According to Hakol Hayehudi, a serious incident unfolded a few hours after the start of Shabbat on the Mount Hazor ridge in Binyamin, Samaria. An IDF officer arrived at a newly established Jewish community in the area with the goal of evacuating the residents. Upon exiting his vehicle, the officer reportedly fired live rounds over the heads of those present and threatened to “kill them all.”
The situation quickly escalated, with security forces reportedly deploying large amounts of tear gas and stun grenades directly at the settlers. During the incident, a 14-year-old boy was struck and sustained moderate to serious injuries. He was evacuated to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, where he was hospitalized in the intensive care unit with a gunshot wound to his upper body, shoulder fractures, and lung damage caused by the impact.
Yisrael Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council stated, “There is no place for violence of any kind—certainly not against our security forces—and anyone who engaged in violence should be held accountable under the law. This is the unified stance of the entire settlement movement.”
This sad scenario replays itself like a never-ending nightmare and it did not have to happen. The ongoing nature of the tensions, violence, or confrontations in the region clearly mandates the need for sovereignty NOW! Yes, it seems the soldier sounded quite aggressive in his quest to carry out his job. However, we repeat ourselves time and again…. with the application of sovereignty over Judea and Samaria this serious incident could have been avoided.