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Photo: AFP
Rightist in Sderot, pre-Disengagement
Photo: AFP

13 rightists arrested before Gush Katif rally

Police detain over a dozen organizers of planned march from Sderot towards Gaza, aimed to protest against 'abandonment of south' and set up outpost next to border fence with Gaza

Thirteen people, from Sderot and the West Bank settlements of Shvut Rachel and Kiryat Arba, were arrested Sunday morning in a police attempt to stop a rightist march towards the former Jewish settlement bloc of Gush Katif in Gaza.

 

Police claim that these were legal preventive arrests, as detainees had proclaimed their intentions of committing a crime.

 

The march, in protest of the "abandonment of the south," was scheduled to set out from Sderot at noon and, according to organizers, participants intended to "set up outposts along the border fence with Gaza, with the intention of re-establishing the Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip."

 

Forces arrived in Sderot Sunday morning and set up an operations tent, after earlier efforts to stop the event were apparently unsuccessful.

 

According to right-wing activists, police tried in the last week to convince Rabbi Dov Lior to call off the march. In addition to Lior, Daniella Weiss, and Knesset members Yaakov Katz and Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) were also expected to participate.

 

Police sources noted that, in the past, event organizers breached fences and arrived at locations that were closed off for security purposes. In 2008, for example, a group of rightists arrived near Nativ Haasara, close to the Gaza border, in an attempt to return to the destroyed settlements of Elei Sinai and Nissanit.

 

Police are still undecided about whether to allow event organizers to hold a rally in Sderot.

 

'Reminiscent of foul regimes'

Itamar Ben-Gvir, on of the event organizers, said in response to the arrests that "I don't remember any incidents in which leftists were arrested prior to protests, such as those in Bilin or other places, as a preventive measure. When it comes to us, police undertake steps reminiscent of foul regimes."

 

According to Sderot Mayor David Buskila, event organizers had not received a permit from police, emphasizing that "any disturbance of the public peace is unacceptable."

 

"I spoke with the Sderot Police Chief and he told me that they had asked the organizers why they hadn't just requested a permit and the rightists responded that they didn't want a permit," Buskila said.

 

"In my opinion, this is inconsiderate of city residents who want peace and quiet in these days. It would have been only appropriate for the organizers to consult with us, the Sderot municipality, before undertaking such an initiative that might disturb the peace," he added.

 

In response, Ben-Gvir said that he and the other organizers do not intend to request a permit. "I don't think you need a permit in order to travel in Israel. We're not members of the Yesha council, who ask for permits in order to be fenced in like in Kfar Maimon. This is why we didn't ask for a permit," he said.

 

Simultaneously, MK Ben-Ari, submitted a request to regional police that all detainees be released immediately. He stated that he would petition the High Court of Justice if they were not released.

 


פרסום ראשון: 04.12.09, 11:38
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