Security forces came on Tuesday to evict and demolish buildings in Havat Yair in Samaria near a lookout that was built in memory of Motti Shamir, who fell in defense of Re'im on October 7th. The buildings were constructed on "survey lands" intended to be classified as state land and are in the community's future planning zone. The lookout itself will not be demolished. Minister Bezalel Smotrich. who oversees the Civil Administration, did not approve the demolition. However, the defense establishment overcame that detail by issuing an opinion justifying the demolition for security reasons. This in turn transferred the authority over the demolition to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who authorized it. The Samaria Regional Council emphasized that at the site where the neighborhood was built, terrorists had in the past opened fire and threw burning toward Havat Yair in an attempt to burn the brush and cause a fire in the village. Since families began living there, the terror attacks on the village stopped. Amichai Eitam, the Chairman of the Havat Yair Local Council, stated: "We truly believe that the people of Israel are right and we will continue to strengthen the settlement of the land, the security of the village residents, and the memory of the heroes of Israel." Motti Shamir (30), who was in the middle of his military-sponsored studies after serving as a company commander, rushed from his home in Havat Yair to protect the communities in the Gaza envelope. He managed to fight in several battles and protect Kibbutz Re'im but fell while evacuating the wounded. Due to the demolition, the Knesset Subcommittee for Judea and Samaria Issues Chairman MK Tzvi Succot (Religious Zionism) called will convene an emergency session of the committee to examine the opinion issued by the defense establishment to allow for the demolition.
