Karadi. 'Settlers defy state's authority'
Photo: Sebastian Shiner
Rioters clash with security forces in Hebron
Photo: AP
Police chief: We'll use force in Hebron if needed
Police Chief Moshe Karadi says in interview to Channel 2 security forces will not give in to protesters' violence in Hebron, compares masked rioters to Palestinian demonstrators; hurling stones may lead to armed resistance, Karadi claims
The evacuation
of settlers from Palestinian-owned houses they have occupied in the Hebron marketplace will go on as planned, and police will use force if they must, police Chief Moshe Karadi said in interview to Israel's Channel 2 Saturday.
Karadi said three police units are set to begin training for the evacuation next week, and that some 1,500-2000 cops are planned to take part in the operation.
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When asked whether he believes the evacuation may lead to blood shed, Karadi said he hopes the situation will not come to that, but added this was a possibility the police have taken into account.
"From now on there will be no contradicting messages, just straight forward law enforcement," he stated.
'Masked rioters have something to hide'
The police chief said he fears the evacuation will entail violence on both sides. "The scenes we have witnessed throughout last week are very bad. There is something worse than using violence, and that is giving in to violence," he said.
"I believe that some of the people we have seen here do not recognize the state's authority to act everywhere," he added.
Remarking on the use of masks among rioters, Karadi said that masked protesters are "people who have something to hide."
"The masked people I have met started out by covering their faces, moved on to hurling stones and ended up throwing Molotov cocktails and firing at security forces," Karadi claimed.
Ideological criminality
"This is why we must not accept the phenomenon we have seen. These people are law breakers who do not recognize the state's authority, which is why we have no other choice but to enforce the law and do what needs to be done," Karadi concluded.
The police chief has also stressed that the rioters in Hebron do not represent the majority of West Bank settlers, but claimed nonetheless that the rioters were driven by ideological, rather than criminal motivations.
"We are dealing here not with youth criminality or crime organizations, but with defiance against the state of Israel's sovereign authority," Karadi said.
