Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin (Likud) responded to the directives issued by the State Attorney's Office which make it more difficult to prosecute protesters.
"For years, the top echelons of the justice system and the State Attorney's Office have blindly followed in the path of retired Supreme Court President Aharon Barak. Today, it turns out that their hatred of Prime Minister Netanyahu is even stronger than their childish admiration for Barak," Levin wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday.
He said, "When Rabin was prime minister, Aharon Barak ruled that demonstrations would be attended by a maximum of 500 people and only until nine in the evening. Today, during the coronavirus crisis, who would have believed that the State Attorney's Office would allow a deviation from this ruling? But the office 'suddenly' decided to reject Aharon Barak's ruling. 'Suddenly,' protests are allowed without limit, whether numerically or otherwise, both at the cost of risking the health of us all, and at the cost of blocking roads and preventing ambulances from reaching hospitals. Everything is allowed. The main thing is that the agenda of hatred towards Prime Minister Netanyahu can be allowed to run wild in the streets."
"If anyone had any doubts about what motivates senior officials in the State Attorney's Office, he received a clear answer today. All the resources, all the enormous power in their hands, everything is routed to selective enforcement in order to overthrow an elected prime minister. All those who value democracy, whether on the right or the left, must protest in the face of this blatant discrimination and disgraceful conduct," Levin concluded.