Diskin spoke on Monday to students studying at the Bnei David Academy, a religious Zionist institution in Samaria with a one-year program that combines Torah study and preparatory courses for the army.
Diskin’s appearance in Eli and the contents of his speech were first revealed to the public by Channel 10 television, a network licensed, though not run by the government.
Diskin used language unusual for a government official, ostensibly deviating from the government-approved line, saying the Disengagement was primarily a procedure for “uprooting” people from their homes.
“The Disengagement was first and foremost a procedure for uprooting people, and the State of Israel is white-washing the terminology,” said Diskin. “They’re afraid to use the term ‘uprooting.’ They call it evacuation, and other things, but this is uprooting.”
The security chief – the Shin Bet is Israel’s equivalent of the FBI, although it works totally undercover – based his opposition to further withdrawals on security considerations.
“In terms of security, I’m against transferring territory to the Palestinians, also territory they already control, unless it’s proven, and we know that there’s a Palestinian party that controls the regime, that obligates itself and carries out enforcing the rule of law in this region,” he elaborated.
“If there’s no such group on the professional level, I oppose transferring territory to Palestinian rule,” he added.
MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) said he was convinced that Diskin’s remarks will cause the government to replace him, in much the same way, as the government sent the previous IDF Chief-of-Staff, Lt.Gen. Moshe Ya’alon, into early retirement for not backing the Disengagement.
MK Gidon Sa’ar (Likud) said Diskin’s words illustrated the dangers inherent in Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s plan for extensive withdrawals from areas in Judea and Samaria.
Diskin also criticized the government’s handling of the “fracture” in Israeli society caused by the expulsion of Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria. “They didn’t deal properly with such a deep fracture. This has ramifications that get back to me as head of the Shin Bet.”
He said he was worried that this failure will cause Jews who live in Judea and Samaria, or who identify with retaining that area as a part of Israel, to become “radicalized.” While the radicals, he explained were “at the margins,” many more are expected to join their ranks, a development he said had “dramatic” ramifications for the head of the Shin Bet.
Diskin did not mention what he meant by the term radical and whether persons who engage in passive resistance to uprooting Jewish communities will be subject to investigation by his agency.
Diskin said his agency, whose main mission is to use intelligence to root out and thwart Arab terrorists, has no alternative but to maintain a unit devoted to investigating and spying on Jewish citizens.
Turning to the audience, Diskin said he would be “happy to close” that unit, but it depends on whether “you make sure there’s no problem.” How Diskin and his agency define the term “problem” was not elaborated upon.
He maintained that the unit, known as the “Jewish department” is actually very small in terms of staff. “I can’t reveal the number to you, because you’d break out laughing,” he said lightheartedly.
Diskin warned that Jews engaging in terror would be dealt with as harshly as Hamas terrorists. “A Jew involved in terror is a cancer in the nation, much worse than an Arab engaged in terror,” he said.
Diskin’s appearance in Eli and the contents of his speech were first revealed to the public by Channel 10 television, a network licensed, though not run by the government.
Diskin used language unusual for a government official, ostensibly deviating from the government-approved line, saying the Disengagement was primarily a procedure for “uprooting” people from their homes.
“The Disengagement was first and foremost a procedure for uprooting people, and the State of Israel is white-washing the terminology,” said Diskin. “They’re afraid to use the term ‘uprooting.’ They call it evacuation, and other things, but this is uprooting.”
The security chief – the Shin Bet is Israel’s equivalent of the FBI, although it works totally undercover – based his opposition to further withdrawals on security considerations.
“In terms of security, I’m against transferring territory to the Palestinians, also territory they already control, unless it’s proven, and we know that there’s a Palestinian party that controls the regime, that obligates itself and carries out enforcing the rule of law in this region,” he elaborated.
“If there’s no such group on the professional level, I oppose transferring territory to Palestinian rule,” he added.
MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) said he was convinced that Diskin’s remarks will cause the government to replace him, in much the same way, as the government sent the previous IDF Chief-of-Staff, Lt.Gen. Moshe Ya’alon, into early retirement for not backing the Disengagement.
MK Gidon Sa’ar (Likud) said Diskin’s words illustrated the dangers inherent in Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s plan for extensive withdrawals from areas in Judea and Samaria.
Diskin also criticized the government’s handling of the “fracture” in Israeli society caused by the expulsion of Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria. “They didn’t deal properly with such a deep fracture. This has ramifications that get back to me as head of the Shin Bet.”
He said he was worried that this failure will cause Jews who live in Judea and Samaria, or who identify with retaining that area as a part of Israel, to become “radicalized.” While the radicals, he explained were “at the margins,” many more are expected to join their ranks, a development he said had “dramatic” ramifications for the head of the Shin Bet.
Diskin did not mention what he meant by the term radical and whether persons who engage in passive resistance to uprooting Jewish communities will be subject to investigation by his agency.
Diskin said his agency, whose main mission is to use intelligence to root out and thwart Arab terrorists, has no alternative but to maintain a unit devoted to investigating and spying on Jewish citizens.
Turning to the audience, Diskin said he would be “happy to close” that unit, but it depends on whether “you make sure there’s no problem.” How Diskin and his agency define the term “problem” was not elaborated upon.
He maintained that the unit, known as the “Jewish department” is actually very small in terms of staff. “I can’t reveal the number to you, because you’d break out laughing,” he said lightheartedly.
Diskin warned that Jews engaging in terror would be dealt with as harshly as Hamas terrorists. “A Jew involved in terror is a cancer in the nation, much worse than an Arab engaged in terror,” he said.