Police chief: Amona videos edited
(VIDEO) Police Chief Moshe Karadi dismisses video filmed by settlers during evacuation of Amona, tells commission of inquiry: Taking images, doing nice editing job is an art; you cannot see overall picture. Earlier, Karadi says police scarred by Amona clashes
VIDEO - A video showing police violence during the evacuation of the illegal West Bank outpost of Amona has been edited and does not reflect the big picture, Police Chief Moshe Karadi told the Knesset commission of inquiry into the Amona clashes on Wednesday.
After being presented with the video, Karadi responded: "I regret not bringing our own video. I admit the images don't look good, but it's simply an art to take images, do a nice editing job, and then it doesn't look good."
Video presented by settlers to Amona commission
"You don't see the overall picture," the police chief added. "Usually you see the horses coming around for the third time, but you don't see the two previous times. Maybe we're talking about a horse stabbed by a spike and eventually losing control. Things cannot be disconnected from the overall context."
'Police left scarred'
The violent clashes during the evacuation of Amona left police officers who took part in the mission scarred, Karadi told the commission of inquiry earlier.
"The results of the evacuation and the use of force were not easy for us too," Karadi said. "They left us scarred too."
On another front, Karadi said: "There was no initial intention to use clubs, the decision was made only once there was resistance."
'89 police officers hurt'
Turning his attention to police officers who took part in the evacuation operation, Karadi said: "We're talking about top commanders who possess rich experience in this type of incidents…and we included forces who are among the best the Israel Police has, as well as special Border Guard and police units."
"As early as the first introduction of the plans I ruled the force will be made up of at least 1,700 police officers, with about 600 of them being members of special forces," he said.
"We ruled that this mission can be carried out by 1,600 police officers…after an assessment of the situation I ordered to add another 1,200 police officers as a backup force in case it was needed…in the eyes of the Israel Police, 2,900 police officers participated in the incident."
Overall, nine structure were razed during the operation and 89 police officers were hurt and received medical treatment, Karadi said, adding that according to police statistics 130 civilians were evacuated to medical facilities.
"In the first phase, 22 people who violated the law were detained," Karadi added. "During the investigation we're undertaking at this time, another 90 people who violated the law were identified."
