Protest in Jerusalem
Protest in JerusalemChaim Goldberg/Flash 90

Lawmakers from both the coalition and the opposition responded on Tuesday evening to the left-wing protest near the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem which turned violent.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded, "Just last week I warned the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) about the disregard for the Prime Minister's security and was dismissed. I demand that the Shin Bet wake up immediately and take seriously the security of the Prime Minister of Israel and his family. A situation where thousands of people break into the area of the Prime Minister's Residence and the Shin Bet turns a blind eye is unacceptable."

MK Matan Kahana (National Unity Party) said that “I view the demonstration in Jerusalem with concern and call on all of us - we must not return to the days of before October 7. Now we need broad unity and an agreed upon date for elections this year."

Minister Amichai Eliyahu wrote, "He who incites and heats up the spirits, to the point of the deterioration to the recent incidents - it is not the hostages he cares about, but the persecution of Netanyahu."

The chairman of the Noam Party, Deputy Minister Avi Maoz, stated, "I condemn the anarchy which is prevailing throughout Jerusalem while putting human lives at risk, including those of the security forces, and call on the Israel Police to enforce the law without fearing the media and the friends of the rioters in the media. I strengthen the hands of the Prime Minister, who was elected by the majority of the people, so that he is not deterred and not weakened by the savage attacks, and will continue in his firm stance to lead the State of Israel in the difficult campaign."

The chairman of National Unity Party’s Knesset faction, Ze'ev Elkin, wrote, "Difficult scenes in Jerusalem. There is no place for breaking the law and harming the police! There is no place for police violence and excessive use of force! Please stop! We are not enemies of one another. Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran are the enemies! We are in the midst of a war against a murderous enemy who wants to destroy all of us, the supporters of the government and its opponents. This enemy must be defeated!"

MK Galit Distel Atbaryan (Likud) blasted the protesters and wrote, "What is happening here tonight is a loss. Simply a loss. A society that is unable to conduct itself in a rational and utilitarian manner at a time of unbearable existential danger is a society that has no chance of survival. Those who threw the torches tonight gave [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar another victory wrapped in ribbon and cellophane. Something in our instinct for survival has been damaged to the core."

MK Keti Shitrit (Likud) responded, "The Shin Bet, the police, the State Attorney’s Office, and all the enforcement agencies are already in [the Prime Minister’s] backyard, with torches! Don't say we didn't know, the writing is on the wall."

MK Vladimir Beliak (Yesh Atid) said, "My reaction to tonight's goings on in Jerusalem? The criminal government and the incompetent Prime Minister, who are directly responsible for the disaster of the dark Shabbat, 1,500 murdered and killed, thousands wounded, 240 kidnapped, tens of thousands of evacuees, the division, the manipulation and destruction of Israeli society - should get out of our lives. Elections now."