Settlers in Jerusalem
Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg
Police gear for nationwide settlers' riots
Police chief orders force on high alert as right-wing activists vow to unleash 'tsunami of protests' following failed Ulpana vote
The Israel police have declared a high alert Wednesday, following several settlers' riots over the quashing of the settlement regulation bill.
The bill, which aimed to circumvent a High Court ruling and prevent the eviction of five homes in Beit El's Ulpana neighborhood, was voted down 69:22.
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- Settlement regulation bill fails vote; settlers riot
- Netanyahu defends voting down 'Ulpana bill'
- Likud split over settlement regulation bill
The settlers were enraged to learn of the vote's result, promising a "tsunami of protests."
Burning tires on Highway 1 (Photos: Ohad Zwigenberg)
Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino ordered forces in all districts on high alert, promising that order will be maintained.
Dozens of right-wing activists set tires on fire at the Highway 1 entrance to Jerusalem, in an attempt to block the city's main gateway.
A few blocks away, settlers set a dumpster on fire and pushed it down towards the light rail station in the city causing temporary disruptions to traffic.
Firefighting forces extinguished the flames and the police dispersed the crowds.
Clashes in Jerusalem
Soon after the result of the vote was announced, some 1,000 right-wing activists blocked the entrance to the Knesset Plaza, having walked there from the protest tent they set up outside the Supreme Court.
The settlers clashed with local security forces. Five people were detained.
Rabbi Yair Frank, from Amona, vowed that "The Knesset will not be allowed to rest until it comes up with a true, just and a Zionist solution. In a democratic state the majority rules – not a legislative minority that uses its legal platform to impose a foreign agenda on the state.
"For the record – we did not lose (the vote). We are on the road to victory. The fight for Ulpana will now be fought on the street."
Frank stressed that the settlers' protest was "just and moral. This lie can't hold water. Our protest will only grow stronger."
The House, he added, has not heard the last of the settlement regulation bill: "It was presented today; it will be presented tomorrow and next week and so on – until a solution is found. We believe in justice and it will prevail, either through legislation or through the (State) Prosecution seeing the light.
"We’ve had our fill of images of bulldozers… we want our homes to remain whole," he concluded.
Itamar Fleishman contributed to this report
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