West Bank Settlement Mayor Arrested

By JTA December 2, 2009

The mayor of a West Bank settlement was arrested after preventing government inspectors from entering the community to enforce a construction freeze.

Avi Naim, head of the Beit Aryeh settlement in the central West Bank, was arrested Wednesday morning after blocking Civil Administration inspectors from entering the community to hand out stop-work orders.

Also Wednesday, some 60 residents in the Elon Moreh settlement near Nablus tried to block inspectors from entering, causing a violent confrontation. Police and soldiers dispersed the crowd. Two settlers were detained by police after allegedly throwing stones at security forces, according to reports.

The actions come a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a conference that the 10-month settlement construction freeze he announced last week is “one time” and “temporary.”

Inspectors were turned away Tuesday by settlers in Kiryat Arba near Hebron, as well as Karnei Shomron, Shavei Shomron, Talmonim and Revava in the northern West Bank. No violence was reported.

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