West Bank Jewish Settlers Demand More Freedom to Deal with Disorder

Jewish settlers on the West Bank are demanding greater freedom to deal with disorder in the territory, particularly the proliferation of stone-throwing incidents by Arab youths. The defense establishment insists that the army must have complete control of security matters and seems determined to prevent vigilantism on the part of settlers.

The Council of Jewish Settlements in Judaea, Samaria and the Gaza Region met in emergency session yesterday to complain about “the growing number of rock attacks on Jewish vehicles in the territory.” It reportedly adopted a series of resolutions to deal with the problem. They were not made public but, according to unofficial reports, the Council decided to create a new body to “act and react” to attacks on Jews.

LEVINGER CRITICIZES DEFENSE MINISTRY

Rabbi Moshe Levinger, leader of the Gush Emunim militants of Kiryat Arba, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that “the Defense Ministry is helpless and has not changed its basic position regarding the attacks on us.” The army, while quelling stone-throwing and other acts of violence by Arabs, has tried, not always successfully, to prevent reprisals by Jewish settlers.

When a rock was thrown at a bus enroute from Jerusalem to Kiryat Arba, as it passed through the Arab town of Halhoul, the passengers, mostly Kiryat Arba residents, got off and began to dance in the streets. They were joined by other Jews from passing cars and the main street of the town was blocked to traffic.

The army rushed troops to the scene and prevailed upon the settlers to leave. But a number of unidentified settlers remained in the town to smash the windows of several houses and the windshields of Arab buses. Arab eye-witnesses told the JTA that three men and a woman hurled rocks through their windows.

Levinger denied that there was any plan to smash windows and claimed he didn’t know who was responsible. But he insisted that Jews had the right to block roads and take “other action” because of the “ineptitude” of the security authorities.

Col. Shmuel Zucker, military commander on the West Bank, met with the Kiryat Arba leaders several days ago. He told them the army was doing its best to restore law and order in the territory and rejected the idea that the settlers “take the law into their own hands.” The settlers were not satisfied with his position and decided to call the emergency meeting of the settlers council.

The friction was aggravated when Kiryat Arba residents went on a one-hour general strike Sunday to protest the arrest of Eliezer Itzkovitz, a local man who was sentenced to a year in prison for opening fire on Arab youngsters who threw stones at him. The sentence was pronounced two years after the incident.

MURDERERS OF GROSS APPREHENDED

Meanwhile, an army spokesman announced Sunday that the gang responsible for the murder of yeshiva student Aharon Gross in the Hebron marketplace last July has been apprehended and confessions obtained. The alleged killers were not identified but were described by the spokesman as “religious extremists.” Kiryat Arba residents immediately demanded the death penalty for them. Israel does not have a death penalty.

Labor Alignment MKs Yossi Sarid and Victor Shemtov praised the authorities today for capturing the murderers of Gross. They expressed hope that the same efforts would be devoted to finding the killers of peace activist Emil Grunzweig last February and the perpetrators of the bomb attacks which maimed two Arab mayors on the West Bank in 1981. Jewish extremists are believed responsible for those crimes.