Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria are intensifying their campaign against the entrance of Arab workers to their communities.
Entry of Arab workers from the Palestinian Authority to the various construction sites in cities and communities in Judea and Samaria has been prohibited since the Iron Swords War broke out on October 7, 2023.
However, recently some individuals in several communities have begun trying to bring the workers back, which has led to many protests by residents.
Over the past week, protests were held in several communities.
Efrat residents protested the entry of Arab workers to their community and blocked their path. In Emanuel, dozens of residents held a protest at a construction site on Sunday.
Police forcibly dispersed the demonstrations; one protester was detained at each of the protests, but released with the assistance of Honenu civil rights NGO Attorney Nati Rom.
“Many Yehuda and Shomron (Judea and Samaria) residents vehemently oppose the entrance of Arab workers from Palestinian Authority controlled areas to their communities at a time of war, which could endanger thousands of Jews,” Rom pointed out.
“There is no protest more legitimate than this. The police aggressively quelled the protests and even detained several residents at protests in Efrat and Emanuel.
“We recommend that the police officers at police stations in Yehuda and Shomron get some on-the-job training with the officers in the ‘Kaplan District’ [referring to the anti-judicial reform protest on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street] and learn how to protect the democratic right of citizens to express their objections.”
After the protest in Emanuel, Rom said Israel is faced with “an insane reality in which Jews legally protesting the entrance of Arabs from the Palestinian Authority to their city during a time of war — which could endanger the residents — are dispersed by force, with one of them detained for obstructing a police officer in the line of duty.
“I did not see treatment of protesters like this at any of the anarchists’ protests on Kaplan Street against judicial reform, even though they blocked streets and set fires,” he said.
“The police should use the same policies with protesters from anywhere on the political spectrum. We will continue assisting anyone fighting for the Land of Israel.”
