On Sunday afternoon residents of the communities of Eastern Gush Etzion along with members from Women in Green met at the ‘T’ intersection east of the Gush Etzion cluster, between Mezad and Ma’ale Amos on one side and Tekoa and Nokdim on the other, for a vigil following the shooting by Arab terrorists at a resident’s car the night before.
The organizers of the protest, Women in Green’s Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, together with Michael Luria of the Pnei Kedem community, noted that last night’s shooting incident ended miraculously, since only the driver’s leg was injured when terrorists shot at his car, while his wife and their six children, including a one-week-old infant, were also in the vehicle.
Deputy Head of the Gush Etzion Council Moshe Savil called for an end to the policy of “containing” terror incidents and for the implementation of full security for the residents of the area in all of the main roads.
Brigade commander of the area, Col. (Res.) Roman Gofman, also came to the site and heard from representatives of Women in Green that it was exactly in that place, about two years ago, there had been a protest vigil for several weeks, which ended after protesters were promised cellular reception in the area to assure the security forces’ quick and effective response, a regular transport station and a manned pillbox, all of which were supposed to offer a message of security to travelers in the area.
The protesters complained to the brigade commander that since that promise was made, there has been no actual change. There still is no cellular reception, a transportation station has not been set up and there is no pillbox. Their demand, they explained to the brigade commander, is now even sharper and more emphatic because of the recurring terror attacks in the area and in the traffic routes around the intersection.