MK Limor Son Har-Melech: Stop Dismantling Jewish Settlements

MK Limor Son Har-Melech | Meta

MK Limor Son Har-Melech. Screengrab via Youtube

Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, MK Limor Son Har-Melech released the following statement in regards to the misplaced focus of Israeli resources on dismantling settlements and farms which help secure Israel’s hold on the land:

“In days when the State of Israel is dealing with security challenges from all sides—terrorism, infiltration attempts, illegal takeover of state lands, and increasing threats to settlement—it is appropriate to ask where the resources of the security system are being directed. Again and again, repeatedly, they are directed precisely against the pioneers. Farms and settlement outposts are evacuated frequently, as if this is the most urgent mission of the State of Israel.

This morning we saw it again at the Kochav Yehuda farm in Gush Etzion. Dozens of Border Police officers operating under Central Command chief Avi Blot arrived at the site, demolished the family home, the boys’ residential structure, and the water tank, and arrested residents. Just last night, large forces also operated at the Shirat Zion outpost in Samaria.

The policy led by the regional commander has turned the pioneers who are on the front line of settlement into a target. Instead of concentrating all forces on fighting terrorism, on taking control of state lands, and on protecting the citizens of Israel, hundreds of soldiers, Border Police officers, and demolition equipment are being directed against Zionist families who are realizing the vision of settlement.

It is not possible to speak about strengthening settlement while at the same time destroying more and more settlement outposts. It is not possible to speak about sovereignty, and in practice to conduct a policy that harms precisely those who are on the front line of safeguarding national lands.

I demand that this destructive policy be stopped immediately. The role of the IDF is to protect the citizens of Israel, strengthen our hold on the land, and fight our enemies. It is time for the resources, forces, and determination to be directed toward those who threaten the security of the state, and not toward the pioneers who strengthen settlement.”