4 ex-Sa-Nur men held for attacking soldier

Shin Bet chief: Samaria has become the land of Islamic Jihad following the disengagement.

By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
Almost exactly a year after Sa-Nur was evacuated, four former residents of the Samaria settlement were arrested after allegedly storming a checkpoint and attacking a soldier in an attempt reach the site of the settlement, now a closed military zone. The four, three 19-year-olds and one 24-year-old are all residents of nearby Avnei Hefetz, near Tulkarm. According to police sources, they arrived at a checkpoint near Shavei Shomron and demanded to be allowed entrance to the closed military zone. When they were denied entry, they allegedly left their vehicle and physically assaulted the soldier, then raised the barrier and sped off toward the site of the former settlement. A soldier at the checkpoint then radioed the local command, and soldiers close to the site of the incident succeeded in halting the vehicle by firing warning shots into the air. The four were arrested and taken to the Samaria subdistrict for further questioning, They were jailed as the investigation continued. Police expressed their intent Wednesday evening to deliver indictments against the four, emphasizing that "security forces view with seriousness the attack on the soldier and the unwillingness to follow the instructions of security forces." One day earlier, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Yuval Diskin discussed the security implications of last year's pullout from Samaria, complaining about a lack of on-the-ground intelligence in that region. "Samaria has become the land of Islamic Jihad following the disengagement," he said in a statement that won approval from settler leaders.