Israeli Police officers threw stun grenades into a crowd of
protesters on Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv early on Wednesday afternoon in an
effort to disperse the protests and clear the highway.
According to The Jerusalem Post, one of the protesters was
injured after a stun grenade hit him on the side of his head. According to the
source, he was evacuated from the scene for medical treatment, and there is a
concern that he may have lost his ear.
Protest organizers criticized the police dispersal methods,
calling the system morally bankrupt and accused them of becoming a political
police force.
"The
commissioner should fire those responsible for the failure today," the
statement read. "Throwing grenades and trampling protesters for democracy
with horses is crossing the black line. Shame on the state of Israel.
"We must stop the coup d'état because if the laws of
the dictatorship are passed, the violence against demonstrators will be a
matter of routine, if it will be possible to demonstrate at all."
An
unnamed apache pilot in reserve IDF services and now an El Al pilot, was
arrested at the protests at the Kfar Hayarok junction near Ramat Hasharon.
According to him and eyewitnesses, he was there as part of the demonstrations
to photograph the event and had not acted out when he was taken forcefully by
the police.
Israel's "national day of disruption" kicked off
early on Wednesday morning as protesters demonstrated at the entrance to
Jerusalem in the middle of Highway 1 shortly before 8 a.m., preventing traffic
from moving.
Police were said to be working at the scene to redirect
traffic and restore order and the road was reopened to traffic at 8:20 a.m.
The
nationwide protests were scheduled to be held as the government's legislative
committee votes to pass the second part of the judicial reform which includes
the override clause that allows the government to override High Court of Justice
rulings with a Knesset majority of 61 MKs.
Following a situational assessment between National Security
Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Police Chief Kobi Shabtai and the Jerusalem and Tel
Aviv district commander and deputy commander, Ben-Gvir issued a statement
against the move by protesters to close roads.
"The
blocking of central roads must not be allowed, and all of the anarchists'
blockades must be opened," he said. "I am in favor of democratic
protest, but we will not allow civil riots and we will not allow
anarchists to block major roads."
He added that he had informed police across the country to
reopen roads if they are blocked by protests.
Opposition
leader Yair Lapid responded to Ben-Gvir via Twitter, "The minister of
TikTok and pita is confused again. The only anarchy is that of the most insane
government in Israel's history.
"The
demonstrators this morning are patriots and lovers of Israel who want to keep
it democratic and free."
Elsewhere in the country, protesters attempted to disrupt
the arrival and departure of trains at the Tel Aviv Hagana train
station.
"Over the last hour, there have been a number of
intentional disruptions to the closing of the doors on some trains when they
stop at stations, and as a result, the trains are delayed and there are
disruptions to movement and travel," Israel Railways said in a statement.
"We ask all passengers to allow safe and regular journeys to
continue."
Later on Wednesday morning, Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv was
closed to traffic as protesters began to block the road.
Coalition MKs and ministers were quick to criticize the
actions taken, with Minister in the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry Yoav
Ben-Tzur (Shas) tweeting, "We must not allow law-breaking anarchists to
shut down the country by blocking main roads and preventing citizens from
getting to where they want to go. This is not a protest; this is a violation of
the law."
"We must not allow law-breaking anarchists to shut down
the country by blocking main roads and preventing citizens from getting to
where they want to go. This is not a protest, this is a violation of the
law."
