Beit El residents protest
Beit El residents protestHezki Ezra

Hundreds of Beit El residents demonstrated on Tuesday night against the ongoing harassment and attacks against residents by Arabs in the area. The residents are demanding that the army close the portion of the road between Ramallah and Shechem that passes near Beit El, saying that they have experienced many terror attacks since the road was reopened last year.

Beit El officials described several shooting attacks on the homes of residents that were perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists who had access to the road. In addition, there had been many rock attacks on vehicles driven by Jews in the area, with Arabs staking out cars from positions on the road. “We want the IDF to 'sterilize' this area, so that no terrorists have access to it,” said protesters.

If the army cannot or will not deal with the problem, the protesters said, they will take care of it themselves. “We are living under a daily barrage of rock throwing,” said one resident. “We demand that the Defense Minister take steps to put an end to this violence. We, too have human rights,” she said.

Another resident said that “we must take matters into our own hands if there is no response” from the authorities. “The solution is in our hands. If the IDF ends this violence, that would be fine, but if it finds its powers limited we will do it ourselves,” the resident added.