The “Wives of Enlisted Soldiers from Judea and Samaria Forum” sent a letter this morning to IDF Central Commander, Major General Yehuda Fuchs, demanding that he stop allowing Arabs to harvest olives near Jewish communities while their husbands are away from home on the front lines in the north and south. The grassroots forum was formed in less than 24 hours and already includes over 1,000 women from across Judea and Samaria whose husbands were called up for the war effort.
In several incidents since the start of the war, Jews have been attacked by Arabs, including in shooting incidents where the attackers approached under the guise of harvesting olives. Additionally, Arabs have been caught gathering intelligence about Jewish communities and the movements of security forces, again under the guise of harvesting olives. The Forum has appealed to security officials and other authorities not to allow olive picking near Jewish communities at a time when 80% of the men in the communities have been called up to the reserves. The wives demand the closure of roads that enable Arab shooting attacks at vehicles, such as the road from Shavei Shomron to Einav, where Elhanan Klein HY”D was murdered last week, just two days after the Central Commander rejected requests to close the road to Arab cars.
In their letter, the women write, "We are at war, therefore we cannot permit the populations in Arab villages filled with terrorists to live in routine and continue with the olive harvest, which even in normal years leads to problematic security incidents.” The women further point out that many Arabs take advantage of the olive picking season to approach the fences around Jewish communities and gather intelligence.
“You have chosen to continue allowing the picking of olives near our communities, and as a result, our personal safety is being severely compromised. In most communities in Samaria, the fence is very close to our homes and we are clearly threatened by the presence of the Arabs. Our children cannot move around freely within our communities without the fear of a potential immediate penetration and the threat is ever-present. Alongside our urgent concern about the olive harvest, we are equally concerned about the day after, when the number of security forces in the region will decline, and the presence of Arabs near the security fence will have become part of the routine. This routine could allow them to learn about our standard security procedures from up close, as they did in the Gaza border region.”
The women further emphasize that the olive harvest is not the only problem: “The roads, the rioting, the lack of checkpoints, and the restrictive guidelines on opening fire- all of this must change. We cannot live in a situation where we constantly need to second guess every trip we take and live in fear in our homes.”
The wives present the lessons they learned from the massacre of Jews in the Gaza border region. “Tragically, we all saw last month the goal of many Palestinians that surround us. The illusion of innocent civilians blew up in our face when we realized that the workers from Gaza who were allowed into Israel provided intelligence to Hamas. We refuse to be victims of the next massacre.”
The women conclude, by emphasizing their demand: "We demand an immediate halt to olive picking near Jewish communities and along main roads. We demand active measures to restore security on the roads and a strong response to any rock-throwing, tire-burning, or shooting incidents on the roads. We demand the exercise of our fundamental right to live and feel safe in our homes, which should be the place where we feel most secure. We have lived too long under threat.”
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