(Tablet) Hillel Kuttler - Three men in Israel Defense Forces uniforms patrolled on Jan. 8 in Hurfeish, a Druze town in the Galilee just 1.5 miles from the Lebanese border. They weren't in the reserves, with the youngest being 54. These older Druze men, all volunteers, are in the first-response team: former combat soldiers past the age of reserve duty, together with reservists from the town assigned to protect Hurfeish. Almost all residents of communities within 5 km. (3 miles) of the border with Lebanon were evacuated months ago by the Israeli government. Hurfeish, though, continues to function as before. Lt.-Col. (ret.) Falah Gadban, 60, the first-response team's commander, said, "We didn't want to be refugees, even temporarily." Lt.-Col. (ret.) Abdo Kadi, 67, the deputy commander, said: "We decided that in no way, shape, or form are we evacuating our town. We'll fight to the end. Whoever tries to infiltrate or harm us or the State of Israel, we'll stop them. It's one of our bedrocks [of Druze culture]: that you don't leave your home, your land, and your state. You have to protect it."
2024-01-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive