Israel Matzav: Key checkpoint was removed last week near terror attack site

Key checkpoint was removed last week near terror attack site

A key checkpoint was removed from the Tulkarm - Shavei Shomron road just last week according to Samaria Regional Council head Gershon Mesika. That checkpoint could have saved the life of Rabbi Meir Chai HY"D (may God avenge his blood), who was murdered near Shavei Shomron on Thursday afternoon (Hat Tip: Shy Guy).

Samaria Regional Council Head Gershon Mesika said following the terrorist murder of Rabbi Meir Chai from Samaria Thursday: “After a long period of security quiet, the main roadblock between Shavei Shomron and Tulkarm was recently opened, despite our warnings. The government of Israel preferred 'the Palestinian fabric of life' to its citizens' rights.”

An unnamed IDF officer told Haaretz that the terrorists who murdered Rabbi Chai most likely escaped through the abandoned checkpoint, which was removed shortly before the murder.

The IDF's removal of roadblocks is widely perceived as a gesture toward US President Barack Obama, who has pressured Israel to make Arabs' "fabric of life" as comfortable as possible.

Last Thursday, soldiers removed the concrete cubes and metal gate that made up the roadblock north of Shechem, near Shavei Shomron, despite pleas by Samaria residents to the IDF not to remove it. The removal means that traffic between Shechem and Tulkarm now flows without any security monitoring. Another IDF checkpoint on the road, at Beit Iba at the northern exit from Shechem, was removed several months ago.

The country's in good hands. What could go wrong?

Israel Matzav: Key checkpoint was removed last week near terror attack site