Events in Amona
Aussie Dave | Feb 02, 2006 | 5 comments
With reports of violent clashes during today’s forced evacuation of Amona, I am left wondering the following:
What exactly happened? The police are accusing the protesters of extreme violence, including the throwing of boulders, concrete blocks, and rocks. A policeman was critically wounded after he was hit by a cement block, and another officer was seriously wounded after being stabbed in the stomach. The protesters claim severe police brutality, and indeed, a 15-year-old protester is in very serious condition with a fractured skull.
Whoever was involved in the violence – whether policeman or protester – should be ashamed of themselves.
Why did Olmert order this evacuation now? Common sense tells me that addressing the Hamas issue should have been the government’s main focus. I do not support evicting Jews from their homes on moral grounds (I do not accept the contention that the land in question is somehow “palestinian” land. We have a stronger claim to it than they do), and it is a strategic mistake, especially right after Hamas have come to power, partly on the back of claims that it drove Israel out of Gaza. I am inclined to agree with this rationale.
There are countless “illegal” Arab and Beduin settlements in Israel. Why hasn’t the government acted against these, and instead decided to focus on the so-called Jewish “illegal settlements”?
Update: You have to be kidding me.
Tnu Lahayot Lihyot – Israel’s main animal rights groups – protested against the use of horses in Amona’s evacuation on Wednesday.According to the organization, the horses that were recruited for the evacuation found themselves in a battlefield, susceptible to rocks being hurled at security forces by “dozens of law-violating settlers.”The group called upon Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz to remove the animals from public discourse, and to refrain from using them for purposes that effectively place their lives in danger.Tnu Lahayot Lihyot suggested alternatives such as jeeps or motorcycles, such that no animals would be endangered.While the horses used in the evacuation were not covered by any protective apparel, there were no reports of injuries to the animals.The animal rights group’s spokesperson also noted that following the evacuation, one of the residents of Amona was taken to a court hearing, leaving behind a herd of 130 goats without any supervision. The spokesperson, voiced her concern for the abandoned herd.
PETA would be proud.
About the Author
An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.Filed Under: General
This was a violent police-state attack by Olmert’s oligarchy. Here are the best pics:
http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2006/02/police-beat-and-injure-hundreds-of.html
I used to be proud to go help out in Sarel, but I am not going anymore. Why should I support this corrupt evil government which seeks to destroy Israel. Next time I go it will be with AFSI.
These events leave me sad and hurting really deep, I with you, Dave, in all three points.
What really happened? Please post as many links to different media from the event as possible!
Here’s Channel 2 video link and another from Ynet news.
Well, it was a court order, not a government order. That’s mistake number 1. That is why the police were there were clubs, unlike at the Disengagement when there were no weapons. It was very sad, but I had so many problems with the kids who were there protesting this.
They picked the wrong event to do this in. This wasn’t a Disengagement. It was a court order, staing that 9 houses on this legitimate settlement of Amona were built without permits. Therefore, these people were squatters. They didn’t destroy the settlement. They didn’t destroy all the houses, only the 9 built without permits. So, it has nothing to do with Palestinian vs Israeli land. Because, as long as these families come back and get permits, they can fully build houses in this LEGITIMATE settlement.
So, let’s get the facts straight. You want everyone to be ashamed of themselves. I dont think the police need to be. Israel is a country of law, regardless of whether this was the right move or not. Olmert has nothing to do with this. What these people did was illegal, and it was brought to the court by a left-wing group. Now, I don’t agree with their tactics. The judges still said these 9 families were legally squatting on land.
These kids threw bricks, stones, and other projectiles at the police. They threw STONES!! No better than the Palestinians. When Palestinians throw stones at the Israeli army, we say that the they should shoot, kill, or whatever back at the Palestinians in order to defend themselves. But, we have Jews doing the same thing from closer range, the police should be ashamed of themselves for defending themselves. The police should have come in with rubber bullets in hand. It’s ridiculous to put this as shameful on both sides, when one side should never have been there to begin with.
Either we live by law, or we are destroyed. Whether it’s right for Olmert to be going after this is irrelevant. The protestors picked the wrong event to protest. This wasn’t a question of Disengagement. They had a problem with this, they should have appealed to the courts, not thrown CINDER BLOCKS at the police!
-OC
While Peace Now petitioned the court, the government ordered the destruction of the houses. The director of Peace Now’s Settlement Watch project was quoted as saying:
So you can’t claim that Olmert has nothing to do with this.
This is very much about Israeli vs palestinian land. This is the heart of the issue. Otherwise, why isn’t the government doing the same thing with illegal Beduin houses in the Negev?
Furthermore, just because you think the removal of the houses was justified and sanctioned by a court order, does NOT give the police carte blanche to do as they like. There is a concept in law regarding unreasonable force. The police have no right to use it. If they are defending their lives, then of course they can use more force – that is called reasonable force. But there seems to have been instances of policemen lashing out at some protesters who happened to be there, but were not throwing the boulders etc. You seem to automatically accept the notion that all the police were blameless, and all the protesters were to blame. This is a simplistic, wrong approach IMHO.
You also said that “The protestors picked the wrong event to protest”. So you don’t believe in freedom of speech or the right to civil disobedience? I, of course, condemn any violent civil disobedience, but I think some of the protesters were just there making noise.
I repeat what I said before – some of the police and protesters should be ashamed of themselves.