At least three violent confrontations took place Saturday between anti-judicial reform protesters and civilians.
In Herzliya, a 57-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion he ran over a protester in the city. The demonstrator, who was lightly injured, was taken to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba. An eyewitness told Channel 12: "He ran over the demonstrator's foot. The driver exited his vehicle and began to hit the demonstrators. The demonstrators stopped him, and the police arrested him."
The protester who was run over added: "I feel fine. He ran over my foot, and they immediately stopped him. I don't know him. He exited his car and tried to attack me. It was a matter of time, and it was clear that something like this would happen."
Three people were arrested in Or Akiva on suspicion of throwing eggs at protesters against the reform. They were taken to the Hadera police station for questioning.
In Givatayim, a 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and threats after he rode a motorcycle into a crowd of protesters.
Tens of thousands of people are participating tonight (Saturday night) in protests against the reform of the judicial system.
The main protest was held on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv. The former governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Jacob Frankel, said at the demonstration: "Our allies are surprised and wonder how a country that was the object of admiration and envy for everyone can destroy the Zionist enterprise from within in less than three months."
Thousands of people demonstrated at Horev intersection in Haifa. At the demonstration, among others, the former Chief of Staff Major General Dan Halutz spoke and warned the haredi public, "You should start studying general studies, because F-16s are only labeled in English. This is the liberation war of the State of Israel. And just as we won the first liberation war, you will win the second liberation war," he said.
In Herzliya, National Unity leader MK Benny Gantz spoke. "I guess Levin really believes in what he is doing - but when you give too much power to the government, you enter a slippery slope. At first we may not feel it, but the danger will grow. We are not ready to start sliding down this slope. They keep trying to engage in political manipulations. For now they want to make a "small appointment, three judges and we'll stop." I say no tricks and no twists, there is a presidential outline, let's talk based on it. Stop and we'll talk, very simple, there are no other arrangements. Just stop and talk."
Prof. Uriel Reichman added: "The Zionist revolution was a revolution against the rule of the rabbis and against the acceptance of the Jewish people's perpetual state of life. The State of Israel was not established by the hand of heaven but by the power of action and the power of the devotion of the many to the very end. The State of Israel as a national and moral Jewish state. We can make great achievements if we keep to it's declaration of independence."
A demonstration held at the Karkur intersection led to a confrontation between the police and the demonstrators after the protest blocked the road and did not respond to the police's request to clear the area. The police officers on the spot used a pumper truck to clear the road and arrested seven of the protestors who confronted them.
"The protesters blocked the entrance and exit in the direction of Karkur, as well as intermittently Highway 65, which posed a tangible danger to road users and the protesters themselves. After a police officer declared the gathering an illegal demonstration, the police had to disperse the crowd by force," the police said.
The leaders of the protest commented: "The increase in violence against the protesters is a direct result of the incitement from the Netanyahu household. When the prime minister's son calls the protesters Nazis, that's what it looks like. The police must arrest him this evening."
Meanwhile, the organizers of the protests against the reform announced a "national paralysis day" this coming Thursday. Among other things, the organizers are considering disrupting the movement of trains, buses and taxis on the day when the Prime Minister is expected to take off for a state visit to London.