Two key leaders of the Jewish communities in Samaria (Shomron) wrote a letter to about 2,500 Magen David Adom (MDA) volunteers Sunday, hinting at the controversy with MDA over its surrender to Red Cross demands to discriminate against Judea and Samaria residents.

The recipients of the letter are MDA volunteers from central Israel, who work in tandem with volunteers from Samaria to serve residents on both sides of the 1949 armistice lines.

For over seven months, Samaria leaders and activists have been fighting a decision by the MDA management to remove the Magen David emblem from ambulances that serve residents of Judea and Samaria, and not to transfer donations from abroad into Judea and Samaria.

The letter was sent by Samaria Regional Authority head Gershon Mesika and leader of the grassroots Samaria Residents Council, Benny Katzover, on the occasion of Jerusalem Day, which also marks the liberation of Judea and Samaria.

"We wish to thank you on this festive day for your dedicated activity for the well-being and security of the residents of Samaria," the two leaders wrote. "Through this activity, you help us deepen the bond to our land and to announce to the world that Samaria is our homeland, and any attempt to amplify divisions and differences between central Israel and Samaria will eventually fail." (IsraelNationalNews © 2012 05/21/12)