JNS
Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz cited a growing sense that terrorists in Arab villages are "becoming emboldened."
Jewish residents of the Binyamin region of southern Samaria vow to block the entrance to the Palestinian town of Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya in response to repeated stone-throwing, activists said on Wednesday.
"Starting Thursday, we ... will begin holding morning prayers at Lubban at 7 a.m. until the situation changes and we receive what we want from the regional brigade commander," stated a group of residents from Eli, Shiloh and Ma'aleh Levonah in a WhatsApp message seen by JNS.
The announcement followed an initial protest by Jewish activists on Tuesday evening outside the Arab village, which abuts Route 60, the main north-south highway in Judea and Samaria.
In the wake of the May 14 shooting murder of Tzeela Gez, stone-throwing terrorism has been reported in areas that were previously relatively quiet, including near Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya. For 1 km., some 0.6 miles, the busy road passes by the schools of the village of almost 3,000 residents.
"Wake up before it's too late! Following multiple rock-throwings from Lubban, we say enough!!" the local activist group added in its call to action. "It's time to protest and call for our safety on the roads."
Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz, in a missive to residents on Tuesday, said he spoke with senior military officials "following the recent stone-throwing attacks in the area and the growing sense that rioters in the [Palestinian] villages are becoming emboldened.
"I demanded that every rock-throwing incident be treated as a shooting attack, as it could tragically cost lives. There must be zero tolerance for these events, and a clear message must be sent—not only to those throwing the stones, but also to those around them," wrote Ganz.
IDF soldiers on Tuesday uprooted an olive grove from which stones were thrown, the local leader noted, calling the move "a good start.
"Senior commanders expressed zero tolerance for stone-throwing and will act with a firm hand," Ganz wrote. "We ask to support them and expect to see results. We will continue to monitor the situation."
Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO on Feb. 17.
Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, the group said in its annual report.
The figures, which were cross-checked against official data from Israel’s security services, included 3,668 instances of rock-throwing; 843 attacks with Molotov cocktails; 671 attempts to blind drivers with laser pointers; 526 explosive charges; 364 cases of arson; and 179 terrorist shootings.
