Protesters were chased from Netanyahu’s home with water cannons
Thousands of Israelis flooded towns across the country on Sunday night after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sacked Defense Minister Yoav Galant. After clashes between police and protesters near Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem, police used a water cannon and deployed a mounted unit to repel protesters.
Workers remove obstacles, including metal barriers, remains of fires and other objects, reports Israel time . Clearing the road will take several hours, they said, and authorities hope to open it by 9 a.m. According to police, rocks and other objects thrown by protesters injured three police officers as they cleared a highway of protesters. Thousands of protesters burned tires, erected barriers, stones and blocks at the intersection of Kaplan and Highway 20 in Tel Aviv, according to a police statement, Ynet reported. Protesters blocked the city’s main thoroughfare, turning the Ayalon Highway into a sea of ​​white and blue Israeli flags, and lit a large bonfire in the middle of the road. Then thousands of people marched from the residence to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
According to the message N12 News , Violent clashes erupted between law enforcement and protesters as law enforcement began to suppress a protest on the Ayalon highway early Monday morning. Large numbers of police forces arrived at the scene and, using two water cannons, mounted squads and other riot control measures, pushed back the protesters. Most protesters left the streets within minutes. Dozens of officers, several cars and fragments of barriers remained on the highway. Police have arrested a driver suspected of ramming his car into a protester during a demonstration in the central town of Gadera.
Television reporters covering the protests in Tel Aviv have reported that some eyewitnesses are comparing what happened to the events in Tahrir Square in Cairo during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Israel Ziv, a retired general who led the operational directive of the Israeli army (IDF), told the television channel that with demonstrations across the country, Israel is witnessing “historic images” of a possible revolution.
Photo: Reuters
Reservists from the Band of Brothers, a major protest group, gathered outside the home of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in Kiryat Arba. Protesters unfurled giant banners reading “Stop! Frontier ahead, enter dictatorship” and “It’s too big for you” with a photo of Ben Gvir wearing a military boot, reports Jerusalem Post . Two protesters were arrested after they allegedly attempted to break into Ben Gvir’s home.
Dissidents also gathered outside the homes of Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Avi Dichter, Tourism Minister Chaim Katz, Diaspora and Anti-Semitism Minister Amichai Chikli and ruling Likud member in the Knesset Danny Danon to demand a halt to controversial judicial reform. Dozens of people came to the home of Economy Minister Nir Barkat in Jerusalem, one of whom was arrested after police declared the protest illegal. “Prime Minister and Nir Barkat prefer to ignore warnings from the security system and economists,” protest organizers said. Eitan Ben-Eliahu, a former Israeli Air Force commander, told The Times of Israel that Netanyahu “declared a civil war.”
Ministers ready to slow down?
Galant on Saturday urged the prime minister to backtrack on judicial reform proposals that have divided the country, sparked massive protests and sparked growing discontent in the military. Netanyahu’s actions on Sunday underscored his determination to push forward sweeping reform that has also angered business leaders and raised concerns among Israel’s allies, including the United States. A White House spokesman said the United States had called on Israeli leaders to find a compromise as soon as possible. “The President recently discussed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that democratic values ​​have always been and must remain a hallmark of US-Israeli relations,” said Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.
Photo: Reuters
Galant was the first senior member of the ruling Likud party to speak out against the plan. Guardian . But when throngs of protesters took to the streets late in the evening, other Likud ministers began to express their willingness to “hold the brakes”. Culture Minister Miki Zohar, a confidant of Netanyahu, said the party would back him if he decided to put judicial reform on hold. On Sunday, Israel’s consul general in New York said he was resigning in protest at Netanyahu’s treatment of the defense minister. “I can no longer continue to represent this government,” wrote Asaf Zamir on Twitter (blocked in the Russian Federation). Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu “poses a threat to the security of the State of Israel.”
A parliamentary vote will take place this week on the centerpiece of the reform, a law that will give the ruling coalition the final say in the appointment of judges. Netanyahu is also seeking to pass laws that would give parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit judicial review of laws.
What awaits Israel in the near future?
It is reported that the leaders of the government coalition will meet on Monday morning. Unconfirmed reports say Prime Minister Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party, backs an end to push for a sweeping judicial reform law that has rocked Israel, while ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and Torah United Judaism said they would support Netanyahu’s decision. According to The Times of Israel, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who leads the Otzma Yehudit party, wants the law passed.
Meanwhile, leaders of the “Brothers in Arms” called for a protest at 2 p.m. Monday outside the Knesset building in Jerusalem. “This is the time when we need to step up and increase the pressure everywhere on ministers and Knesset members,” the organization said in a statement.
Groups of university students have announced a general strike from Monday morning to overhaul the government’s judicial system and fire the defense secretary.
Recall that the Netanyahu governing coalition, made up of right-wing, ultra-nationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties, is aggressively promoting a bill aimed at weakening the court’s ability to control parliament, as well as giving the Israeli cabinet the control of the appointment of judges. For nearly three months, weekly mass protests against the bill have taken place across the country and an outpouring of objections from high-profile public figures, including the president, lawyers, business leaders and many other personalities in Israel, has increased.
