Rabbi Moshe Levinger, a Gush Emunim militant, wants to locate a Jewish settlement on a rocky hill overlooking the Dahaishe refugee camp, a hotbed of anti-Israel sentiment which is expressed by rock-throwing at passing Israeli vehicles.
He has discussed the idea with Matityahu Drobless, co-chairman of the World Zionist Organization’s settlement department, and plans to lobby the government for approval.
Levinger calls his chosen site “Jewish Bethlehem.” According to Scriptures, it was the home of Yishai, father of King David. Levinger has been on a sit-down strike in front of the Dahaishe camp for the past three days and parked a mobile caravan there yesterday. But the army forced him to remove it this afternoon.
Levinger heads the Jewish militants of Kiryat Arba, a township established adjacent to Hebron more than a decade ago after similar tactics. He and a group of followers have more recently ensconced themselves in the heart of the Arab town, claiming they are restoring the Jewish quarter abandoned in the Arab uprising of 1929.
Levinger is a vociferous critic of government policy on the West Bank which he contends is too easy on Arabs. He has demanded stricter punishment for rock-throwers. The authorities insist that maximum efforts are being made to curtail such acts but they cannot be eliminated altogether.
Meanwhile, tension is rising on the West Bank and Gaza with the approach of Balfour Day on November 2, the 67th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. There were several rock-throwing incidents in the Ramallah area today. The windshield of one Israeli vehicle was smashed, but no one was hurt. A number of suspects were detained for questioning.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
