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Soliders at scene of attack
Photo: Efrat Weiss

Bat Ayin: Why should we live behind a fence?

Despite murderous terror attack that took place there Thursday noon, residents of Bat Ayin settlement say refuse to admit absence of fence around community contributed to attack's success

Unlike the majority of West Bank settlements, Bat Ayin, where a murderous terror attack took place on Thursday, is not surrounded by a fence. The terrorist who killed a local teen, Shlomo Nativ, and injured a seven-year-old child managed to get in and out of the place without encountering any obstacle.

 

However, Bat Ayin residents refused to admit that the absence of a fence contributed to the attack's success.

 

"I've been living in Bat Ayin for five years," Yona Bitkover told Ynet. "There are all kinds of reasons why there isn't a fence here. I personally think that there is no reason for settlers to live any differently than the other residents of Israel. I don't think residents should live behind fences."

 

Bitkover added that even fences were not impenetrable. "It doesn't strike me as an advantage from the security perspective. A fence can be infiltrated."

 

Meanwhile, the Binyamin and Samaria Residents Council issued a statement placing the blame for the attack on Defense Minster Ehud Barak.

 

"This is the direct result of a policy led by the defense minister of easing restrictions and removing checkpoints," said the statement. "The prime minister and the IDF chief of staff must realize that Barak's foolish security policy is meant to serve his personal interest vis-à-vis the Left… we demand that the government put a stop to this irresponsibility."

 

Extreme settlement

The settlement of Bat Ayin, founded in 1989, is home to some 800 people. According to the settlement's website, the local community includes Torah scholars, teachers, artists, high tech professionals and small business owners.

 

The residents of Bat Ayin are considered more radical than their neighbors in the relatively moderate Gush Etzion settlements. At the beginning of the decade the police uncovered the "Bat Ayin underground," a Jewish terror cell that plotted to murder Palestinians. three of the cell's members are currently serving jail terms.

 

Two years ago the community lost one of its members, Erez Levanon, 42, who was killed by a Palestinian in a nearby Wadi.

 


פרסום ראשון: 04.02.09, 15:28
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