Prime Minister Netanyahu's office announced Tuesday evening that in order to prevent a recurrence of events as happened today in Gush Etzion, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed that as long as the war continues, the evacuation and demolition of the homes of fighters and reservists settling in outposts in Judea and Samaria must be stopped.
The prime minister's decision comes against the backdrop of the evacuation of the outpost near the settlement of Penny Kedem in eastern Gush Etzion. As part of the demolition, a closed military zone order was imposed on the entire sector, which led to strong criticism from Religious Zionist Knesset members. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who even tried to sabotage the evacuation, said: "It is unfortunate that on such a difficult morning, and on days when the IDF is busy with war, the OC, with the approval of the defense minister, diverts forces to enforce against settlers." Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also criticized the decision to evacuate: "Instead of stopping and destroying the illegal Palestinian takeover of the areas, Galant chooses to stick a finger in the eye of the settlers and fighters. This is the continuation of the concept, turning the lover into the enemy and the enemy into the lover."
Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
One of the houses demolished in the outpost belonged to MK Zvi Sukkot's brother, Naftali, who even commented on the destruction: "On Simchat Torah morning, I was called up to the reserves. I give my all day and night and don't see the family. On the last night I got off a shift at 2am. Two hours later, I received a phone call: "You're being evacuated, you're being evacuated." I arrived at the scene and saw quantities of forces. It hurt twice – both because my house was evacuated and because I've been in reserve duty for three and a half months and I'm constantly told there's a manpower problem. Where did these forces come from to evacuate some people who would have already voluntarily evacuated? Bring them to us. If they had told us to leave, we wouldn't have raised our hands on a soldier. If the state tells us to evacuate, we will. Bring us some of the forces. The commanders who ordered this evacuation - we feel that you spit in our faces."
Naftali Sukkot, brother of MK Zvi Sukkot, whose home was destroyed while on reserve duty, reacts to the destruction
MK Limor Sun Har Melech praised the Prime Minister's decision in a post on the X social network: "I welcome the Prime Minister's announcement that destruction must be avoided during this period. At the same time, I expect it to be made clear to the defense minister and the OC that in the right-wing government, demolishing buildings, neighborhoods and communities in Judea and Samaria, at any time, is off limits."
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