How did thousands of settlers get to Amona?
Security Forces sources admit to Ynet that the arrival of thousands of demonstrators to the demolition zone in Amona is the result of misjudgement. 'There are more police officers in this small settlement than there were in Neve Dekalim during the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. It's far from ideal,' they say. About 3,000 demonstrators gathered to oppose the demolition. Could the difficult scenes and money shed been avoided had they been blocked earlier?
At least 3,000 people managed to reach Amona. The size of the protest caused police to add over 1000 officers to man the inner circle.
How did it happen? IDF claims today (Wed.) that the penetrators could not have been stopped. Others in the security forces admit they might have misjudged the situation.
"We created a situation where the number of police officers in the inner circle in the small settlement is larger than the number of officers used in Neve Dekalim during the Gaza pullout. Not an ideal situation," says a senior source in Amona to Ynet.
'Troops will not confront settlers'
The source adds that prior to the evacuation of Gush Katif, the main entrances were blocked. "The police were in charge of the outer circle and were clearly instructed to do all it takes to prevent the entry of additional protesters," he clarifies. In Amona's case, the IDF decided not to block entry routes despite the realization that many will reach the area and obstruct the evacuation.
The reason? "Amona is unlike Gush Katif, which had one main access road from Israel," an IDF source explains. "In order to prevent entry, a large force is needed and still, there are many alternative routes through the wilderness. Also, such a blockade would interfere with the daily life of the residents of the neighboring settlements."
The IDF further explains that they could not block entry to the residents of the nearby Ofra settlement.
Security forces do not unanimously support the decision or its consequences. "Some of the demonstrators could have been stopped," a security source says.
Meanwhile, in a letter sent Tuesday to MK Uri Ariel, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz guaranteed that IDF troops will not assist in the evacuation. "The troops are part of the outer circle and will not confront the settlers," he wrote. Mofaz added that the property of the evacuees will be gathered, recorded and stored in an army base."
