The defense ministry’s harassment of the Homesh Yeshiva continues while Minister Benny Gantz is busy fighting for his political future in the Knesset. Overnight, an IDF bulldozer piled up dirt around the yeshiva’s parking lot, blocking access to the lot that was set up near the place where yeshiva student Yehuda Dimentman Hy’d was murdered on December 17, 2021. The bulldozer trapped several cars belonging to yeshiva staff and students.
Such practical jokers.
We asked a spokesperson for the yeshiva how they were going to release those trapped cars and he said, the old-fashioned way: shovels and elbow grease.
Meanwhile, the same defense ministry announced on Wednesday that its Department of Engineering and Construction and the IDF Central Command have begun the construction of a 45-kilometer security barrier in northern Samaria, which will include a protective wall, as well as additional technological means. Naturally, Homesh, which was evacuated and cut off from Israel proper back in 2005 on the whim of then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, will find itself on the wrong side of this wall.
It’s funny how the Israeli government and the IDF are investing millions in securing a largely isolated area of northern Samaria, while holes in the security fence near the major Israeli settlements are big enough for thousands of illegal Arabs and their cars to get through.
Gantz stated on Wednesday: “We are continuing our defensive efforts in the north by strengthening the Judea and Samaria security barrier and providing solutions for the Israeli home front. These efforts constitute an integral part of our operational activity. Along with this, we will continue to operate against all threats we face in order to maintain the security of Israel’s civilians.”
He didn’t mention tormenting the people of Homesh on a daily basis, but it was probably included in there somewhere. In addition to Wednesday morning’s “prank,” the IDF has confiscated five cars belonging to Homesh residents, as part of the overall efforts to make it more difficult to access the outpost.
The people of Homesh believe there’s a majority in the Knesset today in favor of leaving them alone, but Gantz is using them as fodder to appeal to his base. The problem is that should Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu become the next prime minister, he is probably going to invite Gantz or someone like him to serve as his defense minister. It’s what he does.
