Security Forces Gearing Up for Amona Confrontation

YERUSHALAYIM
Young people move obstacles into place on Thursday, in preparation of resisting the Amona evacuation. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Young people move obstacles into place on Thursday, in preparation of resisting the Amona evacuation. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Israeli security establishment is digging in for a large-scale confrontation with protesters at Amona in the coming days, and has already begun to take action to ensure implementation of the court-ordered demolition later this month.

An IDF soldier was sentenced to 10 days in jail for handing out leaflets encouraging other soldiers to refuse orders to carry out the evacuation, according to a Channel 10 report.

“It’s in your hands — don’t harm the people of Israel, the land of Israel and the Torah of Israel,” the leaflet reads, according to the report.

On Thursday, the Honenu legal organization charged that Israeli police conducted warning raids at the homes of at least 15 activists in Yehudah and Shomron to head off trouble.

In one instance, a police detective came to the home of the parents of a youth in Binyamin to notify them that he is “cautioned not to disturb the peace or to engage in any activity which might be considered a criminal offense in connection with the expected evacuation of the Amona settlement. It is clarified that any act which constitutes a criminal offense will be handled by the Israel police accordingly.”

Attorney Menashe Yaddo, a representative of Honenu, filed a complaint over the incidents with Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan.

“This is the first indication of a shift to a policy of ‘taking the gloves off,’ and ‘anything goes.’” Yaddo warned. “Not everything is permitted to the government of Israel and you, with all due respect, have the obligation to ensure that the police treat Israeli citizens within the framework of the law and without bullying, as was done in the circumstances which led to this complaint,” Arutz Sheva quoted him as saying.

Earlier in the day, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman put the public on notice that there will be no tolerance for protesters who resort to violence.

“There is understanding and a will to accommodate the residents of Amona as much as possible,” Liberman said, speaking at a Limmud FSU conference in Eilat. “But it must be clear — there will be no acceptance and no tolerance of violence against IDF soldiers and members of the security forces.”

“Take it off the agenda,” he says.

Amona residents have called for passive resistance to the forced evacuation, but have pointed out that they do not have control over the behavior of the thousands who are expected to be there.

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