Yesha Council spokesperson Emily Amrousi said:



"If anyone was not sure how a civil war looks, today we saw an example of it. [Acting Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert sent his police and soldiers to clash with brothers, merely as a means of election propaganda. The violence seen here on the part of the various police units was unparalleled; they were instructed in advance to hit and use all means to bring about injuries and even worse. Normal citizens don't act this way unless they were instructed to do so.



"Dozens of people were brought to hospitals, and mostly with head wounds. The sole person responsible is Olmert, who wants a civil war at any price.



"We tried to reach compromises and arrangements, and we were even ready to relocate the buildings ourselves - all in the hope of preventing the violence and all the scenes that Olmert wanted to see, hoping they would help him in his election campaign."



Amrousi acknowledged that the Yesha Council leadership's influence upon the youth was minimal: "The youth is very angry in general - they are angry at the government, and the media, and the leaders, and yes, at the Yesha Council as well."



The Yesha Council, which has led Yesha settlement affairs for over 30 years, lost much face in the recent failed struggle for Gush Katif. Many of the youth perceived Yesha Council leaders as having made a deal with the police and army to facilitate the expulsion - in order to avoid televised scenes of near-violence - even though the youth had been promised that the struggle would be waged to the finish.



MK Effie Eitam (National Union), who is in the hospital with a head injury after being run over by a horse at Amona today, plans to file a complaint against police violence with Attorney General Menachem Mazuz.