Turmoil Rocks Jerusalem as Thousands Protest Netanyahu Amid Virus Crisis
JERUSALEM, Israel – Unrest is shaking the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in the wake of a second wave of the coronavirus as thousands of people gather to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.
Dozens of protesters chained themselves together and blocked the entrance to Israel’s parliament Wednesday morning. They were there to demonstrate against a controversial law under review that would give Netanyahu’s government sweeping powers until June 2021 to impose wide-ranging virus restrictions on the population without parliamentary oversight.
Police arrested four people and broke up the gathering.
The incident comes just hours after a night of intense protests against Netanyahu.
A coalition of more than 2,000 protesters coordinated with Israeli police to organize a legal demonstration in front of the Prime Minister’s Official Residence in Jerusalem Tuesday evening. They were outraged with the leader’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
They danced, beat drums, and called for Netanyahu’s resignation.
A small group of Netanyahu supporters held a counter-protest nearby.
Meanwhile, on Balfour street, two demonstrations took place. One gathering drew restaurant owners and celebrity chefs who are frustrated with the government’s contradictory shutdown policies for their businesses.
“We decided to act because on Friday we got news in the morning that we have to shut down, then in the afternoon, we got news that we can operate again until Tuesday. In the middle, we heard two different other decisions. So we have the feeling that nobody is driving the car and this car is about to go into a rock,” Jonathan Borowitz, Chef and Owner of M25 Restaurant told i24 News.
Another group of demonstrators voiced outrage over Netanyahu serving as prime minister while being on trial for corruption. Dozens also called for justice over the killing of unarmed autistic Jerusalem man Iyad Halak, who was shot by police in May.
Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld told CBN News that an overwhelming majority of the protests are peaceful and legitimate.
“More than 90 percent are from the public who have the right to protest who are in a situation where they feel like they need to,” he said. “These protests are coordinated with Israeli police.”
Rosenfeld said violence broke out between police and civilians when a group of protesters refused to go home at about 1 a.m. Police responded by using water cannons and physical force to clear people from outside Netanyahu’s home.
At least 34 people were arrested for allegedly disturbing the police and attacking officers, police said.
Rosenfeld said a small minority of people were there to antagonize police and break the peace.
“They are troublemakers, individuals, extremists who want to take the law into their own hands, want to block roads, want to attack police officers,” he said, adding that some of these “troublemakers” called officers Nazis.
Thousands Protesting in #Israel tonight against Netanyahu outside his residence in Jerusalem.
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) July 21, 2020
Video shows clashes with police. Journalist @NTarnopolsky on scene was shoved, slammed to ground: pic.twitter.com/bOXG2XEluo
During a recent protest in Tel Aviv, demonstrators reportedly threw stones at officers and pepper-sprayed them.
Israel received early praise for how it handled the virus outbreak, but Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet in recent weeks over complaints of corruption and failure to manage the virus crisis.
Before the pandemic hit, Israel’s unemployment was at 3.9 percent. Today it stands at 20 percent and is rising along with record daily coronavirus infections.
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