Israeli police broke up an anti-war protest in downtown Tel Aviv on Saturday night, dispersing hundreds of protesters and arresting at least 17 people.
Yuval Tzur, who has attended weekly protests since the war began, told CNN that police began dispersing people in HaBima Square soon after the demonstration began.
“We managed to protest for maybe about half an hour, and immediately the police started to clear us out,” Tzur said. “Everybody that I came with, we got pushed, we got thrown on the ground.”
Earlier, the country’s Supreme Court had issued an order allowing a protest of 600 people to proceed in Tel Aviv. On Saturday night, police arrived and told those gathered in the square that too many protesters were present.
A police officer warned through a megaphone, “You are far exceeding the Supreme Court decision that set a limit of 600 people for the protest – you are currently approaching closer to 1,000.”
Israel’s national police later said they arrested 17 people on the scene, referring to the protesters as “rioters.”
Tzur said protesters contended with law enforcement for “a solid hour” as arrests began.
Then, something beyond the control of both the police and the protesters occurred: a siren, warning of an incoming missile. Nearly everyone headed for the huge public shelter below HaBima Square, including police mounted on their horses. Police did not allow those who had been arrested to join them, alleging that the detainees were taken to a stairwell nearby.
Police later said in a statement that due to “congestion” at the shelter entrance, law enforcement evacuated the 17 detainees to “a safer location, all while risking their own lives.”
While the war with Iran is broadly popular in Israel, there have been small protests against it since the bombing began in late February.
This post has been updated with new information.
