Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin said during Sunday’s cabinet meeting on last week’s evacuation of the illegal Amona outpost: “It was always comfortable for us to say ‘these are extremists,’ but they are no longer the extremists – they have become the center of the settler public.”
IDF Central Command Chief Yair Naveh said during the meeting that some one thousand teens are “spearheading” the extremists’ struggle.
“We must isolate them” he added.
A rally organized by the Yesha Council and titled “Olmert is bad for the Jews” is expected to begin at 7 p.m. in Jerusalem’s Zion Square, during which the demonstrators are expected to demand that an investigative committee be set up to probe the Amona evacuation.
Yesha leaders, rabbis and teenagers are expected to attend.
Ministers and top security establishment officials have expressed support for the evacuating forces, with Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announcingSunday that no investigative committee would be established, adding that the government fully trusts the security establishment.
IDF officials reported during the meeting that a total of 173 citizens were injured in Amona, one seriously, in addition to the 56 security officers injured (two sustained moderate wounds).
Diskin continued: "The people objecting to the evacuation of (West Bank) outposts hail the activists who participated in the Amona struggle as heroes. The motivation of the people there was to erase the shame of the Gush Katif evacuation and instill the message that tney will not triumph with love, but with war and struggle.”
'Hatred in their eyes'
The Shin Bet chief said that the Yesha Council has no influence on the extremists, and that there were no leaders on the ground to talk to in Amona.
“When complaining about police activity in Amona, one must keep in mind that those who barricaded themselves in Amona prepared weapons in advance – bricks, cinderblocks, buckets of paint and broken glass, oil and flour,” he said.
“The lack of leadership in Amona resulted in the escalated violence. This problem is escalating also due to the atmosphere created by the polarization in Israeli society. This is a direct result of the lack of dialogue between the sides in the aftermath of the Gaza pullout.”
Naveh added during the meeting “The feeling of betrayal among the extremist teens is immense. We must support the moderate factors among the settlers and not the extremists, who must be isolated.
“The Amona evacuation was a difficult and sad day for me personally as well. I feel obligated to say that a rift is being created with the settlers. I was surprised by the violence and hatred we saw in their (settlers’) eyes,” he said.
West Bank District Police Commander Yisrael Yitzhaki presented cabinet with videos proving the initial entrance of the security forces into Amona was carried out without clubs or shields, which were used only after the settlers began to throw stones in the officers’ direction.
The videos also showed the involvement of MKs Effie Eitam, Benny Elon and Arieh Eldad in the events: Elon is seen climbing on a bulldozer and encouraging the demonstrators, while Eitam tells settlers not to throw stones until the signal is given.
The only criticism directed at the security forces came from Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, who said during the meeting “If the (security) establishment anticipated settler violence against the security forces, then alternate plans of action should have been suggested.”