A group of 50 young residents of Judea and Samaria broke in to an IDF base early Tuesday morning, in response to orders given to destroy nearby Jewish communities.
At least one arrest has been made in what is being called a “price tag” raid on the Ephraim Regional Brigade Headquarters near Kedumim in Samaria. Protestors burned tires, threw stones, and spread nails on the road to prevent army vehicles from carrying out operations after an escalation in IDF moves to destroy community outposts on Monday.
The demonstrators were evicted from the base by IDF troops, who also called in police.
Hundreds of police and military personnel were deployed around Kedumim on Monday equipped with bulldozers, reportedly to destroy Mitzpe Yitzhar and the outpost of Ramat Gilad.
Judea and Samaria leaders and Knesset members spent the day working to compel the government to terminate the plan.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the IDF to prevent future attacks and to capture the perpetrators of the Ephraim base infiltration using all available resources. The IDF said it would not be deterred in carrying out any orders given to it.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni blamed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for fueling “extremism” in Israel by supporting bills strengthening Judea and Samaria with “silence and a wink”.
MK Yaakov Katz (National Union) said he believes the attack on the base is a provocation by the anti-nationalist security services controlled by Barak, meant to malign the image of Judea and Samaria youth, and was not carried out by local residents at all.
Yesha Council Charmian Danny Dayan called the head of the base to condemn the attack, calling it “shameful and ungrateful” for the protection afforded to the communities of Judea and Samaria by the army. He agreed that participants in the infiltration should be arrested.
MK Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home) called the attack “a blow against the security of the State of Israel.”
