Member of Knesset Michael Ben-Ari said Friday morning that Thursday night's waving of a sign by soldiers in the Shimshon battalion against the removal of Jews from the uprooted Samarian community of Homesh was legitimate.

Dr. Ben-Ari said that Defense Minister and Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak "has turned Israel Defense Forces soldiers into functionaries of his party, acting at his service to abuse and be hostile to Homesh and the settlement enterprise." He added, "They were inducted to fight the enemy and not their brothers."