Amona officer: 'We didn't think they will spray us with chemicals or hit us with metal bars'
More than 60 police officers were injured during the evacuation of Amona, with some protestors striking officers with bars and planks and others throwing bleach; '"They compared me to a Nazi, I had to show restraint, but it was incredibly unpleasant.'
It took a day-and-a-half to evacuate Amona's residents and more than a thousand activist who came to support the outpost as police were forced to contend with violent attacks.
The evacuation's climax came on Thursday, which ended with yet another violent clash with police, when residents entrenched in the local synagogue attacked the officers who attempted for hours to convince them to leave peacefully, before breaching the structure by force.
Speaking in an interview with Ynet, Hagai, an officer at the scene, said that he and his friends did not expect to confront that level of violence.
"We figured that the youths at the synagogue won't evacuate on their own volition, but we didn't think they would spray us with chemicals or hit us with metal bars", he said, adding his opinion that "the number of barricades was unreasonable. Refrigerators, tables and chairs blocked the entries. What did they want, to beat us with them?"
Eviatar, another officer at the scene, described the verbal abuse he experienced. "They compared me to a Nazi, told me to disobey orders and told me I had no values", he said. "I had to show restraint, but it was incredibly unpleasant and if I was off duty I would not have kept silent."
Eviatar also spoke about the physical abuse he suffered, saying that "as opposed to most Amona residents who evacuated in a peaceful and dignified manner, the youths at the synagogue were wild and violent.
"We, on the other hand did our best to act respectfully towards them and try to harm them as little as possible. There's no doubt in my mind that if we had been rougher towards them less police officers would have been hurt."
At least 17 officers were injured as a result of rocks, boards and even fire extinguishers that were thrown at them during the confrontation with activists barricaded in the synagogue. After evacuating the synagogue, about 100 activists were driven out of the settlement in buses. A few broke windshields and managed to escape, but were apprehended shortly thereafter.
Israeli police issued an official statement following the evacuation, saying, "We completed the mission given to us to evacuate the settlement of residents and other people, according to the decision of the court and instructions issued by the state to allow the IDF and ministry of defense to clear the houses and structures. We have evacuated the residents to the Ofra settlement. In addition, we removed 1,000 people from the premises… thus finishing our mission in the operation."
The statement continued, "about 13 youths were arrested after causing disruptions and using violence against police officers. During the entire operation, which began Wednesday morning, about 60 officers were injured, some were treated at the scene and some were evacuated to be treated in nearby hospitals. None of the officers were badly injured and some have already returned to duty."
Chief of Police, Roni Alsheikh, sid: "Police were prepared ahead of time to allow a quiet and dignified evacuation and to avoid harm to residents and security forces as much as possible. The officers were instructed to act with compassion and tolerance, out of consideration for the residents' pain and out of understanding that we are dealing with a very emotionally complicated mission."
