Men who were expelled from their homes in the town of Yitzhar in Samaria (Shomron) have returned after a six-month absence. The men were ordered to leave by the Shin Bet for unexplained “security reasons.”

They received a warm welcome upon reentering the close-knit hilltop community.

One of the returning men was Tzvi Sukkot. “I was forced to be away for half a year,” he told Arutz Sheva. “Thank G-d, the Holy One arranged for us a one-room apartment with a small window, and I learned in yeshiva in Jerusalem. We missed Yitzhar.”

Describing the return home, he said, “They spoiled us. My wife’s parents’ family, too, they cleaned our house.”

Sukkot has returned to his studies in the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva.

To this day, those who were expelled from home do not know why the administrative order was issued, he said. However, despite having been expelled from his home twice, Sukkot said he has no fears for the future.

“It’s no secret that the Shin Bet, police and state prosecution don’t love us,” he said. “But we have two options: either we can stop dreaming about redemption, or we can keep dreaming. For us, life is now back to normal, and we don’t fear for the future.”

“We have to remember that the struggle for the Land of Israel isn’t just about putting out fires, that is, preventing the destruction of homes,” he added. “It’s also about establishing new places.”

A second expelled family, the HaCohen family, previously told Arutz Sheva that the expulsion ultimately made them more active on behalf of Jewish rights. The family relocated temporarily to Jerusalem, where they became active in the face of Arab hostility. (IsraelNationalNews © 2012 07/13/12)