The residents of the ultra-Orthodox city of Beitar Illit looked in astonishment at the dozens of fighters who, equipped and heavily armed, marched the short distance to the Arab village of Hussan - located on the other side of the entrance square to the city.
"Welcome to Beit Illit, the city of the Torah and Hasidism," reads one sign.
"Entry to Israelis is prohibited," shouts a red inscription on another sign.
200 meters, the whole world.
"The Kiosk of Peace".
The battalion fighters, this week in Hussan, photo: Hanan Greenwood
"God bless you, take care of yourselves," an elderly man with a black cap shook the hands of the fighters.
The soldier in uniform smiled and acknowledged, then continued on his way to the activity in the heart of the village.
"Gush Etzion is like my home, I've been in the reserves here for 20 years," says Lt. Col. (Res.) Ido Greenspan, commander of the 21st Battalion, as he leads us on a march at breakneck speed straight to the heart of the village.
Lt. Col. (Res.) Greenspan. "Like my house", photo: Hanan Greenwood
In the last four months, Greenspan has been leading offensive activity in his sector on an unimaginable scale, in terms of Judea and Samaria.
He is married and a father of two, but he hardly saw his family during the intense period of the activity aimed at subduing the terrorism that wants to raise its head.
The activity of the forces of the 21st Battalion, photo: Hanan Greenwood
The Etzion Brigade holds the record for offensive activities in the IOS Division since the outbreak of the war. 1,370 such operations were carried out in the brigade's sector, of which 400 were by 21st Battalion fighters.
Hundreds of arrests, the seizure of more than 2.7 million shekels of terrorist funds, alongside operations under fire in the refugee camps, to the standard
"We need to understand the power"
Hussan is an example of the common life that Palestinians and Israelis lead side by side, despite all the complexities.
On the one hand, the main street where we are walking is full of shops with signs in Tshacha Hebrew, and it is very clear who the target audience of the merchants is - the Israelis from the nearby city.
But that's only half the story, because every few days terrorists come out of the village and throw stones and Molotov cocktails at cars driving on the main road.
A few years ago, the singer Itzik Kala's wife was seriously injured at the scene.
In April 2022, terrorists tried to lynch a driver who came to repair his car on the street, where you can find a business with the name "Peace Kiosk".
The forces in Hussan, photo: Hanan Greenwood
"These are terrorists who are destroying the majority of the population that lives here and wants peace," Greenspan explains.
This is also the purpose of the current operation.
In a nearby village, Nahalin, about two months ago, explosive devices were placed near the city of Beitar Illit, but after a targeted operation, the phenomenon was stopped.
The goal, along with the capture of the terrorists, also includes restoring the deterrence that has been eroded.
"The army works day and night to allow the residents here a sense of security," he clarifies.
"If you don't feel our fighting - that's a success as far as I'm concerned. The terrorists need to understand our strength - dozens of fighters raiding the village and looking for intelligence targets."
Battalion activity in Hussan, photo: Hanan Greenwood
"We will not be silent for the sake of the residents"
On the other side of the village, the deputy commander of the battalion is blocking roads to prevent attempts to run over and shoot at the force.
The high school teacher is Yossi Levy, CEO of the Netzach Yehuda association and one of the leaders of the ultra-Orthodox recruitment in Israel.
Levi in the field.
Among the leaders of ultra-Orthodox recruitment in Israel, photo: Hanan Greenwood
For many years, Major (Ret.) Levy led the special missions company of the 21st Battalion, veterans of elite units, and since the outbreak of the war he has been Greenspan's deputy
.
On top of that, my brother lives in the city with his children.
Therefore, every time a stone or a Molotov cocktail is thrown at the axis I feel as if the stone was thrown at my brother.
"We are carrying out a determined operation against popular terrorism. I think that even the residents of the sector do not understand how hard we work to protect them. There is no reserve battalion that does such an operation, it does not happen. We are doing a lot of operations at the same time to make the residents of the village who produce PFA - between Whether it's a stone that was thrown at a vehicle or it's a bomb that was thrown at us this week - understand that we will not be silent for the sake of all the residents of the sector."
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