Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement this evening (Wednesday) in response to the protests that took place during the day against the government's planned judicial reforms and the clashes with the police in Tel Aviv.
"The freedom of demonstration is not a license to plunge the country into anarchy, because a sovereign country cannot tolerate anarchy. I know that there are citizens who love the country who passionately support the reform and there are others who love the country who passionately oppose the reform. In a democracy there are clear rules on how to conduct debate and there are red lines that must not be crossed. The red line - the sharp and clear line is a complete ban on violence and anarchy," Netanyahu said.
He added, "We will not accept rioters in Huwara and we will not accept rioters in Tel Aviv."
Netanyahu recalled the controversy which surrounded the 2005 Disengagement plan,
"Two decades ago, our internal debate was no less stormy, earth-shattering, and far-reaching. An entire population that opposed the government's policies with all its soul felt that its world was being destroyed. In its Disengagement, the government decided to uproot over 8,000 Israelis from their homes. The opponents saw their life's work collapsing and many of them believed with all their hearts that this was the beginning of the destruction of the 'Third Temple.' They embarked on an acute, determined, poignant and powerful public struggle that encompassed large populations in the country. That struggle did not cross red lines. We did not see then what we see today. The demonstrators did not beat police officers, did not call for refusals to follow orders, did not withdraw their money from the state and did not defame Israel on the global stage," he said.
"We didn't cross red lines then. The opposition led by me behaved responsibly then. Today, unfortunately, the opposition opposes irresponsibly. A certain party leader fuels the demonstrations and aims to cause a constitutional crisis in the hope that it will lead to the collapse of the government."
39 rioters were arrested and 11 people were injured when the anti-judicial reform protests in Tel Aviv turned violent on Wednesday afternoon.
Opponents of the judicial reforms had declared Wednesday a "Day of National Disruptions," with protesters shutting down traffic into Jerusalem on Route 1 Wednesday morning. In Tel Aviv, protesters disrupted train service and barred passengers from boarding or exiting trains at HaHaganah Station.
Clashes broke out between protestors and police when hundreds of demonstrators broke through police barricades onto the Ayalon Highway.
Police responded with stun grenades and mounted officers in an attempt to reopen the highway to traffic.