On Friday, 8 Sivan 5773, following an argument between border policemen and youths living in the Seruga outpost of Yitzhar, two youths were detained. Despite efforts made by residents to prevent the detention, the detainees were removed via a nearby Arab village. On Sunday 10 Sivan, the Petah Tikvah Magistrate Court ordered that the detainees be placed under a restraining order banning them from entering Yitzhar for 60 days.

Arabs from the village of Orif, located near Yitzhar, have made it a habit during the past few months to approach Yitzhar every day and throw rocks at the soldiers and residents of the community who arrive on the scene. Yitzhar residents claim that not only does the army not do what it is required to do, but also prevents them from driving away the Arabs. Usually, the clashes center around the Seruga outpost, which is relatively close to the village of Orif.

Last Friday (8 Sivan), after clashes between Arabs and IDF soldiers and border police who were in the area, an argument developed between two residents of the Seruga outpost and several border policemen. According to the policemen the youths called out to the non-Jewish policeman among them that he should leave the community and that he served the interests of the Arabs. The policemen detained one of the youths, and then another, after he attempted to prevent the detention of the first.

For several hours Yitzhar residents succeeding in blocking the border policemen and preventing them from leaving with the detainees. In the end, shortly before Shabbos, the policemen decided to leave via a nearby Arab village. The detainees were taken to the Ariel Police Station and on motzei Shabbos were brought to the Petah Tikvah Magistrate Court where the police requested a restraining order banning them from entering Yitzhar for three months. The court partially acceded to the request and issued a restraining order banning them from Yitzhar for 60 days and ruled that the detainees would need to post bail. Honenu attorney Yossi Lin represented the detainees.

Honenu notes that the determination shown by the security forces acting against teen-aged youth who haven’t harmed anyone is in clear contrast with the police and army’s powerlessness when faced by rioting Arabs.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)