Approximately one hundred Border Police officers and inspectors from the Civil Administration raided the homesteads ‘Sde Yonatan’ and ‘Or Meir’ in the Binyamin region this morning. The security forces demolished all the buildings at both locations, including residences and a sheepfold.
The residents of the homesteads claimed that Arab workers were hired to take part in the demolition and the confiscation of farm equipment. Among other things, the security forces confiscated a generator used to power the lights of the homestead's security system, as well as heating equipment, despite it still being winter.
The two homesteads, both built along Route 60, are currently occupied by a group of young men working to develop the area and prepare it to receive families in the near future. They are raising a flock of sheep that occupies nearby fields and cultivating extensive tracts of farmland.
Residents of the homesteads criticized the demolition: "Even during wartime, the government is still deep in the misconception and sees settlers as the true enemy. Those who decided, at a time like this, to take one hundred Border Police officers from security assignments to demolish pioneering efforts at these locations are criminals, irresponsible, and dangerous to the lives of all Israeli citizens."
Residents of Sde Yonatan commented: “Last year, this Homestead experienced dozens of attacks from the Palestinian Authority and the nearby town of Dayr Dibwan, which can be seen from the homestead which is preventing the Arab takeover like a thorn in their throat. The homestead has stood firmly against these attacks, and developed and grown its land over the last few months - land that is being kept in Jewish ownership by the actions of the homestead.”
“Unfortunately, it seems that there are those in the government who believe that preventing a Palestinian state which is taking shape in this area is the true danger, and so have decided to fight against Jewish settlement locations at any cost. To them, we say: The nation of Israel has suffered more painful persecution over the years, and only become stronger for it. This demolition will not help you, and the homestead will be rebuilt and continue to be the pioneer in our battle for the land of Judea and Samaria.”
An official in the IDF Civil Administration told Arutz Sheva - Israel National News: “The land in question is private Palestinian land, and the demolition order here has been enforced several times in the past.”