Moshe Savile
Moshe SavileHezki Ezra

The Deputy Head of the Etzion Bloc Regional Council, Moshe Savile, demanded that Highway 65 in the Etzion Bloc be closed off to Arab traffic, following the car terror attack at the Alon Shvut Junction Thursday. "This is a difficult day for the Etzion Bloc," he said. "Terrorists are trying to cut off life in the Etzion Bloc, just a few days after the serious car terror attack in Jerusalem."

"The terrorist came from the direction of Kfar Etzion Square, swerved across the road and plowed forcefully into a group of students who were standing at the station and waiting for a bus," he said. 

"There have been soldiers guarding the junction for a long time, on both sides of the junction," he noted. "They are here almost 24 hours a day. The subject is currently under military investigation, regarding the way the soldiers reacted, but our conclusion is that the guard is not enough. The entry of Palestinians into places where so many people pass must be barred. People jog here, walk here, live here, drive here. This is a demand we raised with the military after the previous terror attacks.”

"The Jewish nation, throughout the ages, whenever it was harmed, it responded with something strong, something positive. We expect that the response will be construction and strengthening the settlement enterprise – and of course, bringing security back to the residents of Gush Etzion.”

Davidi Perl, Head of the Etzion Bloc Regional Council, also issued a reaction to the terror attack. “First of all,” he said, “I would like to wish a complete recovery to all of the injured currently in the hospitals. The terrorists do not differentiate between the Etzion Bloc and Jerusalem, and they continue to run down people wherever they can.”

Perl joined his deputy in the demand to create a separation between Arabs and Jews at the location, which was also where three yeshiva boys were abducted by Hamas terrorists last summer. The three were then murdered, setting off a chain of events that eventually led to Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.

"The security establishment has an obligation to limit the areas of friction and secure a safe zone for the residents and for the students who are simply going home from school. There is no choice, a safe zone between the communities must be created,” Perl stressed.