A quiet rebellion in the Israeli police: The plan by the police and military police to carry out a wave of arrests of ultra-Orthodox 'defectors' is drawing sharp criticism from middle-ranking police officers.
In closed conversations obtained by Kobi Israel from Kol Berama radio, police officers express resentment both at the political timing, they say, and at the operational implications of the wave of arrests - and the danger of mass riots that will undermine the handling of rising crime.
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A police officer with the rank of superintendent said in a closed and tense conversation: “The timing of this operation is very strange. Is this happening because we are close to the elections? What happened that the police remembered to deal with the deserters now? Until today, there were not large numbers of deserters roaming around Tel Aviv and other cities?".
The officer added: "There are clearly bad intentions here and an attempt to please a very specific segment of the population.".
Another mid-level officer attacked the police leadership in an unprecedented manner, warning of the collapse of the forces in the field in the face of the general crime wave in the country.
“"Whoever made the decision to launch this operation is crazy," the officer said angrily. "We won't have the ability to handle all the disturbances that develop, and at the same time provide a response to the crime wave across the country.".
The officer revealed how some of the forces operating in the field intend to act in practice during the days of the operation: "I put things on the table and say clearly: We will do everything to remain passive, and we will only intervene if a violent riot develops against the military police officers.".
The plan to launch an operation to capture deserters was first revealed by Kobi Israel, and now it appears that the decision by the senior command is causing great unrest among the commanders and officers in the field, who are required to enforce the sensitive directive.
