Yesha Council rally against freeze
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Yesha Council vows to fight IDF's razing plan
Council says will do all it can to foil army's plan to demolish illegally built homes as part of settlement freeze enforcement; adds anyone using military resources against young couples 'has lost his senses'
The Yesha Council called an emergency meeting Sunday following the publication of the military's operational plan to enforce halt construction orders issued as part of the government decision to freeze settlement expansion.
The council announced it was going to do everything within its power to see the plan thwarted.
Operational Plan
Judea and Samaria Brigade to head operation in which West Bank communities with illegal structures will be isolated; soldiers will intervene only if violence breaks out. Plan also calls for swift legal action against rioters. Defense minister: No force will be used if settlers obey law. Settler leaders: Plan sinister, Barak war criminal
"Anyone using military resources meant to fight terror against 'enemies' the likes of young couples who want to build their home in Judea and Samaria has lost his senses along with any restraint," said the council's statement.
The plan, formed by the Israel Defense Forces Central Command, included a plan to raze illegally built homes, as part of the second stage of the enforcement efforts.
The military operation stands to include police, Border Guard, Air Force and Shin Bet officers, as well as the police Special Forces Unit.
According to the plan, any settlement in which illegal structures are to be razed will be sealed off, as will the adjacent communities, cellular signals will be jammed and no media coverage will be allowed.
IDF soldiers will not be stationed in the settlement, but should an altercation erupt, they will be called in.
The plan also included a contingency should the use of firearms prove necessary, but the draft noted there was no concrete information to that effect.
The outline sparked controversy, prompting the IDF Spokesman's Unit to that it was "merely a rough draft."
