Settlers to rally Sunday to demand better security
Settlers on Friday held multiple protests across the West Bank to demand increased security.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFDozens of demonstrators protested at the Mehola Junction in the Jordan Valley(photo credit: MATI CARMI/TPS)
Settlers plan to hold a protest rally on Sunday to demand action from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on West Bank security and settlement building.Settlers have demanded, among other things, that Netanyahu separate Palestinian and Israeli traffic along roads in Area C, so that vehicles with Palestinian license plates would be barred from traveling on the same roads as Israelis.Netanyahu has come under particular fire from settlers because he now holds the post of defense minister and is, therefore, directly responsible for their security.Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz said, “I call upon the prime minister and the ministers to act to improve security, restore the policy of targeted killings, return roadblocks and prevent Palestinian vehicles from traveling freely on the main roads [in Area C].”Beit El Council head Shai Alon said that the army is working in the North and South to close attack tunnels, but allow for terrorists to travel freely on roads inside Israel where they can kill Israelis.The rally will be held at 9 a.m. on Sunday in the Rose Garden next to Netanyahu’s office prior to the start of the weekly government meeting.Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan called on all those angered by the spilling of Jewish blood to want to prevent the next attack to come join them.The settler municipalities, regional councils and local councils plan to go on strike on Sunday.The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee plans to hold a field trip to the Beit El and Ofra area where three terrorist attacks occurred last week to view the situation for themselves.Settlers on Friday held multiple protests across the West Bank to demand increased security. In some cases they attempted to shut down the road to Palestinian traffic.
There were reports of rallies near Shiloh along Route 60, near Mehola in the Jordan Valley and next to Negahot in the south Hebron Hills. There was also one in the Halamish settlement next to the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh, which is often the site of heavy clashes between Palestinians and the IDF.In Kedumim, settlers held a communal Friday evening Sabbath prayer at the entrance to the community.
