Who had an interest in excessive violence in Amona?

How did a seemingly marginal clash over nine uninhabited houses, which the state says were built illegally, turn into the most violent battle in the history of West Bank settlements between policemen and settlers? A preliminary analysis of Wednesday’s events indicates a destructive combination of several factors – a government election strategy, the cynicism of the settler leaders, unbridled rioting by hundreds of settlers and the loss of self control by some policemen. It appears that planning and operation problems by the Israel Defense Forces also contributed to the disastrous events. The public relations by the Yesha Council of settlements focused on the police’s excessive violence. When a 15-year-old is lying unconscious in hospital and dozens of injured people have been admitted to ER, the settlers have a point. However, the right-wing victims are not innocent. The thousands who gathered on the hill did not come to protest but to clash. Not a handful, but hundreds of them, exercised extreme violence. Graduates of the first intifada were reminded of the huge demonstrations in the Shati and Jabalya refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. The police reacted to the shower of boulders and bricks with violence of their own, not all of which was necessary. Obviously, more than soft words were needed to break such a rampage. But nonviolent girls and adults in Amona were beaten on the head with clubs yesterday. Mounted police beat demonstrators with cudgels and injured Knesset members. Dozens of demonstrators were struck deliberately in the stomach and groin. Orit Caspi, Amona’s secretary, says, „Almost anyone who came out of the houses got struck by a baton. It looked like the policemen’s aim was not to enable anyone to walk out on his own two feet.” In at least one case, an IDF brigade commander shouted at policemen who were exercising excessive violence. Was the aggression aggravated by the ratio of policemen to protesters? In the disengagement, security forces outnumbered the settlers 4:1. This time the ratio was 1:1 in a crowded area. The IDF knew in advance that the resistance would be violent. The preparations were brief, almost minimal. A few of the injured policemen complained yesterday that they were not prepared for such violent events. When an attacking force feels threatened and lacks an advantage in numbers, it is likely to overreact. The television footage leaves no doubt that during parts of the clashes excessive violence was used. The video film broadcast on Channel 10 last night shows a policeman hitting demonstrators seated inside a house. What threat was there to his life? The threat was made earlier, and it appeared that the policemen were settling the score for the hours of violence and humiliation they had suffered before the evacuation, and earlier in Hebron. O/C Central Command Yair Naveh explained the difference between evacuating residents from their homes, like in Gush Katif, and dispersing rioters in Amona. Here there was no room for patience, sensitivity or negotiating teams. There was no need for additional forces, because the evacuating officers were highly skilled and equipped with riot control means, such as horses and clubs. Only some of these were used in the disengagement. He said the forces had considered using tear gas, but refrained from doing so for fear people would choke in the closed spaces. The fact that dozens of policemen were injured, despite their protective garb, proves how fierce the violence against them was, he explained. The stunned settlers were subjected for the first time yesterday to the „Bil’in rules” the treatment the Palestinians have received from the IDF and police for the past 40 years. Many were interested in harsh violence in Amona including the acting prime minister, who blocked every attempt at compromise, and the Yesha council, which chose to make a compromise suggestion only when it was too late. Perhaps it suited certain people’s purposes to maneuver the policemen into a disadvantageous situation from which they would have to smash their way out. Another lesson from the intifada few had heard Yitzhak Rabin give the order „break their bones,” but most warriors knew exactly what was expected of them. In the past week the policemen heard repeatedly that the clash in Amona was a battle over the rule of law, that a quick decision there would ensure a smoother outcome in Yitzhar and that it was time the settlers started fearing the police again. A policeman with a cudgel does not need more than this. Many cops conducted themselves professionally, even with restraint, facing a real threat, and completed their mission swiftly. But the scenes aired on television were not justified. They will haunt the police and the IDF for a long time. Naveh promised an internal probe to ascertain whether there were violations of regulations, but it appears that a comprehensive, general inquiry will be inevitable.