Knesset Member Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) revealed Monday from the Knesset podium that the military plan for tearing down Jewish buildings in Judea and Samaria was leaked by a source close to the Defense Minister. The documents showed an outline for a plan that included cutting off cellphone communication in the communities where structures were to be torn down, preventing journalists from entering and using various tactics of war against the residents. They also predicted scenarios in which local residents would fire at the soldiers and police, and the latter would fire back. Ben Ari said that while he does not know the exact identity of the person who leaked the document, he does know for certain that it was leaked from within the circles close to the Defense Minister, by someone who apparently felt aversion to the plan. Ben Ari refused to answer further queries on the subject by Knesset Members when he stepped down from the podium. Ben Ari spoke during a Knesset discussion of a government decision to relieve the Minister of Interior of responsibility for certain matters and to transfer them to the jurisdiction of the Minister of Transport, because of a possible conflict of interest. He asked how it was possible that the government, which is careful about light conflicts of interest, could send the IDF to fight citizens. “How can the populace be used against the populace?” he asked. Ben Ari told the story of Roman Emperor Gaius Caligula who attempted to have his statue placed in the Jewish Temple. The Jews of Akko prevented the statue from being transferred to Jerusalem, yet the Roman general Petronius did not attack them for it. “It seems Petronius understood something that Gaius did not,” Ben Ari said. “Who will be Gaius and who will be Petronius?” he asked.
