|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A provocative protest display set up in Kfar Saba on Thursday has ignited controversy and led to a police investigation.
The display, featuring figures resembling terrorists in the trunk of a white pickup truck, was placed on Tel Hai Street, mimicking the harrowing scenes of the October 7 Hamas infiltration into southern Israeli communities. The scene immediately drew public outrage for its unsettling nature.
The display, which depicted mannequins dressed as terrorists in the back of a truck, was left overnight in the area. When residents discovered it the following morning, they promptly alerted the authorities.
Police arrived at the scene, dismantling the display and removing the truck. Three suspects, residents from Kfar Saba, Tel Aviv, and a settlement in the West Bank, were arrested on suspicion of improper conduct in a public space.
“I saw that display, and it was horrifying,” said Amelie, a local resident who came across the scene. “They put up a small sign saying it was a display, but when you see it, you nearly have a heart attack. They were on a pickup truck and looked like Hamas terrorists.
Where’s the consideration? All in the name of art? Frightening the public like this?” She expressed her fear, stating, “I was scared for my life. I couldn’t believe they were Israelis [who did this]. I was so frightened and was certain that terrorists had come from the West Bank to Kfar Saba. I’m terrified, shaking.”
The protest’s apparent aim was to voice opposition to the deal for the release of hostages from Gaza and the release of prisoners considered terrorists.
The figures in the truck were intended to symbolize Hamas terrorists, stirring deep distress among residents who felt the display was inappropriate and potentially dangerous in its timing and context.
A right-wing activist, speaking on X, defended the display as a means to promote what they called an “all-out war” in the West Bank.
“This display illustrates just a fraction of what will happen if the State of Israel doesn’t move quickly to conquer Jenin, expel its terrorists, and establish Jewish settlements there,” they explained. “An all-out war – or the ‘nukhbas’ will drag the daughters of Kfar Saba to Jenin.”
The movement behind the display, “Reservists for Victory Generation,” defended their actions as a necessary message.
In a statement on X, they argued that the horror of the display was a reflection of the threat posed by Hamas, suggesting that the public had forgotten the severity of the October 7 attack.
They called for decisive military action against Hamas, expressing frustration with the ongoing conflict and the perceived reluctance of the country’s leadership to take stronger measures.
“We, who have been fighting in reserve duty for over 15 months, have been shouting for over a year to end this war with a decisive victory over the enemy,” the movement’s statement read.
“Stop surrendering to the Nazi-like Hamas organization, conquer the northern Gaza Strip, allow Gaza’s population to leave the area, and completely destroy Hamas.”
While the protest’s organizers maintain that it was meant as a wake-up call, the unsettling nature of the display has raised serious concerns about the line between political expression and public safety.
The police investigation is ongoing, and questions remain about the appropriateness of such provocative demonstrations in public spaces.
