Security forces and right-wing protestors clashed violently on Wednesday as the evacuation of the Amona outpost in the West Bank was completed. Security forces completely razed all nine of the structures after police spent over three hours emptying them of protestors.
Police arrested 43 people at the scene and took them to Ma'asiyahu prison in Ramle. The remands for four of the detainees were extended almost immediately. Police had 24 hours to press charges against the rest of the rioters. At least 250 people were wounded in violent clashes, including MKs Aryeh Eldad and Effie Eitam. Eldad broke his arm but remained on the scene; Eitam was taken to the hospital. Magen David Adom set up a field infirmary and evacuated 115 of the wounded to various hospitals, mostly in Jerusalem. An MDA spokesman noted that most of the victims were wounded lightly.
A second call for reinforcements was made on Wednesday afternoon, as Police Inspector-General Moshe Karadi instructed an additional 1,400 policemen to join the 2,800 already present. Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra said he hoped that the extra forces would not be needed. Earlier, over 1,000 personnel made their way to the scene at a moment's notice. A meeting during the clashes between police and army commanders at the Amona outpost with Yesha Council heads failed to reach a compromise agreement.
One policeman was critically wounded when he was hit by a cement block. He was taken, unconscious, to Hadassa hospital. Another officer was seriously wounded after being struck in the head. His condition improved to moderate after he was airlifted to Hadassah Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. At least 48 other policemen were lightly wounded. They were being evacuated by air and ambulance.
Police managed to break through the thousands of activists surrounding the structures and enter some of the buildings. They climbed ladders to the rooftops as well. Bulldozers were brought in to aid the process. Three houses were taken under control by security forces.
YnetNews Online carries Israeli Knesset member Landau’s theory on why Olmert is committed to do the work of Hamas:
Likud Knesset Member Landau slammed Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert over the violent evacuation in Amona, saying Olmert was interested in a confrontation at the illegal West Bank outpost in order to boost Kadima's position ahead of the upcoming elections.
"There's no doubt that in this case we didn't see a level-headed approach by the prime minister," Landau told Ynet. "We saw someone who's looking for a confrontation…in light of an estimation it will help him in the elections. He did this on purpose. Now he must explain why he wanted a confrontation."
Landau said he was stunned by the difficult images from Amona. "Those are very difficult images, and I think a smart statement should have thought about how to avoid them," he said. "Olmert is directly responsible…he wanted a confrontation at any price. He refused to accept all compromise offers by the settlers."
The Likud MK also charged Olmert was seeking to divert the public's attention from Hamas' election victory by turning the settlers into enemies. "If Olmert had only the rule of law in mind, he would treat everyone equally," Landau said. "The Palestinians build more than 1,000 illegal homes in the Jerusalem region every year. But he (Olmert) takes care of nine homes in Amona."
Landau raises a perfectly valid point. Just why is Ehud Olmert, a care taker prime minister of Israel at best, with absolutely no mandate from the Israeli people, acting in such a way to divide Israelis from each other at a time when tangible existential threats to Israel’s existence lie immediately on their doorstep?
2 comments:
He didn't just beat up on a few religious jews for a few votes, he used the full coercive powers of the State to brutalize children to push his political agenda -And don't try and tell me that the majority weren't children -I've seen the video feeds and the average age seemed to be 15/16 years of age - not grown up by any means - I should know I have a house full of teenagers.
How anyone can justify this kind of brutality is beyond my understanding. What is even more heart wrenching is how this could have all been avoided by giving the settlers two weeks to physically move their homes.
Post a Comment