The Councils of Samaria and Binyamin regions responded strongly to a statement made Tuesday morning on IDF Army Radio by army spokesman Avi Benayahu, who said recently that dissident voices are being heard among those who participate in the Hesder yeshiva program in the military, although at the moment, no decision has been made on how to deal with the matter. The statement was made in reference to growing protests by soldiers who have recently expressed their reluctance to participate in expulsions of Jews from the site of the demolished northern Samaria community of Homesh and others from their homes in outposts in Judea and Samaria.
"As everyone saw and heard in the videos of the Western Wall media interviews, it's not just a matter of religious soldiers protesting," said the settlers' group. "Many non-religious soldiers are protesting as well." The settlers called Benayahu's claim that religious soldiers are behind the protests "a manipulative lie."