‘Hypocritical act.’ Confrontation in Sderot
Photo: Tal Avitan
Sderot residents confront Peace Now activists
Peace Now members arrive in Sderot to hand Peretz letter demanding that he evacuate disputed home in Hebron of Jewish settlers; Sderot residents: Where were they when we suffered from the Qassam rockets?
A confrontation erupted Sunday between a group of Peace Now activists and dozens of Sderot residents in front of Defense Minister Amir Peretz’s home in the Qassam-ridden city.
Disputed House
Liliach Shoval
After being denied permission to protest the takeover of a disputed house, leftists block Jerusalem-Hebron road in order to stop settlers from reaching the city
The Peace Now members arrived in Sderot to hand Peretz a letter demanding that he order the immediate evacuation of settlers who took over a house in Hebron.
Police officers who were dispatched to the scene separated between the groups.
“We came to hand Peretz a letter and urge him to evacuate the house,” Peace Now Director Yariv Oppenheimer said. “This must be done immediately.”
In the letter the activists said that if the government would allow 30 days to pass since the settlers entered the home the process of evacuating them would require a “complicated bureaucratic and legal procedure,” adding that the settlers are threatening to violently resist their evacuation.
“Don’t let them terrorize you,” the activists said in the letter.
The Sderot residents, for their part, said the arrival of the Peace Now activists to the city was an ‘act of hypocrisy.’
“Where were they when we suffered from the Qassam rockets?” said Alon Davidi, chairman of the Council for Sderot’s Security. “Our real enemy is in Gaza, not among the West Bank Jews.”
Peretz was not at home when the incident occurred, but the letter was delivered to his office.
