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By Peretz Rickett
February 5, 2006
Shortly following the "surprise" victory of Hamas in the PA elections, Hamas announced its intentions to recruit and form an army. I thought that would be a great idea -- maybe it would mean that they would stand and fight like honorable human beings and we can settle this matter once and for all. Unifying a bunch of clans and terrorists with a preference
of sniping babies, blowing up the unarmed, and then running away to blend into the "civilian" population into an identifiable force at which Israel's army can shoot back seemed like a tall order, however. Little did I know that their efforts would be aided by Israel and that it could be accomplished so quickly.
By "recruiting an army" they did not mean that they were going to attempt to form a new army made up of Arabs. There was an easier route -- recruit an existing army made up of Jews. That's right, Hamas has now added to its arsenal of Kassams a much more mindless kind of weapon -- the Yassams.
The behavior I saw from these "riot police" can be described as nothing more than disgusting. What you have seen on the video footage is unwarranted brutality. What you have not seen is how much they were enjoying their evil work. While laughing and attempting to outdo one another with their feats of bravado, like clubbing a sitting protester, they made obscene insults, flipped the middle finger, and warned that "your yishuv is next." If one failed to show the proper level of fear and submission to their machismo, one would earn a smack from a club or a swift kick.
To be sure, I can not attribute this behavior to every Yassam. There were many hundreds of Yassamnikim in Amona and I was only witness to a few tens. And of those few, I also saw some professional and duty-minded personnel. But these were the exceptions. The rest had more in common with street-gangs and typical thugs.
It would be wrong to withhold criticism of the protesters as well. Once the supplies of paint-bombs, water-balloons, tomatoes, jello, and other such weaponry were exhausted, rocks and
broken fragments of cinder block began to fly. These rocks were usually tossed without a clear line of sight at a target, and because of this there were numerous victims of "friendly-fire," like that resulting in the injury to Shlomo Wollins, editor of www.IsraelReporter.com, with whom I had the privilege of sharing some time around a campfire during the course of the night. And I
witnessed many near-misses of the same sort.
However, even if there were no such incidents, I could still not withhold criticism of rock-throwing. This is beneath our dignity and such should be reserved for lawless hordes of Arabs. Still, I understand the emotions that were behind each rock thrown, and I think
it would have been avoided had the Yassamnikim not ratcheted up the level of violence.
From our vantage point on the roof, we were witness to the cavalry charge into a line of peaceful protesters (mostly girls). We watched the stormtroopers charge house #1, to our right, and proceed to swing clubs without concern for the fact that the protesters surrounding the house were peaceful and unarmed without even so much as a water-balloon. We were witness to the mocking calls from the victorious Yassamnikim who had subdued the house. And finally, we watched from our rooftop as house #1 was completely destroyed before they even attempted to evacuate our rooftop. While not excusing the rock-throwing, it is certainly understandable that tempers flared at this and many sought new ammunition to resist, but finding the original arsenal of yogurt and vegetables depleted, were forced to resort to stones.
So the question that now lingers in my mind is what could have been done in the form of peaceful protest that could have stopped such a brutal determination to destroy nine beautiful Jewish homes overlooking Jerusalem in the distance? The answer is sadly, nothing. No amount of peaceful protest could have stopped it, or will in the future stop it when, G-d forbid, it happens again. The government has put the settlement enterprise exactly where it wants it, in a position where there is no redress -- only surrender, or worse, the unthinkable, a fight with weapons more deadly than stones.
As I drive Highway 60 into Jerusalem from Gush Etzion and watch as the checkpoint gets transformed into a full-fledged border crossing station which excludes the whole of the Gush, I know with a certainty that such despicable acts by the government are coming to my town also. So it is clear where the government is going with the current leadership at the helm, but what is not so clear is where the protest movement is going, or where it should go.
The groundwork has been laid. Unless the government apologizes for Amona and forswears future violence against peaceful protest, the next logical step in the progression of events will force the protesters to respond with equal force. But where are 5,000 or more protesters going to get outfitted with riot gear and water cannons? It's not at all imaginable that such equipment will suddenly go on sale at the local supermarket, so it does not seem reasonable to expect that any future expulsions will follow the natural progression. Instead, I fear it will
escalate exponentially.
Clearly the ball is in the government's court. They can increase tensions or ease up. Unfortunately, all the signals from the government indicate increased tensions. May Hashem have mercy on our country, because we will receive none from Hamas after we descend into
self-destruction. They will be laughing all the way to the land bank unless the government wakes up and realizes that it is Hamas and the other jihadists, not the settlers, that are the enemies of Israel.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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