Protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued Saturday night as was the case every Saturday night for the past 4 months. The tensest rallies took place on major streets in the heart of Tel Aviv, where thousands of protesters clashed with police. According to police reports, it was the demonstrators who attacked officers.
ככה הצעדה נראית על רחוב ארלוזרוב, המפגינים לא נשארים על רחוב אחד כדי לתת למשטרה להיערך בקצהו אלא משנים את הדרך כל הזמן. pic.twitter.com/BZKy1ehjlt
— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg)
Thousands of police officers were deployed in the main Tel Aviv protest locations to maintain order and enforce corona guidelines. At one point during the evening, mass marches began around the city, with police trying in vain to prevent the processions. Eventually, the police began to confine the marchers – but many managed to escape from the enclosed areas and continued the march.
The protesters, who were used to driving up to Balfour Street in Jerusalem, were now forced to demonstrate near their place of residence according to the lockdown regulations, up to a kilometer from their homes, or pay a fine. In many intersections and overpass bridges all over the country, after hours of protest, the participants began marching and confronting the police in their neighborhoods. According to protest organizations, there were 1,219 hotspots altogether Saturday night, from north to south, where demonstrations were held against the prime minister.
According to the Israeli police, four demonstrators were arrested and dozens of summonses were issued.
The police issued a statement suggesting the protest group Crime Minister called on its people to show up with tear gas and additional measures against police officers – but later issued a retraction, on account of this was fake news.
