Protest, Dolev
Protest, DolevHaggai Karp

Residents of the Binyamin region community of Dolev (54km/33 miles outside of Jerusalem) protested over safety cutbacks on Saturday night, demanding that the IDF increase patrols in response to a local outbreak of terror. 

Several fires and incidents of vandalism have been reported in the area, as well as break-ins by Palestinian Arabs in nearby towns. 

The last infiltration, during Thursday's holiday of Simhat Torah, saw four simultaneous robberies of civilian homes. No injuries or damage were reported, but the community is shaken and has had enough. 

The rally was headlined by prominent officials, including Professor Haim Gvirtzman, community spokesperson Dr. Yael Areli, member of the Secretariat Oded Kadmon, and Dolev secretary Yaakov Netanyahu. 

The speakers demanded that the army and police increase its presence and establish a policy of deterrence to prevent more terror.

"We have gathered here to demand that the IDF and the police do more," the organizers of the rally stated. "There's a feeling that this is a watershed in terms of security."

Violence and terror in Judea-Samaria has seen an upswing since the summer, following both the eruption of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza and the "revenge killing" of an Arab teen which set off Jerusalem's "silent intifada." 

This is not the first time the IDF has been reported to be cutting back on patrols in a contentious region.

Border patrol cutbacks have been reported along communities in the north as well, just one year after a similar move along the Gaza Belt saw an escalation in terror and, eventually, war. 

Northern residents have responded to the apparent apathy to the situation by arming themselves, and gun ownership along the Lebanese and Syrian border communities has risen as high as 60% in recent weeks.