The demolition of a new building in a small outpost and the evacuation of some 70 people there signals the beginning of a new wave of struggle for the Land of Israel. Veteran settler pioneer Daniella Weiss is optimistic.
"Two years of stubborn persistence in Shevut Ami," she says, "have proven that any thought of uprooting Jews from their land will not succeed – and certainly after the bitter lessons learned from Gush Katif. It is clear that the People of Israel will never again give up parts of their homeland. Our persistence is a symbol of the People's attachment to their Land and their refusal to give it away."
Weiss, who began her pioneering activities in Judea and Samaria in the early days of the Gush Emunim movement around the time of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, spoke on Sunday with Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine.
The interview took place just hours after army forces razed a building in Shevut Ami Bet, just outside Kedumim in north-central Samaria [Shomron], early Sunday morning. Over 700 people had participated there in post-holiday Torah dancing celebrations, known as Hakafot Sheniyot, on Saturday night, several hours before.
Twelve teenaged boys and two girls were arrested in the course of the evacuation, and were kept on a truck – without food or bathroom rights – until the late morning hours.
Shevut Ami Bet, also known as Mitzpeh Ami, is across the road from Shevut Ami, a site with a constant Jewish presence. "Either the army is there," Weiss told Israel National News, "or else we are. Whenever the army leaves, we go in. Sometimes we stay for days at a time."
Families and singles staffed many outposts in Judea and Samaria throughout the weeklong Sukkot holiday. "There was much Sukkot joy in the outposts," Weiss said, "including Beit HaShoevah dancing [a part of the Sukkot celebrations - ed.], Hakafot Shniyot, and more. Many families wanted to take part in expanding the outposts… We plan to bring more families to live in these new neighborhoods and add more structures – of the kind removed this morning by the army, sent by Defense Minister Ehud Barak. This will prove Israel's desire to retain and build our land."
Grassroots organizations are planning to step up their struggle on behalf of the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria - areas in Israel's biblical heartland on which the Palestinian Authority wants to establish a 23rd Arab state. Now that the holidays are over, they say, "We intend to extend an immediate helping hand toward the residents of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, including concrete assistance, political leverage and emotional support."
The organizations - Mattot Arim, Women in Green and Professors for a Strong Israel – say they will provide similar support to the "younger, smaller outpost communities in which 7,000 Israelis already reside - similar to the number deported from Gush Katif with such wrenching results and traumatic damage for every Israeli, and no benefit." For information and support, email sddym@bezeqint.net, wfit2@womeningreen.org, or chug-psi@zahav.net.il.
In photo, top left: A Mattot Arim activist from Petach Tikvah and his two children, visiting Shvut Ami for the traditional Hakafot Shniyot celebration Sat. night. Their home-made banner reads: "Hakafot yes, settlement freeze [hakpaot, in Hebrew] - no".