JERUSALEM – Israeli police mistreated international journalists and used water cannons and mounted police to ram peaceful protesters near Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence early Wednesday morning in the latest round of protests demanding the resignation of the Israeli prime minister .
The protests started about six months ago, following Netanyahu’s indictment on various corruption charges. They intensified in recent weeks when the government appeared to lose control of the coronavirus pandemic.
After midnight, when the police attempted to disperse the activists, the officers beat at least two journalists, including Guilhem Delteil of Radio France International, who was pushed onto the street from the sidewalk.
Delteil, who was wearing a T-shirt, was mistreated by police despite the fact that he was interviewing protesters with a bright red professional microphone clearly marked with the logo of his radio station. He repeatedly told officials in Hebrew that he was a journalist. After deciding to leave due to violent police actions, he realized that he was bruised and bleeding from the scratches on his arm, where two officers pushed him.
When the police launched the operation to disperse the public, two female border police officers also kicked and threw this journalist. I landed next to a tree on Agron Street, one of the exits from the Place de Paris.
Delteil filed a complaint with the Foreign Press Association, which represents foreign journalists working in Israel. FPA Director Ellen Krosney said she was passing the complaint on to the organization’s board “to take further action.”
Superintendent Micky Rosenfeld, the police spokesman, said members of the media always take risks if they choose to cover the protests.
“The journalists were doing their job, they stayed away from the problems, but there is always a risk factor for them that they are aware of when the protests take place,” he said.
Activists have been protesting the government’s mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis and the state of Netanyahu as head of government on criminal charges.
Tuesday’s demonstration began with restaurant owners and workers angered by the zigzagging COVID-19 era restrictions imposed on their businesses, and the conditions they say make their economic survival impossible. The Israeli government has changed the rules regarding restaurant operations three times since the weekend.
Rama Ben-Zvi, the owner of a landmark restaurant in the Judean Hills, outside Jerusalem, said: “We feel there is no leadership. There is no one we can talk to. It seems that the government only wants to end restaurants. “
The restaurant workers’ protest was joined by activists from the Black Flag organization, a group that has led biweekly marches and protests against the prime minister, who is being tried on three corruption charges, including bribery, fraud and breach of trust. .
After a two-month break, Netanyahu’s trial resumed on Sunday.
The protesters had been given permission to demonstrate until 11 p.m., but they refused to leave the Place de Paris, the square adjacent to Netanyahu’s official residence. Many sang, danced, or asked him to resign.
At approximately 12:30 am, police units began to disperse protesters with water cannons, and mounted police officers charging at protesters began to fill the plaza. Unlike similar protests in American cities in recent weeks, the police did not deploy any weapons.
Roi Yanovsky, a reporter for Israel’s Kan News station, filmed border police and members of an elite police unit that is removing protesters from the square in what he called “a display of excessive force.” Police said 38 arrests were made on suspicion of disorderly conduct and alleged violence against police officers.
Eran Etzion, a former deputy national security adviser to Israel, who participated in the protest, wrote on Twitter: “There was no indication of violence between the thousands of young people who filled the Place de Paris and the square and street in front of the Knesset. There is no logical reason to use police violence. None. “He called the police and protest organizers to appoint a mediator to prevent future violence as the protests continue to grow.
Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Yadid said in a statement that “a smoke grenade was activated and bottles and stones were thrown at the police.” A video released by the police showed no violence directed at officers.
Rosenfeld, the police spokesman, said that arrests were made among “protesters who remained in the area, blocked roads and were involved in riots,” despite police informing them that the demonstration was illegal.
On Wednesday morning, several dozen protesters threw themselves to the ground in front of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, briefly blocking three entrances to the site as lawmakers debated a bill proposed by the Netanyahu government, which would allow powers emergency circumvent the Knesset on coronavirus issues. These protesters, who belong to the global movement of the extinction rebellion, were expelled by the police, and said that four had been arrested.
Black Flag protests are expected to resume in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Saturday night.
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