Members of the settlement core formed in memory of Yehuda Sherman, who was killed near the Hומש ridge, say they are determined to fulfill what they describe as his unspoken will by establishing Jewish presence across the area, especially in parts governed by the Oslo framework. The group says the killing shocked hilltop and farm communities, but also triggered an immediate push to establish new outposts, with five sites initially planned during the shiva period.
That effort quickly ran into heavy resistance from Central Command chief Avi Blot and division commander Kobi Heller, according to the article. Security forces were deployed in large numbers, including off-road vehicles and riders, and the activists say they were threatened with weapons confiscation and other sanctions. Three of the five planned groups withdrew after repeated and sometimes violent evacuations, but two sites remained, Kוכב יהודה near Efrat and Teqoa in Gush Etzion, and Shaagat Yehuda in northern Samaria between Mount Bezek and Mount Gedir.
At Shaagat Yehuda, a remote farm on the edge of the Jordan Valley and Samaria, the activists describe daily life under pressure. In May alone, the security establishment, acting on orders from Menashe brigade commander Matan Feldman, dismantled the farm 11 times. Still, Benjamin Shimon said the group moved there on the fourth day of Shiva and decided at the funeral to rush the project forward. He called the site a strategic gateway to northern Samaria and said the surrounding land is largely empty of Jewish communities.
Another member, Noam Zion, said the group initially expected only limited enforcement. Instead, they found themselves arguing that Jewish presence there prevents the next attack on the nearby Tayasir checkpoint, where two soldiers were killed in a shooting. The farm now functions with constant rebuilding, animal grazing, study, basic terraces, generators and water jugs, while activists cope with no cellphone reception from Israeli carriers and live with what they call a routine of construction alongside demolition. Zion said that even if there are 100 more evacuations, they will not stop, because, in his words, “the land is waiting for us.”
