MK Itamar Ben Gvir, chairman of the Otzma Yehudit party, made clear on Monday evening that despite all the proposals made to him, he intends to remain in the Shimon Hatzadik neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem until a permanent solution is found to maintain the security of the Jews living in the neighborhood.
“An official suggested that I evacuate the office [I set up here] and assured me that security guards from the nearest branch of the National Insurance Institute would overlook the home of Tal Yushuvayev. This is a contemptuous proposition. I am staying here, we own the land," Ben Gvir said in a statement to the media.
"There was another proposal by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion to network the place with security cameras. I know and cherish Lion, but there are a lot of cameras here and they did not prevent Tal's vehicle from being torched nine times and rocks from being thrown at his home three times, until the last arson that could have led to the murder of the family," he added.
Ben Gvir stressed, "If they do not put security here, I will not move from here. Naftali Bennett is a con man. This is a fraudulent government. He came here before the election and promised the residents to protect them. Since the election they have not seen him once. Come here, do not run away to Bahrain, and solve this issue."
On Sunday night, Ben Gvir fainted after being violently evicted by police from his temporary office in Shimon Hatzadik.
Police also violently evicted right-wing activists from a private home in the area.
The incident occurred following clashes between Jewish residents and lawmakers from the predominantly Joint List, who confronted Ben Gvir and his supporters.
Also known as Sheikh Jarrah, Shimon Hatzadik has been the scene of repeated Arab riots, terror attacks, and regular incidents of vandalism and harassment against the neighborhood’s Jewish population.
A Jewish family’s home was firebombed by local Arabs Friday evening, with Arab rioters clashing with police a day later and an Arab driver ramming a man in his 20s Saturday night.