Veteran Land of Israel activist Daniella Weiss was arrested on Thursday for "attacking a policeman," and others were arrested as well, during the demolition of a settlement outpost and a subsequent protest.
Weiss, one of the founders of the original Gush Emunim settlement movement and a former Mayor of the Shomron town of Kedumim - was arrested late Thursday morning. Police, in the midst of destroying structures in the budding neighborhood Shvut Ami, claimed Weiss was "attacking a policeman." In addition, another activist, Shosh Shilo, was also arrested.
The police have said that the two will remain in jail at least until tomorrow, Friday, when they will be brought before a judge for the police to request an extension of custody.
Several dozen youths gathered outside the police station in Kedumim to protest the arrests - and some of them were arrested there as well.
The Land of Israel Loyalists Movement released this statement: "The more they try to harass our members, the more our determination will increase to establish new settlement points in Judea and Samaria and to fight for the Land of Israel."
Shvut Ami, founded a year ago, is actually two settlement points, across the road from each other between Karnei Shomron and Kedumim. Between the two of them, police and army forces have destroyed structures there and/or evicted the pioneer settlers nearly 20 times over the past year. Following each incident, the idealists have returned to rebuild.
A Land of Israel activist told IsraelNationalNews.com, "In addition to the arrests, the police also confiscated a car of one of our members in Kedumim. One policeman said it was an Arab car, another one said it was used to build an outpost - in short, they stole the car, and it's all part of their campaign to harass and persecute those who are busy building the Land of Israel. We will find the way to respond to this."
The security forces that destroyed Shvut Ami today also confiscated equipment and Torah books from the scene.
Residents say the demolition of Shvut Ami North took place only scant hours before a court hearing was to take place regarding the legality of the demolition. Structures in Shvut Ami South have already been declared "off limits" to the army/police demolition crews.
It was later reported that an olive orchard belonging to a nearby Arab was set afire. The police have begun an investigation.
Shvut Ami was first established a year ago, on Sukkot, together with four other outposts in various places around Judea and Samaria. The goal, as stated by a rabbis' proclamation at the time, was:
"to go from strength to strength regarding the commandment of settling the Land of Israel... We must go from one strength, namely, the communities and towns that have already been built in the Land, to the next strength - i.e., the hilltops whose construction and development are being held up for various strange reasons. These reasons stem primarily from the weakness of our [government] leadership, and also from a failure to see the reality religiously, politically and demographically... Our response is: 'Some by Supreme Court petitions, and some by terrorist attacks, but we - in the Name of the L-rd our G-d will call!" [based on Psalms 20,8] - the G-d Who has commanded us to come and inherit the land that He promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants after them."