Police forces barged into the large Jewish community of Tsofim on Tuesday where they "violently threw children and adults onto the sidewalks. Eleven people were injured. Some were treated here and others were evacuated to hospitals." according to eye witnesses at the scene.
"The inspectors came and took equipment that was being used legally," Tzofim resident Yitzhak Basal told Ynet. "They loaded it onto a truck and we tried to prevent them from leaving.
"There was no illegal conduct here. The inspectors acted like a bunch of hooligans," he said, "We tried to explain that everything was legal, but they wouldn't listen."
Shomron Regional Council head Gershon Mesika asked IDF Central Command chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi to remove the security forces from Tzofim, claiming that the construction work there had begun before the freeze orders were issued.
"It is shocking that because of (Defense Minister) Ehud Barak's political whims officers are being instructed to injure innocent civilians," he said.
Civil Administration inspectors, accompanied by security forces, have gotten in the habit of systematically violated the terms of the government's 10-month freeze creating mayhem in their wake. PM Netanyahu has stated repeatedly that he will take measures to clarify for Barak the terms of the edict so that such occurences will cease. However, this has yet to be felt on the ground.
