Villagers Patrolling Judea and Samaria
by Sagit Levi
A patrol of Jewish villagers began patrolling Israeli roads Thursday night in the Judea and Samaria regions. The patrol began its work shortly after two shooting attacks, one near Hevron and the other in the Binyamin area, in which four people were murdered and two wounded.
A third shooting attack was reported on Thursday evening near the town of Ofra in which the intended victim said he heard shooting but was not hurt. The IDF investigated the incident and claimed that it was not a shooting.
The civilian patrol initiative is backed by the Binyamin and Samaria Residents Councils. Those taking turns on patrol are former combat soldiers and IDF reservists armed with firearms and medical supplies.
The Residents Councils called on all Jewish towns and villages in Judea and Samaria to send units made up of civilian reservists out to patrol local roads on a regular basis.
Binyamin Residents Council head Yitzhak Shedmi, a former IDF commander, explained that the civilian patrols aim to augment the security provided by the IDF, which he said has been weakened by recent political concessions. “They’ve reduced the number of troops in the region because they trust Abu Mazen’s [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] soldiers.”
Civilians “can provide medical care, or assist in defense, and can respond more quickly than the army,” he continued. The patrol units will inform the IDF of their plans before beginning their route, he said.
L’Herut Tzion activist Benny Katz told Indy News Israel that the civilian patrols should be viewed as proof that the IDF is failing to provide security for the Israeli public. “The essential tasks of Israel’s army is to liberate the homeland and defend the Jewish nation,” said Katz. “If Jewish villagers are taking time out of their busy lives to pick up arms and patrol the roads leading to their communities, this is a sign that the people’s faith in their army has waned. Everyone knows that the army is controlled by the politicians and that our politicians are controlled by leaders in Washington and Brussels who view Judean and Samarian Jews as obstacles to their imperialist agenda in the region. This political reality and its implications are frightening but the new civilian patrol demonstrates that the people of Israel are strong enough to defend their families and communities even if our army won’t do the job.”
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