For the first time since the war broke out, police have used a pumper truck against left-wing protesters in Tel Aviv who blocked Kaplan Street.
A video of the protest also shows mounted officers working to clear the road.
The police stated that the protesters, who are unconnected with the families of the hostages, blocked traffic and sat down on the road. The police further stated that they had arrested twenty-one individuals who disturbed the peace. Among the detainees were activists Amir Haskel and Moshe Radman.
A senior police officer declared the demonstration illegal and ordered it dispersed. Police stated: “In light of continued disturbances of the peace, police were forced to use crowd control equipment to remove them from the road.”
In Caesarea, hundreds of protesters blocked the main road and fought with police. One protester was detained for questioning. She claimed that her megaphone had been grabbed from her.
Before the protest on Kaplan Street began, members of the "Brothers in Arms" organization protested on bridges throughout Israel to call for a universal draft order. A message released in advance of the protest reads: "In this war, most of Israeli society is enlisted in a heroic fight for our future here, but the government of Israel is repressing the Israeli public.”
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) commented: “The use of police brutality against demonstrators, among them families of the hostages, is dangerous and anti-democratic, and cannot continue. The right to protest is a fundamental right and cannot be taken away from protesters with truncheons and pumper trucks.”