The Israeli Cabinet meeting on Thursday night witnessed “verbal clashes,” after the police chief who attended the meeting was accused of “dealing with the demonstrators with duplicity.”
The Times of Israel newspaper reported, on Saturday, details of the altercations between the ministers and the Israeli police chief, Yaakov Shabtai, who responded to his accusation of “selective implementation of the law.”
The newspaper explained that the ministers compared the police’s harsh treatment of the recent protests at the Kerem Shalom border crossing with the Gaza Strip to “the failure to deal with the demonstrators who blocked the roads during demonstrations against the controversial judicial reform last year.”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who is considered the architect of the judicial reform legislation, said to Shabtai: “In the Tel Aviv demonstrations, you allowed them to close and burn roads. Here at the Kerem Shalom crossing, you apply the law selectively when they try to prevent humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”
Levin added: “There you have not touched them for 3 and a half months, and here you are beating them,” and Transportation Minister Miri Regev agreed with him.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who called for harsher treatment of opponents of judicial reform, also said that there was “selective enforcement” of the demonstrations.
He continued: “We have all seen the pictures of clashes between soldiers, police officers, and families of hostages closing the crossing. I do not understand why we allow discord in the nation? Why do we need these conflicts? Let us talk again about closing this crossing and the end of this negligence in bringing aid to Gaza.”
Shabtai responded, saying: “You make the decisions and I implement them. You are the ones who want aid to enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing.”
What is the cause of the dispute?
- Under American pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in mid-December the reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing to allow more aid to enter the Strip, to operate alongside the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
- US administration officials, who have pressed Israel to allow aid to Gaza throughout the war, urged Israel to ensure that the crossing remains open and aid continues to pass through.
- However, over the course of days, Israeli demonstrators closed the Kerem Shalom crossing and prevented the entry of aid into Gaza, as a means of pressuring the government to make more efforts “to free the hostages held in the Strip.”
- On Sunday, the crossing was declared a closed military zone, making the presence of civilians there illegal.
- The cabinet meeting came a day after about 30 demonstrators were arrested at the crossing, after they started rioting and insulted security forces there.
- Video footage on Wednesday showed quarrels between demonstrators and security forces, and an officer running over one of the demonstrators.
- The demonstrators oppose providing aid to Gaza while those detained by Hamas since October 7 remain inside the Strip.
- Israeli leaders say the aid is necessary to enable Israel to continue military action freely in Gaza, amid intense international pressure and a desire to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the war-torn region.
- Government ministers, especially Ben Gvir, repeatedly clashed with police over their handling of anti-judicial reform demonstrations throughout 2023, urging them to deal more forcefully with protesters who blocked roads.
- Police used mounted officers, water cannons and foul-smelling water to disperse demonstrators during the anti-reform campaign.
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2024-02-03 13:48:24
