The IDF Chief of Staff, Major General Herzi Halevi, condemned this evening (Sunday) what he defined as “the inciting discourse against the commander of the Binyamin Brigade, General Eliav Elbaz, and against other commanders in the IDF”.
“This is an improper and unwelcome discourse that harms a public servant who acts professionally, by virtue of the law, and in a moral and stately manner. Eliav is a combat officer, moral and ethical, who acted and continues to act while risking his life for the security of the residents of Judea and Samaria in particular, and the citizens of the State of Israel in general. Any impeachment in this or any attempt to claim otherwise, they are devoid of any foundation,” Halevi insisted.
The residents of the town of Binyamin claimed that Elbaz was the one who led the security forces that closed off Ateret on Saturday night following the riots on Saturday in the PA city of Umm Safa between Ateret and Neve Tzuf.
Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote last night that “the IDF and the security establishment must act with much greater determination in the face of terrorism and disturbances on the part of Arabs as occurred in the last three days in the area of the settlement of Ateret in the Binyamin region. It is impossible to accept a reality in which the settlers feel like sitting ducks on the roads and around the settlements daily, with more and more casualties.”
He added that “even in this complex situation, taking the law into one’s own hands is bad, harmful, and may lead to a loss of control and dangerous anarchy, and I call on everyone to refrain from actions that harm the settlement. The attempt to equate murderous Arab terrorism with actions against civilians, no matter how serious they may be, is morally wrong and practically dangerous. Administrative arrests against settlers are a draconian and undemocratic measure, and the fact that they are used only against settlers in Judea and Samaria and not against other violent groups in the State of Israel is severe discrimination.”
According to him, “The collective punishment that is being carried out in the village of Ateret is severe and outrageous. For months we have been demanding that the checkpoints be returned and that a thorough inspection be carried out at the entrance and exit to hostile villages, and have been refused due to the opposition to collective punishment. How can it be that in Umm Safa – the village from which Arab rioters have left again and again in recent days – there is no Inspection and inspection, yes? I call on the army to stop this immediately.”
“We must calm the region and avoid losing control. The IDF and the security establishment must focus on an uncompromising fight against terrorism and take a hard hand against the Arab riots, and the settlers must leave the work to the IDF and avoid taking the law into their own hands,” he concluded.
