Down but not out at Migron (file)
Down but not out at Migron (file)Israel news photo: Flash 90

Grassroots leaders in Samaria are ratcheting up their resistance to the government's demolitions of Jewish homes, in response to what they see as an escalation of the Defense Ministry's campaign against them.

Last week's demolitions of homes in Ganei Modiin and Shavei Shomron, and the beating of Shavei Shomron's rabbi, convinced the grassroots Samaria Residents' Council that it was time to roll up its sleeves and organize resistance. The Council has established an Emergency Headquarters that is manned 24 hours a day and that has called upon residents to be alert and report any movement of police vehicles.

The HQ is interested in reports of movement by regular police, Border Police and special Yassam police, especially if there are signs that they are headed to one of the Jewish communities for demolition of homes and other structures that are deemed illegal.

The HQ crosschecks such information with reports it receives from other sources and issues alerts to activists whenever destructive action by the authorities is identified. The HQ then calls up “reinforcements” to try and prevent the demolitions.

Council Director Esther Karish said that in several cases, the HQ has already succeeded in organizing resistance to the arrival of inspectors and security forces, thanks to citizen reports to the HQ. “In the Shavei Shomron demolition last week,” she said, “the destruction forces arrived in small units so that a large scale convoy would not be detected.”