Central Command commander Avi Bluth visited the sukkah of Binyamin Regional Council head and YESHA Council chairman Israel Ganz in the community of Psagot.
Bluth and Ganz met with heads of local communities in Binyamin and discussed residents’ security and IDF operations in Judea and Samaria. Bluth presented a security assessment and answered questions from the community leaders. They later toured Metzukei Eretz, a new town along the Alon Highway between Rimonim and Kochav HaShachar, where 12 families moved in last week.
At the beginning of the meeting, Ganz thanked Bluth and IDF soldiers on behalf of the residents of the region. “I want to tell you, on behalf of hundreds of thousands, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart," Ganz said. “We are at war on seven fronts. What we have experienced here in recent years is a great miracle, but it cannot be taken for granted. We have been granted a large army and soldiers who give of themselves."
“We have a task to advance the settlements, and the general has a task to protect and thwart terror. We work together, always in cooperation."
Bluth described the ongoing activities of IDF brigades and divisions aimed at protecting residents and preventing terror attacks. He also highlighted the partnership between the IDF and local communities, saying it contributes to regional security.
Ganz and Bluth met with the families who established the new community. Bluth said he was impressed by their pioneering spirit and by their role in shaping a new reality in the area. One resident recounted how the families arrived with crates of equipment shortly before Shabbat and the holiday, while residents from surrounding communities mobilized to help them.
Ganz thanked the families for choosing to build their homes in Metzukei Eretz, as well as the regional council staff who accompanied their initiative.