Kfar Yona mayor demands prison relocation after mass protests disrupt city life

Kfar Yona Mayor Albert Tayeb has sent urgent letters to Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, demanding that Military Prison 10, also known as Neve Tzedek, be moved out of the city. He says repeated protests around the facility have become unbearable for residents and that there is no justification for thousands of civilians to keep paying the price.

In his letter to Katz, Tayeb said the latest major demonstration, which he said drew more than 10,000 people, brought daily life in the city to a halt for hours. According to him, residents were trapped in their homes for about four hours, public transportation stopped, after-school programs were canceled, and parents had to leave work to pick up their children. He also said the protest left large amounts of trash in the streets and that some demonstrators relieved themselves in private home yards. He argued that the protest “crossed the line from legitimate protest into serious harm to the public fabric, the sense of security and the quality of life of the residents.”

Writing to Ben Gvir, Tayeb stressed that his objection is not directed at ultra-Orthodox people, but at all groups protesting at the site. He said the demonstrations have also caused a significant shortage of police in the city, because many officers remained on duty until late at night, weakening routine security and enforcement.

Tayeb thanked Israel Police for the recent deployment that blocked vehicle convoys from entering the Givat Alonim neighborhood, but said that step is only temporary. He asked both ministers for an urgent working meeting and said the only real solution is to move the detention facility to a location far from any urban area, noting that the arrests are short, usually lasting one or two days.