Following the stringent lockdown that was placed on the city of Bnei Brak beginning during the early hours of Sunday morning, violence erupted in the city between residents and security officials at various points in the city. On Rabbi Akiva Street, a number of residents attempted to surround and block a police cruiser that was driving on the street. During an attempt to recover the vehicle a video was taken of a police officer running towards one of the protesters pick him up and throw him down on the ground. From the video, it is difficult to tell what caused the actions of the officer.

Residents are furious at the intense lockdown that was place don the city and claim that the city has been randomly selected, as this type of lockdown was snot placed on other “red cities”.

Over the course of the day, officer boarded busses and removed residents who were not considered to be using the bus for essential reasons. Traffic jams were present throughout the course of the day due to police barricades that were set up throughout the city.

During the morning, a large number of residents joined the “black flags” movement in protest of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his handling of the response to the coronavirus. Leaders of the movement announced that for the first time today, a chapter of the movement has been opened in Bnei Brak. They added that over the course of the day, hundreds of black flags will be distributed to residents of the city who are protesting against Netanyahu. However, when activists arrive in the city, they didn’t find anyone interested in obtaining the flags and they returned home.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz held a meeting with the mayors of Bnei Brak, Elad, Modi’in Illit, and representatives of Charedi neighborhoods from Rechasim and Jerusalem. Gantz told the Mayors that the entire defense system, the Ministry, the IDF, and the Home Front Command, will expand operations in an effort to keep the residents of these cities at home. “We cannot allow for there to be two countries in the State of Israel, it is dangerous both socially and medically. It is the responsibility of the Mayors as leaders of the public to ensure that the regulations put in place by the government are followed and that the morbidity rate drops so that we can open all of the cities.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)