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24-06-2024
TEL AVIV: Thousands of people demonstrated on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. The organizers of the protest said it was the largest since October 7.
Hundreds of demonstrators started a protest march towards the Metzudat Ze’ev building on King George Street, where they burned a display in the shape of a house titled “The House is Burning”.
Later, clashes broke out with the police in which several protesters were arrested. During the demonstration, a police officer was documented forcibly shoving Channel 12 News reporter Yollan Cohen.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said in response, “Another evening of the Israel Police losing their tempers. There is no reason for a police officer to act with such violence against any civilian. Certainly not against a female journalist on duty. Where is the police commissioner? Where is the senior command in the field? All boundaries have been crossed. It can’t go on like this.”
The Israel Police said, “For the last hour, the police have been working to maintain public order on King George Street in Tel Aviv. As part of the evacuation of rioters, Channel 12 News reporter Yollan Cohen, who is on the scene and covering the events on the ground, was pushed away. The Israel Police regrets the incident that took place in the heat of the moment during the evacuation of the axis. The work of the journalists is worthy of appreciation and is important for the coverage of the events; we will work to allow them to carry out their work safely to prevent the recurrence of similar cases in the future.”
Local media said, “We condemn the attack on our reporter, Yollan Cohen, by a police officer during the coverage of the protest this evening in Tel Aviv and demand that the police conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the case.”
In an address to the crowd, a former head of Israel’s domestic Shin Bet security agency, Yuval Diskin, condemned Netanyahu as Israel’s “worst prime minister”.
Many are frustrated with the country’s right-wing coalition, which includes Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and other far-right ultra-nationalists, accusing it of prolonging the war in Gaza and putting the country’s security and hostages at risk.
Yoram, a 50-year-old tour guide who declined to give his last name, said he was attending every weekly protest as Israel needed elections “yesterday” because of Netanyahu.
“I really hope that the government collapses,” he said. “If we go to the original date of elections in 2026, it is not going to be a democratic election.”
Hamas militants seized 251 hostages on October 7, of whom Israel believes 116 remain in Gaza, including 41 who the army says are dead.
A separate Tel Aviv rally on Saturday night drew thousands of relatives and supporters of the hostages.
The attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to a media based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 37,551 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.
Anti-government protest organization Hofshi Israel estimated more than 150,000 people attended the rally, calling it the biggest since the Gaza war began.
Some demonstrators lay on the ground covered in red paint in the city’s Democracy Square to protest what they say is the death of the country’s democracy under Netanyahu. The protests in Tel Aviv and al-Quds saw demonstrators railing against the regime’s refusal to engage in talks with Hamas. The main rally, which drew significant crowds, concluded with a smaller group of protesters blocking roads and setting tires ablaze, leading to clashes with the police. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
