Far right anti-pullout plot foiled

Nine youngsters who planned to sabotage phone, bank infrastructure in southern town of Be’er Sheva detained; meanwhile, activists resort to original protest in Tel Aviv
By Ronny Sofer and Avi Cohen

TEL AVIV – Anti-pullout efforts go up a notch: Nine young far right activists were detained early Tuesday in the southern town of Be’er Sheva on suspicion of planning to sabotage phone, bank, and government office infrastructure in the city.

 

Most of those arrested are settlers from Gaza and the southern West Bank. However, one detainee is a 14-year-old boy from the Golan Heights.

 

The activists were arrested in possession of anti-disengagement propaganda materials.

 

A local police official said the arrests prevented serious disruptions to the daily lives of residents.

 

Orange curbs in Tel Aviv (Photo: Avi Cohen)

“This activity by the far right is an escalation in a anti-disengagement acts, no doubt,” he said. “We have to be determined to clarify to them we do not intend to take this matter lightly.”

 

Notably, the police were deployed in force in Be’er Sheva as of Monday night following intelligence information pointing to possible far right plots.

 

Pensioners paint sidewalk curbs

 

Meanwhile, residents of the upscale Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Aviv were surprised to find that pullout objectors painted sidewalk curbs orange-white.

 

Notably, Tel Aviv features a color scheme on curbs to indicate where residents can park. Blue-and-white indicates parking in the area is allowed, while red-and-white means parking is prohibited.

 

The original protest move was carried out by a group calling itself “Orange pensioners,” which left a note to residents explaining that “as enthusiastic supporters of the disengagement plan (or maybe not…) we believe you’ll be happy to host Gush Katif and northern Samaria evacuees in your homes. As a preparatory move, we marked reserved parking spaces for them using orange and white.”