The Ministry of Justice is working on drafting a new law that will regulate the act of holding demonstrations in Israel. Kan reports that the proposed law will be based on police input and the ruling of courts over several years.
Leading the opposition to the bill is National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. His predecessor, Omer Barlev, first promoted the idea.
According to the report, the law would require a police permit for any gathering of over 100 individuals, as opposed to the current regulation which requires one only for gatherings with a specific purpose. The powers of the police officers in the field will be expanded and any police officer will be able to keep demonstrators away from the demonstration area for 3 hours "as long as his presence there may violate public order".
Today, police officers have the authority to detain or arrest a person for the usual reasons, but the new law will allow the discretion of the police officer in the field to prevent citizens from coming to a demonstration or to keep them away from it, if in the opinion of the police officer their presence may violate public order - for example, a person with a religious appearance at a LGBT protest, or someone carrying a PLO flag. A police officer may even use force in such a case.
The first draft of the law, which was drafted about three years ago and has since been discussed between the ministries, allows any police officer to begin dispersing a legal demonstration in the event of "a manifestation of violence against a person or property", or if "a serious violation of public order occurs or there is a fear of such a violation".
The meaning of this section is that a police officer can declare a demonstration illegal if one protester behaves violently while it is underway.
A significant clause in the new law will allow the police to impose fines on demonstrators - a fine of 1,500 shekels for participating in a demonstration "while violating police instructions" and a fine of 5,000 shekels for those who "disobey dispersal instructions or the instructions of a police officer." A similar fine will be imposed on those who were removed from a demonstration and returned to it in less than 3 hours and on those who organize a demonstration contrary to the terms of the new law.
The draft of the law states that demonstrations near the homes of public figures will be held at a distance of at least 100 meters from the house. In this regard, the law will for the first time limit the possibility of demonstrating in front of the homes of public figures.
The Department of Counseling and Legislation in the Ministry of Justice stated: "The issue is currently being promoted under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice, due to its focus - the right to demonstrate, and the need to regulate various aspects of the issue, some of which are not related to police work.
The Ministry of National Security stated in response: "This evening, Kan published an incorrect report according to which the Ministry of National Security promotes the bill to limit demonstrations. This is an old bill that was promoted by the previous minister, Omer Barlev, and the fact of its existence was not brought to the attention of incoming minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at all. We note that Minister Ben-Gvir categorically rejects the idea."