A few hundred anarchists blocked Ayalon Highway in Tev Aiv beginning on Wednesday evening for five hours and set fires on the sides of the highway in response to the political speech of Tel Aviv District Police Commander Ami Eshed earlier on Wednesday, who resigned from his position after refusing to heed orders to stop treating left-wing protesters with kid gloves.

The protest dissolved into total anarchy as police failed to control protesters who destroyed property such as barriers and construction equipment that they threw into the fires. At 6 a.m. on Thursday morning, police finally forcibly evacuated the area with the aid of water cannons and arrested 16 protesters, including a protester who hit a police officer on his head with his helmet and another protester who hit two police officers on their heads.

A car that attempted to forcibly pass through the protest lightly injured a protester and other protesters shattered the windshield of his car. The driver, as well as another driver who drove through, were later detained by the police. The dramatic incident was captured on live TV by Kan News, as seen below:

Journalists and social media users couldn’t help but contrast the restraint the Tel Aviv police showed to the protesters to the complete lack of restraint they showed to “others” in the past – including Charedim and Dati Leumi “settlers”. Some even posted videos of police violence by Tel Aviv officers, such as the ones below, at a protest in Bnei Brak.

Coalition politicians slammed the police for allowing anarchy to rule the streets of Tel Aviv. Religious Zionism chairman Betzalel Smotrich said: “There is no reason that justifies the selective enforcement that manifests itself in the use of large forces and arrests at right-wing, Chareidi, settler or Ethiopian protests compared to the left-wing protests that include setting fires and blocking major roads without any response. This is not democracy!”

Protests took place in other areas throughout Israel as well, including Jerusalem, outside the home of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and in the area of the President’s Residence. Unlike Tel Aviv police, Jerusalem police forcibly dispersed the protesters, with police later stating later that the protesters clashed with drivers who arrived at the scene, disturbed public order, and tried to create conflicts with police officers. Nine were arrested, including four who attacked officers with batons and lit a bonfire on the street.

The protests were triggered by the resignation of Tel Aviv District Police Commander Ami Eshed, who was reassigned from his position to another post by Police Commissioner Kobi Shabati and National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir for refusing to heed orders to disperse illegal left-wing protests in Tel Aviv.

Eshed, despite admitting that he treated left-wing protesters in Tel Aviv with kid gloves and ignored Israeli law, which bans the blocking of major highways, resigned his position rather than accept his new position and turned it into political ammunition. In an unprecedented move for a state employee in uniform, he held a dramatic political performance, calling a press conference at which he claimed he was dismissed for political reasons and for his “choices to prevent civil war.”

His speech was slammed even by left-wing politicians as well as senior police officers, who according to a Maariv report, slammed him for “painting a picture of the police in a political color – and this is a serious act.”

Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot said on Thursday morning: “I feel very uncomfortable with someone in uniform delivering such a speech.” Eisenkot added that he’s not a fan of the current government but at the same time, he’s “not comfortable with blocking major roads in the State of Israel, and the Israeli government has a responsibility to enforce law and order. Looking back six months, I think the government succeeded in doing that.”

Ben-Gvir responded to Eshed’s speech by stating: “Yes, it is absolutely true, we were elected to lead an equal policy toward protests and not one police force for the settlers, Chareidim, and Ethiopians who, when they block a road, act towards them with determination and detain them until the end of the proceedings, and a second police force for leftists who, when 10 of them block the Ayalon, they close the lanes for hours for that handful of lawbreakers. Eshed’s statements tonight prove that a political chief served in uniform in the Israel Police. I wish him great success in his future as a candidate in the next elections in a left-wing party.”

Yitzchak Wasserlauf, a member of Ben-Gvir’s party, stated: “Eshed created a reality of special police for privileged people who are above the law, created an intolerable reality of selective enforcement and for the first time, allowed the blocking of the Ayalon. He flattered the protesters and shamelessly put his political views at the center of his biased decision-making.”

Eshed’s outrageous press conference can be seen below:

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)