Diskin: Disengagement was act of uprooting
Photo: AP
Diskin: Pullout act of uprooting
Shin Bet chief tells settler teens disengagement was act of uprooting, says national rift mishandled; Diskin also characterizes Jewish terrorists as 'cancer'
The disengagement from Gaza and the West Bank was an act of uprooting, despite the insistence of referring to the withdrawal as an "evacuation," Shin Bet Director Yuval DIskin said in an unusually candid talk with settler teens.
"The disengagement is first and foremost an act of uprooting," DIskin told students at a pre-military high-school. The comments were aired on Channel 10 Monday evening.
"They're scared to use this term, uprooting, and they're calling it evacuation," he said.
Turning his attention to the national rift in the wake of the pullout, Diskin said the government is not handling it properly.
"The political system is already in an election campaign…as a result, the handling of this rift in my view is not good," Diskin added. "And the mishandling of such a deep rift has implications I'm forced to deal with."
"In my view, if the public radicalizes because of this…in my view this is a dramatic change in terms of the things I need to deal with in the Shin Bet," he said.
Diskin also noted the lack of equality found in Israel's legal system when it comes to treating Jews and Arabs.
"I do not see equality in the way the system handles them (Arabs and Jews) when they are guilty of the same type of offense," he said. "Therefore, if we're talking about discrimination, I suggest we stop right here. You'll discover the discrimination is much more in favor of the Jews than the Arabs."
Regarding the Shin Bet division tasked with dealing with Jewish radicals, Diskin said there is no reason to close down the unit.
"The Jewish division will not be closed down, because there's a problem," he said. "If there wasn't a problem, there wouldn't be a Jewish division. It's really simple. The first place I'd be glad to close down if there was no problem is the Jewish division."
He added: "There are (Jewish) people who create terror, and there are people who harm people, and property. You know this just as I do. Some of you could condone this, some of you may agree, and some not. It's irrelevant."
'Jewish terrorists are cancer'
Diskin added that he will be just as determined to capture Jewish radicals as he does Palestinian terrorists.
"With the same determination that I pursue the terrorists of Hamas, I will pursue a Jew who wants to kill another Jew. It's the same thing. These are my orders to my people," he said.
"I suggest, even if this annoys you, to think about this well," Diskin told the religious students. "Understand that a Jew who commits terror is in the end a cancer for the nation much more so than an Arab who commits terror, that's how I see it."
Addressing Hamas' ascension to power in the Palestinian Authority, Diskin said: "I think the minute Fatah recovers, if it recovers, which is another question, Hamas will slowly shrink to its natural size. In my opinion, if this happens, Hamas will stand at around 20 percent."
Diskin also said: "The political echelon can do what it wants, from a security perspective I am opposed to handing over territories to the Palestinians, including territories under their control unless we know there are officials there who will take control and commit themselves to upholding the law in that area. If there are no such officials, then I am against handing over territories to Palestinian control."
