell the local Jewish residents: ‘You are not alone’!”.

Attached photos by Avidan Hyman

For details:
Yehudit Katsover 050-7161818 Nadia Matar 050-5500834