An Israeli man was wounded on Monday when a group of Palestinians rioted near the Jewish community of Homesh in northern Samaria.
The Homesh resident was hit in the head by a stone thrown by one of the rioters, who came from the nearby Arab village of Burqa. He was transported to the hospital for treatment.
The mob set a fire and then attacked Homesh residents and IDF soldiers when they tried to extinguish the blaze.
“Time after time, the terrorists of the Palestinian Authority try to harm the Homesh Yeshiva,” Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan said in response to the incident.
“This matter should be dealt with with a heavy hand,” Dagan added.
He said that Monday’s major IDF counterterror operation in Jenin was “the first step on the road to real deterrence” and called for strengthening the Homesh Yeshiva and rebuilding the four communities in northern Samaria that were destroyed as part of the 2005 disengagement—Homesh, Ganim, Kadim and Sa-Nur
In March, the Knesset voted 31-18 to repeal parts of the 2005 Disengagement Law and allow Israelis to return to the destroyed northern Samaria communities.
In May, another step towards the return of Jewish life to the area was taken when Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs, head of the IDF Central Command, signed an order allowing Israelis to reenter Homesh under a directive from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
