After almost four stormy hours of attempts to destroy the remaining structures in the Gilad Farm, and after an aborted shot at it last night, the army finally succeeded shortly before 3 PM this afternoon. After the synagogue was taken down, and after a crane was put out of commission by the crowds that arrived to prevent the uprooting of the site, an army jeep did the final honors and destroyed the remaining caravan. The army was unable to cart off the two large containers that had been used as living quarters, and instead cut them in half and welded them shut. Hundreds of people remain at the site at this hour, vowing to keep up a Jewish presence at the site.
The uprooting of the farm this afternoon was the most recent chapter in an ongoing national controversy involving Sabbath desecration, allegations of unfulfilled commitments and personal political motivations, ministerial name-calling, violence between security personnel and Land of Israel faithful, and the perpetual dispute over allowing Jews to actualize their rights to their land.
This latest chapter began when Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer, widely assumed to be under political pressure from his left-wing opponents Amram Mitzna and Chaim Ramon in the race for Labor Party chairman, announced earlier this month his plans to evacuate and uproot a list of illegal outposts in Judea and Samaria (Yesha). Yesha leaders announced that most of the outposts were in various stages of the legalization process, that they would be willing to uproot some of the unmanned spots, and were prepared to continue the old traditions of conducting dialogue regarding the populated points.
This past Wednesday, Ben-Eliezer began carrying out his threats. However, over 1,000 people showed up at the Gilad Farm near Kedumim to resist the army's plans to dismantle and uproot the site. They finally left peacefully - for the most part - after landowner Moshe Zar said he did not wish to clash with the soldiers. He said that a compromise had been reached, according to which soldiers would be stationed on the farm while its fields were worked by civilians who would go home at night. On Thursday, the army sent forces to fix up one of the structures that had been damaged - apparent proof of the arrangement that had been reached. Ben-Eliezer, however, denied having made a compromise.
On Friday, rumors began circulating that the army was on its way, and last night, a crowd again showed up to join those who spent the Sabbath there - only to find that the uprooting had already begun. Hundreds of soldiers had been driven to the site on the Sabbath, in a desecration of the holy day that is permitted only for missions involving security. Together with policemen, they began trying to take down both the crowds and the structures. They did not succeed, and the mission was put on hold. Seven policemen were widely reported injured in scuffles with the settlers, but the local Police Commander later denied this (see below). Moshe Zar, who established the outpost in memory of his son Gilad after he was gunned down by Arab terrorists near Kedumim, experienced chest pains during the melee, and was taken to the hospital for treatment. When he returned, he tried to negotiate a peaceful solution to the situation.
At 11:00 this morning, after still more people had arrived to prevent the uprooting of the Gilad Farm, the army tried again. Arutz-7's Effie Meir reported from the site that many of those who came to protest the dismantling of the site hurled insults at the soldiers and policemen, and "most of the insults were directed towards the religious soldiers - some of whom had a very difficult emotional time of it and shed tears at the difficult situation in which they found themselves." He said that the last violent evacuation of this sort occurred over a year ago in Maon, "but then there were only a few dozen protestors, while now there are many hundreds." Around 1 PM, he said, "The army is simply not succeeding in taking down the last building... The army has closed the roads, but people are still arriving by foot; it's only a half-hour walk from Kedumim..."
Four hours after it began, and after scuffling, dragging, pushing, and lying down in front of heavy army equipment - though one reporter said that despite all, the violence "remained within the realm of good taste" - the job was done, at least as far as the buildings were concerned. This left only the problems of the people on the hilltop, the Sabbath desecration and associated issues, the inter-ministerial rancor, and the dispute between right and left and those in the middle.
The uprooting of the farm this afternoon was the most recent chapter in an ongoing national controversy involving Sabbath desecration, allegations of unfulfilled commitments and personal political motivations, ministerial name-calling, violence between security personnel and Land of Israel faithful, and the perpetual dispute over allowing Jews to actualize their rights to their land.
This latest chapter began when Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer, widely assumed to be under political pressure from his left-wing opponents Amram Mitzna and Chaim Ramon in the race for Labor Party chairman, announced earlier this month his plans to evacuate and uproot a list of illegal outposts in Judea and Samaria (Yesha). Yesha leaders announced that most of the outposts were in various stages of the legalization process, that they would be willing to uproot some of the unmanned spots, and were prepared to continue the old traditions of conducting dialogue regarding the populated points.
This past Wednesday, Ben-Eliezer began carrying out his threats. However, over 1,000 people showed up at the Gilad Farm near Kedumim to resist the army's plans to dismantle and uproot the site. They finally left peacefully - for the most part - after landowner Moshe Zar said he did not wish to clash with the soldiers. He said that a compromise had been reached, according to which soldiers would be stationed on the farm while its fields were worked by civilians who would go home at night. On Thursday, the army sent forces to fix up one of the structures that had been damaged - apparent proof of the arrangement that had been reached. Ben-Eliezer, however, denied having made a compromise.
On Friday, rumors began circulating that the army was on its way, and last night, a crowd again showed up to join those who spent the Sabbath there - only to find that the uprooting had already begun. Hundreds of soldiers had been driven to the site on the Sabbath, in a desecration of the holy day that is permitted only for missions involving security. Together with policemen, they began trying to take down both the crowds and the structures. They did not succeed, and the mission was put on hold. Seven policemen were widely reported injured in scuffles with the settlers, but the local Police Commander later denied this (see below). Moshe Zar, who established the outpost in memory of his son Gilad after he was gunned down by Arab terrorists near Kedumim, experienced chest pains during the melee, and was taken to the hospital for treatment. When he returned, he tried to negotiate a peaceful solution to the situation.
At 11:00 this morning, after still more people had arrived to prevent the uprooting of the Gilad Farm, the army tried again. Arutz-7's Effie Meir reported from the site that many of those who came to protest the dismantling of the site hurled insults at the soldiers and policemen, and "most of the insults were directed towards the religious soldiers - some of whom had a very difficult emotional time of it and shed tears at the difficult situation in which they found themselves." He said that the last violent evacuation of this sort occurred over a year ago in Maon, "but then there were only a few dozen protestors, while now there are many hundreds." Around 1 PM, he said, "The army is simply not succeeding in taking down the last building... The army has closed the roads, but people are still arriving by foot; it's only a half-hour walk from Kedumim..."
Four hours after it began, and after scuffling, dragging, pushing, and lying down in front of heavy army equipment - though one reporter said that despite all, the violence "remained within the realm of good taste" - the job was done, at least as far as the buildings were concerned. This left only the problems of the people on the hilltop, the Sabbath desecration and associated issues, the inter-ministerial rancor, and the dispute between right and left and those in the middle.