Thousands of army reservists were activated over the weekend, even on the Sabbath, and arrived in the Ramallah area in Binyamin. The suddenness of the call-up found the army without sufficient food supplies, but the residents of Beit El - adjacent to the large army base - came to the rescue. Over 2,000 soldiers, walking through Beit El to reach the shooting ranges for their pre-battle practice shooting, found that local residents had set up tables loaded with food from their own holiday meals. Local leaders got up in synagogues immediately after prayers to announce the situation, and within a half-hour, children, women, and men were on their way with bags, pots, and in some cases wagon-loads of food.
One woman related that she went into her neighbor\'s home, told her what was going on, and \"they simply got up in the middle of their meal, took the pots from the stovetop, and brought them out to the soldiers.\" Another was spotted on its way over with pots of freshly-cooked food at 1:15 in the morning. Some families hosted the soldiers in their homes, including 21 soldiers in one northern-Beit El home. The local supermarkets were opened for the cause as well.
One woman related that she went into her neighbor\'s home, told her what was going on, and \"they simply got up in the middle of their meal, took the pots from the stovetop, and brought them out to the soldiers.\" Another was spotted on its way over with pots of freshly-cooked food at 1:15 in the morning. Some families hosted the soldiers in their homes, including 21 soldiers in one northern-Beit El home. The local supermarkets were opened for the cause as well.