Israeli demonstrators scuffled with Israeli police officers as they blocked Jerusalem's light rail track on Wednesday night, protesting for an immediate hostage deal.
The protest, according to the police, turned into a "violent riot."
The police called on protesters to disperse, but began using force against the activists when there was no response, the police stated.
The light rail reopened shortly after.
The police statement denounced the protesters' conduct as "deplorable."
This comes after a day of protests, which saw thousands take to the Jerusalem streets to rally behind hostage families desperate for any movement on negotiations to free their loved ones from Hamas captivity.
Protest groups estimated that at least 10,000 people took part in the protests.
It has been about a month since the harrowing footage of hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski was released. No significant movement towards a deal that would free them has been noted, as Israeli leadership and the IDF prepare for a full takeover of Gaza City, one of Hamas’s last strongholds.
The terrorist group that led the cross-border massacre attack on October 7, 2023, that triggered the ensuing war continues to hold 48 of the 251 people it kidnapped that day captive, using them as bargaining chips to demand a complete end to military operations and a full withdrawal of the military from the enclave, as Gaza lies in ruins.
Late in the afternoon, the routes in and out of Jerusalem were blocked by demonstrators. Activities, organized by several different protest groups, culminated with a mass rally, which included speeches from hostage families, at Balfour Street in front of the Prime Minister’s Residence.
The demonstrations began on Wednesday morning at key sites in the capital city and elsewhere at highway and street junctions, including outside the Knesset, the National Library, and the residences of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
Mothers of combat soldiers opened the day of demonstrations at the entrance to Jerusalem, where they called for the end of the war – to save the lives of hostages and soldiers alike. Near Netanyahu’s residence in the Rehavia neighborhood, as well as in Givat Ram, tires and dumpsters were set on fire. In Rehavia, one of them led to the burning of a car.
Additionally, residents in the building across the street were evacuated and expressed shock at the ferocity of the damage as the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) stepped in to find the perpetrators. Tamar, a mother of three whose car was torched, said her husband is set to leave for reserve duty next week, while she is now left with a burned vehicle – which included three car seats – and will have to drop her children off at school by foot.
'A life-threatening danger'
“This has nothing to do with being pro- or anti-protests; it is simply a life-threatening danger,” she said. The incident received widespread condemnation from across the political field. Bar Godard, the daughter of slain hostage Manny Godard, whose body is being held by Hamas in Gaza, told KAN Reshet Bet that “it should never have happened in such a violent manner, definitely not in a violent way that could hurt another person.
“But, I think what the nation is trying to say – and it is coming like a wave from the nation – is that it simply can’t take this anymore. This behavior and method is not coming from the hostage families.” Police later said it apprehended two suspects, in their 60s and 80s, residents of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, on suspicion of setting the fires near the Prime Minister’s Residence.
In Givat Ram, protesters barricaded atop the roof of the National Library of Israel. They eventually all came down of their own accord. In total, 13 protesters were arrested. Twelve were released by the evening, while one was held overnight.
Israel Police stated, “The right to protest does not grant the right to set property on fire or cause economic and health damage to the public.”
In the Baka neighborhood, dozens from the Brothers in Arms reservist protest group demonstrated outside Dermer’s home.
“The results speak for themselves: 48 hostages are still in tunnels, and zero have returned under his [Dermer’s] tenure. The government is torpedoing the comprehensive deal on the table and prefers the political interests of extremist ministers over the lives of hostages. The time has come to end this abandonment and advance a comprehensive deal to return everyone, even at the cost of stopping the war,” said the group.