Anti-Netanyahu Protesters Report Uptick in Violence against Them

Anti-Netanyahu protesters rallied across Israel on Saturday evening, February 13, for the 34th consecutive week of mass demonstrations against far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his indictment on graft charges and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Four people were arrested in the Jerusalem protests on Saturday night, one of them for allegedly “assaulting a police officer,” Zo Haderech reported.

The main demonstrations were held outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem. Protesters and organizers, among them Hadash and Communist Party of Israel activists from around the country, called for an end to Netanyahu’s reign. Hadash MK Ofer Cassif (Joint List) told the crowd that the approaching Knesset elections would not stop the protests and otherwise delay events. Another protest was held near Netanyahu’s private home in the coastal city of Caesarea and several hundred demonstrators gathered in smaller protests on highway overpasses and main intersections around the country.

Hadash MK Ofer Cassif (Joint List, left) and leading protest activist Sadi Ben-Shitrit demonstrate near the official residence of the prime minister in Jerusalem’s Paris Square, Saturday evening, February 13, calling for Netanyahu’s resignation. The banner held up in the background reads “We no longer believe this evil regime!”

Hadash MK Ofer Cassif (Joint List, left) and leading protest activist Sadi Ben-Shitrit demonstrate near the official residence of the prime minister in Jerusalem’s Paris Square, Saturday evening, February 13, calling for Netanyahu’s resignation. The banner held up in the background reads “We no longer believe this evil regime!” (Photo: Zo Haderech)

Near Kiryat Ono, east of Tel Aviv, a woman threatened demonstrators with a plastic gun. Protester Avi Shmueli told Channel 12 News: “She pointed it at us and people started panicking.”  The woman fled in a vehicle, which was later stopped by police. The woman and another suspect were arrested. In Rishon Letzion, south of Tel Aviv, protestors reported that a man had assaulted them and tore down signs.

The Black Flag protest movement reported that rocks were hurled at demonstrators in the coastal city of Netanya, as well as at a vehicle near Daburiyya in northern Israel, causing some damage to property. According to the Black Flag movement, this week witnessed an uptick in violence against protesters.