Gershon Mesika
Gershon MesikaFlash 90

Dozens of Arabs attacked the new community of Havat Gilad in Samaria on Monday afternoon. The Arabs gathered outside fenced-in fields next to the community, and were about to set the fields on fire. They were foiled by a community patrol, which arrived just seconds before they set fire to the fields.

In response to the frustration of their plan, the Arabs began throwing stones at the patrol, as patrol members took up positions to prevent the Arab rioters from advancing towards homes in the community. Patrol members made an emergency call to IDF troops operating in the area. The soldiers arrived within minutes and broke up the Arab riot. One of the rioters was arrested.

Speaking after the incident, Samaria Council head Gershon Mesika said that the incident was serious one, “another one of the many that take place nearly daily in Judea and Samaria. Just this morning, the entire country felt victimized when a stone was thrown at a car in the Negev (the stone was thrown by Bedouins in the south), while we in Judea and Samaria have volleys of stones thrown at us daily.

“The Arabs riot here just as they did in 1929, when they massacred the Jewish residents of Hevron,” Mesika said. “They boldly approach our communities and try to attack them, and no one in power dares to open their mouths at the Palestinian Authority, which gives support to those who attack Israelis. Apparently, the blood of those on the other side of the 1948 armistice 'green line' is more red than the blood of those in Judea and Samaria. I call on the government to wake up and take real steps to end this intolerable situation, and to view it as a problem for all Israelis,” Mesika added.