Police conduct slammed
Photo: AP
Settlers: We're treated like Hamas
Protesters in West Bank town of Hebron slam 'disgraceful conduct' by police
About one hundred Hebron settlers gathered Wednesday opposite the local police station to protest what they called "the Hebron district police's disgraceful conduct in recent days," in a demonstration marking the end of yet another tense day in town.
The demonstrators gathered to protest the series of arrests and indictments served against settlers and activists who arrived in Hebron to resist the planned evacuation of Jews from Palestinian-owned stores they occupied in the town's marketplace.
The demonstration was held with a police permit and went by relatively peacefully.
Hebron Riots
Ahiya Raved
Chief-of-Staff Dan Halutz also criticizes law enforcement agencies, says turning blind eye to violent settlers could 'lead us to places we don’t want to reach. In other countries they call it anarchy'
Since representatives of the Civil Administration first arrived in Hebron to hand out the evacuation notices, 59 settlers have been detained, including 12 arrested Wednesday.
"Police have crossed every line," settlers who took part in the demonstration told Ynet. "We are being treated worse than Hamas. Their violence against women and little children today has crossed the line. We are not cry-babies, but this behavior just makes the youth hate the police even more," a settler said.
The rioters arrested in the last few days are suspected of violent disruption of order during clashes with security forces and Palestinians. Indictments were served against 16 of them on counts of assaulting officers and disrupting the peace. Police is expected to request the Jerusalem Magistrate's court Thursday to extend the remand of seven of the settlers detained Wednesday.
Settlers want senior police official dismissed
In addition to holding the demonstration, the settlers also sent a letter to Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra, Police Chief Moshe Karadi and IDF Central Command Chief Yair Naveh, to demand that head of the interrogation unit at the Judea and Samaria district, Chief Superintendent Shlomo Efrati, be dismissed from duty.
Settlers charge that Efrati has made some harsh statements in the media against them and that he lauded the zero tolerance approach to rioters. The letter was signed by members of the Kiryat Arba council.
Meanwhile, police and the IDF continue to deploy in large numbers in the Hebron area. Some 350 police officers are already in town, along with hundreds of Border Guard and army forces.
Defense sources said the forces were there in order to maintain order and enforce the decree signed by Central Command Chief Naveh barring non-residents residents from the town.
