Peace Now’s Hagit Ofran: Settlers holding Israel’s government hostage 

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Hagit Ofran, co-director of the Settlement Watch Project at the anti-occupation NGO Peace Now. Police recently detained three Peace Now activists who allegedly intended to reach the West Bank outpost of Homesh with a bulldozer in order to demolish the illegal yeshiva operating there. Police also prevented dozens of the Peace Now activists and Meretz Knesset members from demonstrating there. Without the bulldozer campaign, the media and public opinion would have ignored the activists, explains Ofran. "We want to change a bit the language, because the settlers are completely violating the law. They are practically holding the Israeli public and government hostage. They decide where to go and they decide what Israel’s security considerations should be," says Ofran.