First response teams reestablished in northern Samaria
The IDF has begun establishing emergency response teams in reestablished communities in northern Samaria to strengthen security following residents' return to the area. The first training session was held in Sa-Nur, where residents returned 21 years after being evacuated under the disengagement plan. The teams comprise local volunteers, including reserve combat soldiers and officers, who undergo intensive two-day training featuring live-fire exercises and operational drills.
Similar training sessions are planned for other communities in the area. Among the participants was Samaria Regional Council head Capt. (res.) Yossi Dagan, who returned to Sa-Nur this year after being evacuated in 2005. He was joined by fellow returning residents Akiva Smotrich, Ze'ev Wassertheil and David Fadida, as well as community committee chairman Yehoshua Levanon, a reserve combat soldier. The IDF provided weapons and combat equipment, while the Samaria Regional Council is securing additional supplies through donations from Jewish communities abroad, including support from the One Israel Fund.
"Our return to northern Samaria is accompanied by determined security efforts and the construction of an iron wall of defense," Dagan said. "The emergency response teams are made up of pioneering residents who stand on the front lines alongside IDF soldiers and defend their homes." Dagan thanked the IDF, American donors and the One Israel Fund for supporting the communities' security needs. Dagan during the exercise Photo: Samaria Regional Council Levanon said, "We have returned to northern Samaria, and we are intensifying our presence in the communities in every area, including security."
Meanwhile, an emergency response team is already operating in Har Ebal, which was reestablished several months ago. Community committee chairman Avi Kashi said the team operates under civilian security coordinator Binyamin Klein, in cooperation with the Samaria Brigade and the regional council's security department. "As part of preparations to defend the community, the emergency response team conducts periodic patrols around the community to deter terrorist activity along the access road and in the surrounding area," Kashi said.
He thanked the regional council and its security department for helping establish the community's defense system.
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