The head of the Yesha (Judea and Samaria) Council, Pinchas Wallerstein, has apologized after publicly condemning a demonstration by new soldiers.
Wallerstein said he was sorry for speaking out before the council had had a chance to discuss the matter. The council, he said, will enact new protocols to ensure that such a mistake does not happen again. He did not relate to his criticism of the soldiers, but merely to the manner in which he announced it.
Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, Chief Rabbi of Elon Moreh, had called for Wallerstein's ouster following his condemnation of the soldiers. The rabbi said after Wallerstein's apology that he considers the case closed.
Several IDF troops had waved protest signs during a swearing-in ceremony for the Kfir Brigade at the Western Wall last week. The signs proclaimed that the soldiers would not participate in forcibly removing Jews from Homesh.
The soldiers were later punished for their behavior; two soldiers were each sentenced to 20 days in jail for raising the banner and were kicked out of the unit. The families of the soldiers who were jailed, however, said the entire platoon supported the protest against carrying out civilian expulsions.
The residents of the northern Samarian town of Homesh were expelled from their homes and the buildings destroyed during the 2005 Disengagement from Gaza. Since that time, activists have led a drive to return and rebuild the town, and IDF soldiers have repeatedly attempted to evict those that try to settle at the site.