Recently, children and teenagers have been standing in the areas near the separation fence of the ultra-Orthodox city of Modi’in Illit, watching and shouting at the Arabs on the other side of the fence and messing with the soldiers standing guard there. This is despite requests and warnings from rabbis to avoid it.
Yesterday (Thursday), one of the volunteers of the Hashomerim organization who was at the observation noticed an unusual occurrence on the Palestinian side, after long minutes of throwing stones and clashes with the soldiers he noticed a rider on a scooter approaching a certain section towards the fence. Who stood on the other side. He did not fire and after a few minutes fled the scene.
The volunteer quickly updated the army that was rapidly flowing additional forces into the area, when the unit’s intelligence officer and battalion commander reached the guards ’patrol to try and locate him as a potential threat quickly. At the same time, the municipality’s security patrols kept the children away.
This morning, the volunteers were informed that an IDF force had located the wanted man and he was arrested for questioning.
In a conversation with the volunteer who noticed what was happening he recounts: “They come regularly to the other side, but I saw an unusual pattern. There were their observers and I noticed something different. The biker came from a different direction. A place they don’t usually go to, so I followed him and suddenly saw he took out a weapon From the moment I picked up the phone, within minutes everyone here was on their feet.
“What is it all?”
The army, the police and the municipality. I must also say thank you to the army who are sitting here on the fence on a regular basis. Most of their activities are not advertised but they are very vigilant around the fence and in any concern or event they operate thoroughly. We work with them collaboratively, we are inside the neighborhoods with eyes out. We naturally as locals know sometimes to recognize things they can not notice and they of course give the military answer that we do not pretend to be.
“something new?”
Yes, in the past there was no such presence at all. Now following the recent attacks they are here permanently. And another thing that must also be said aspired to Gutterman and the security department of a municipality that has invested a lot in this issue here in the city. They installed very advanced observation equipment as we requested, and we volunteers sit permanently. Not everyone knows and not every case is a true event, but there is a lot of work and need volunteers. “What is certain is that since we started with the activity of the guards in the city, instead of two or three burglaries that took place every night and especially on Saturday nights, now we have a zero number and you can really give the municipality and Gutterman credit for his concern.”