Photo: The headquarters of the struggle “Demand security for the Jerusalem envelope”
Residents of the Jerusalem Envelope, including Gush Adumim and other localities, took the place of the army and police this morning (Sunday) in maintaining the sector in which they live, when the security coordinators of the localities blocked the main roads, interrogated, detained and inspected Arab vehicles. Close to their localities.
The incident this morning comes due to the residents’ fear for their safety after the army left the sector about two weeks ago and since then no security response has been found for 10,000 residents living in the localities.
It will be recalled that the responsibility for the security of the sector has been transferred from the army to the Israel Police in the past, but the police’s security response does not match the security needs of the sector in which Arabs and Israelis live and travel side by side. For years, representatives of the localities appealed to the competent authorities to find an alternative solution that would allow full security coverage, but were transferred from one source to another and remained unanswered.
Recently, there was a further security deterioration when it was decided by military officials, who assisted the police in several security missions in the Jerusalem Envelope, to transfer the soldiers guarding the gates to other missions in remote areas, so that the SG at the entrance to the settlements were abandoned.
About a week and a half ago, after S.G. was abandoned in the village of Kfar Adumim, a burglary occurred and a car was stolen, after a long period in which no similar incidents occurred at all. Past experience shows that such incidents can develop into terrorist incidents that could claim human lives.
Avichai Shorshan, Rabshakeh of Kfar Adumim and resident of the settlement: “The situation today is unbearable. On the one hand, the IDF says “not mine” and on the other hand, the Border Police and the police say, “We did not receive the budgets for this.”
The road that passes between Kfar Adumim and Alon is one of the main roads for the Palestinian population that moves between Gush Etzion and the Ramallah area, and this axis is completely promiscuous. This road, which is supposed to be in the security hands of the IDF and the Israel Police, has been completely exposed.
Unfortunately, what the government and the state do not do – we, the security coordinators and members of the standby platoon, have to do it ourselves. “This morning we went down to carry out a thorough inspection on the road, because we feel that no one is willing to take responsibility, and when no one is willing to take responsibility – unfortunately we will do it ourselves.”