Youth from Maaleh Levona on Thursday arrived to clean the pool of the spring at the site "Khan Levona" near the town - but following their arrival, a group of Arabs came and violently attacked them.
Military forces arriving at the scene declared the location a closed military site.
On Friday morning, Maaleh Levona residents arrived at the location and were horrified to discover the destruction which the Arab rioters had sowed at the scene overnight: The Arabs had wrecked and destroyed and the spring's pool, smashing its walls and throwing heavy concrete and iron into the pool.
Binyamin Regional Council head Yisrael Gantz responded: "The Jews build and cultivate, and the Arabs destroy. This barbaric act by the Arabs shows that they also understand that this land does not belong to them. The determination of the residents of Maaleh Levona and the region, and their dedicated presence at the site in recent years, will prevail. When the State of Israel shows a soft and accepting hand towards the vandals, it encourages them and sows hope in them. This must not happen. This place will continue to grow."
The Maaleh Levona secretariat said, "We are proud of our youth, who have shown caring and involvement and who go down every day to clean and maintain this historic tourist site. Unfortunately, the rioters' attack was not warded off as it should have been by the army, and the rioters returned at night and destroyed the site. We will continue to settle the site."
"We call on the authorities to recover themselves and impose distancing orders against those who damaged it, and to place a constant IDF guard [at the site]."
The destruction at the scene Credit: Khan Levona