The unreported story emerged Wednesday of the fate of the rest of the Duchifat Battalion who did not refuse orders and boarded the bus to Hevron to provide security for the eviction.

The bus, having been blocked by parents and activists both in the Jordan Valley and in Gush Etzion, was once again blocked by activists and residents at the entrance to Kiryat Arba. They stood in the road and refused to move. Border Police Commander Raphael Ben David, stationed in Shechem but in Hevron by chance, stopped his vehicle and, together with his driver, tried to disperse the protesters by force.

When he saw that he was not succeeding, the officer boarded the bus of Duchifat soldiers and asked that the soldiers and officers disembark and assist him. “Instead of complying, nearly all the soldiers on the bus began to yell at him that they had no intention of helping him because they are not taking part in the evacuation, and that he has no right to disperse the demonstrators on his own, and they refuse to help him,” the bus driver later told Chaim Cohen, part of a group of activists from Givatayim who came to oppose the eviction.

“They soon threw the Border Police officer off of the bus. He exited, clearly humiliated, and once again began struggling with the demonstrators – this time using clear violence. Bystanders said he grabbed the wrist of a mother-of-12 and flipped her over. She landed on her shoulder and was badly bruised.”

Meanwhile, bystanders reported that the soldiers on the bus made makeshift signs expressing support, displaying them through the bus’s side windows.

Cohen, part of a group of activists calling themselves the “Givatayim Settlers” (Givatayim is a notoriously leftist suburb of Tel Aviv), said the bus driver approached him later in the day and asked where he could find a tour of Hevron, as he had never been there before. Cohen obliged and relayed the story that the driver, who was clearly impressed, told him.

Maariv: Public Refuser Only Tip of the Iceberg

The Maariv daily, in its front-page story Wednesday, reported that "hundreds of soldiers refused and were reassigned to washing dishes, cleaning tents or helping in the mess hall by their commanders - out of the sites of the cameras." The report stated that the soldiers who objected to taking part in the Hevron eviction were not just religious hesder students, but many others as well.

Posters, Leaflets Praise Soldiers’ Refusal
The Committee For Saving the Nation and the Land, a Chabad-run activist group, has posted fliers across the country and will distribute them in synagogues this Sabbath proclaiming: “'That excel in strength, that do his commandments' [Psalms 103:20] These soldiers are worthy of being written up in gold in the history of the people of Israel as heroes of Israel. With your actions you shall save the Jewish community in Judea and Samaria and save the people of Israel from all who seek to destroy it."

The group is planning a large rally in support of the soldiers.

 So states a recorded announcement from the headquarters of Homesh First, the grassroots organization dedicated to rebuilding the destroyed town of Homesh.  Homesh was one of four Jewish communities in Northern Samaria razed by Ariel Sharon's Disengagement plan two years ago, but its residents have never given up the idea of rebuilding it.

The pioneers reported that one person was knocked unconscious during the eviction, and five others were injured by security forces in violence reminiscent of Amona.  Nearly a year and a half ago, hundreds of youths required hospital treatment after police used excessive violence to remove them from a hilltop in Amona in order to enable the razing of nine Jewish houses.

Limor Sohn Har-Melekh, from the Homesh First task force, announced Sunday night, "Army and police spokespersons say they have defeated us, but the fact is that more people are marching towards Homesh right now than this morning... The police were very violent, breaking cameras, using clubs, and pushing people from terraces.  But our spirit is so strong that people who are taken down right away try to come back up..."

In addition to the many hundreds of youth who participated, several families planning to live in Homesh were removed from the hilltop in the afternoon hours, while others who were on the scenic hilltop ran away. The army bused some of them to Rosh HaAyin and there dropped them off, and took the others to nearby Kedumim. 

Several dozen youths were attacked by Arabs from a nearby village, and the security forces intervened.

MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union), who moved to Homesh three months before its destruction in 2005, also took part in the ascent on Sunday.  This, after initially being told that even his Knesset Member privileges would not suffice to allow him passage to the area.  "The manhunt that the Border Guard policemen are waging after the youths who have come to rebuild Homesh," he said, "will not break the spirit of those who still believe that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish People and not the Arabs."

Organizers were very happy at the way the event was developing.  "This is a rolling event, not a one-time thing," they said, "and it is not yet over.  This is our climactic moment in the struggle for Homesh. It began last week when we pulled a good trick in announcing that Tuesday's planned ascent would not take place - while ever since then, hundreds have made their way up."

"The point is to show the Prime Minister that we are not planning to ever give up the plan to return and rebuild Homesh. We have changed the rules of the game, and the government is unable to deal with the great amounts of people that keep coming here."

The first ascent to Homesh took place seven months ago, on Chanukah, when 1,000 people evaded army checkpoints and lit holiday candles there.  A few months later, shortly before Passover, 3,000 people attempted to settle the site, but were thrown out after three days.  A month later, on Independence Day, 20,000 people marched to Homesh, in an event permitted at the last moment by the security forces. On June 12, thousands made their way to Homesh in a government-authorized visit, marking the 40th anniversary of the liberation of the area, and of all of Judea and Samaria. 

Police have removed their identification tags and are beating Homesh youth and confiscating videos and cameras at this hour. Hundreds of activists reached Homesh overnight and early Monday morning, erected tents and began to build a new synagogue. They also have settled on a neighboring hilltop.