Two weeks after shepherds at the Mikneh Avraham homestead in Gush Etzion reported two violent attacks by Palestinian Arabs, Border Police officers and Civil Administration inspectors conducted an overnight raid on the hill on Wednesday. For the first time, authorities confiscated the flock that had been raised at the site.
The goats were loaded individually onto a trailer and transported to the Civil Administration base in Beit El. Officials said the seizure was carried out due to “entry into a closed military zone."
Residents of the outpost said they would launch a public campaign to secure the flock’s immediate return. “What took place here tonight is unprecedented in the past decade - an assault on the flocks that protect the fields and represent the very heart of pioneering settlement," they said.
They further condemned what they described as an ongoing pattern of demolitions in settlements, stating, “The absurd reality in which nearly every night brings another demolition is a disgrace and a lasting stain on the Minister of Defense and other government officials who remain silent. We call on you to stop targeting one of the most Zionist tools safeguarding the future of Judea and Samaria. We will not allow harm to the settlement enterprise."