In wake of deadly terror attack in Kiryat Arba, Samaria Regional Council leader calls on gov’t to make ‘operational decisions’ to strengthen deterrence, while Yesha Council head calls on Defense Ministry to approve new neighborhood in settlement.
Following the deadly terror attack in Kiryat Arba on Thursday, in which 13-year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel was stabbed to death in her bed, Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan demanded the prime minister to convene the cabinet posthaste and take operational measures to better defend the settlements and strengthen deterrence.
“It’s unclear why mere hours after the terror attack in Tel Aviv, the prime minister saw fit to convene the cabinet and make operational decisions, but when a 13-year-old girl is murdered in her bed in Kiryat Arba, and when citizens are seriously wounded in Netanya, life just goes on.”
Dagan demanded that “operative decisions are made, including strengthening the security in settlements, which are clearly more exposed than ever, and significantly increase the deterrence of terrorists and their support system.”
Dagan drew a link between the reconciliation agreement with Turkey and the two terror attacks on Thursday. “If terror attacks resume so soon after an agreement in which the Israeli government pays tremendous amounts of compensation to terrorists from the Marmara, then the government clearly needs to rethink its actions and, instead of surrendering to terrorism, fight it with everything it’s got like any self-respecting country that has capabilities like we do.”
The head of the Yesha Council, Avi Roeh, also leveled harsh criticism at the government and demanded that it approves the construction of a new neighborhood in Kiryat Arba without delay.
“The terrible attack this morning is the second to happen in Kiryat Arba in less than a week. The Israeli government must make a decision to act to rid the Hebron area, which keeps sending murderous attackers, of terrorism,” he said.
“The continued dialogue and continually ignoring inciters who are calling for murder are detrimental to the chances of reaching peace and calm in the region,” he added. “The fight against terrorism must be accompanied by determination to settle in the Zionist spirit, and that is why we demand the Defense Ministry to immediately approve the new neighborhood in Kiryat Arba, which has been waiting for approval for a long time.”
As reported by Ynetnews