Israel Matzav

Lieberman tells the truth again: 'Palestinian police' who attack IDF soldiers shouldn't live to talk about it

Yet another politically incorrect statement from Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who told Israel Radio on Tuesday that 'Palestinian police' who attack Israeli soldiers 'shouldn't remain alive.'

But first, let's go to the videotape and see the incident from last Thursday in Hebron that prompted Lieberman's comment.



And here's Lieberman.

Palestinian policeman who strike IDF soldiers "should not remain alive," Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman told Israel Radio on Tuesday.

"I will not accept a situation in which an IDF soldier in Hebron gets punched by a Palestinian policeman and that policeman remains alive," Liberman said. "I don't accept that."

He should take it up with the Defense Ministry and the IDF. And there's what to take up.

Soldiers have complained that rules of engagement, which call for restraint but allow shots to be fired in case of an immediate threat to life, are too foggy to be applied clearly.

"It can't be that Israeli solders will be hit and punched, and [the Palestinians] will stay alive," Liberman repeated. "Whoever thinks that our actions are having a calming effect is wrong. In fact, it's the opposite. We're only motivating them to provoke us further."

Central Command officers have identified a sharp rise in the number of violent disturbances in the West Bank in recent weeks, resulting in a call to forces to increase awareness at all levels.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak is retiring after the elections. Will Israel get a defense minister who is more interested in defending the country than in defending his relations with the Left? Stay tuned.

Labels: Avigdor Lieberman, Hebron, IDF rules of engagement, Palestinian police

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:30 PM