12 arrested during Jerusalem protests for hostage deal and against government
Some 2,000 gather in capital as Qatargate scandal escalates and Gaza fighting expands; video shows cops rough-handling Democrats MK Naama Lazimi; her party chief vows ‘justice’
Twelve protesters were arrested at anti-government and pro-hostage deal rallies in Jerusalem on Monday, as police clashed with some of the roughly 2,000 demonstrators, including a lawmaker.
The protests were held amid dramatic political developments, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being summoned by police for questioning for some two hours in a scandal surrounding his aides’ ties to Qatar, and two of those aides being taken into custody.
The rallies were also held against the backdrop of the government’s advancement of key legislation aimed at radically overhauling the country’s judiciary while also moving to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar — all while expanding war in Gaza where 59 hostages are still being held.
Among those arrested in Jerusalem on Monday was the cousin of freed hostage Arbel Yehoud. Bystanders said she was violently detained after cursing a police officer for allowing a counter-protester into a barricaded zone barred to other demonstrators.
Two protesters were detained while blocking Begin Highway to traffic alongside around a dozen others, holding a large banner that read: “What about the hostages?”
Merav Svirsky, whose brother Itay Svirsky was killed in captivity, addressed one of the protests, saying: “I am here to cry out that right now, 59 men and women — including 24 who are alive — are being sacrificed to their deaths and abandoned to their fate by a criminal government that refuses to take responsibility and do the only thing that will return everyone — end the war.”
Netanyahu directed the IDF to resume intensive military operations on March 18 after Hamas refused offers to extend phase on the hostage deal, insisting on sticking to the original terms, which the premier rejects as they require Israel to fully withdraw from Gaza and agree to a permanent end to the war in the second phase.
Hostage families have warned that the resumption of fighting endangers their loved ones. Polls indicate that most Israelis back their stance and support ending the war in exchange for the release of all remaining hostages.
Shikma Bressler, who was among the leaders of the pre-war protests against the government’s judicial overhaul efforts, referred to Netanyahu repeatedly as a “Hamas asset” — alluding to policies over many years that favored keeping the terror group in control of the enclave while weakening the more moderate Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
Bressler asserted that Netanyahu and his aides are accused of what amounts to “the dictionary definition of treason” and “the dictionary definition of spying.”
Amit Becher, head of the Israel Bar Association, also addressed the crowd.
At a separate protest in Jerusalem’s Agranat Square, officers were recorded rough-handling Democrats MK Naama Lazimi, drawing condemnation from protest groups and political allies.
אלימות שוטרים כלפי ח״כ נעמה לזימי.
איש הישר בעיניו יעשה pic.twitter.com/rbngnaI8en— איל נוה – Eyal Naveh (@eyalnaveh1) March 31, 2025
“Ben Gvir’s police — in the service of a criminal minister and a corrupt government — ignored all restraints this evening,” Lazimi said in a video statement after the incident, referring to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who chairs the far-right Otzma Yehudit party.
“This violence does not deter nor scare us. We understand even more that we must fight for a democratic Israel, must fight to save our hostages, must fight to topple this corrupt government, which is suspected of crimes and serious security scandals.”
Addressing police officers, she said: “Come to your senses. You came to serve the citizens and the Israeli state, not a Kahanist, criminal minister… We will rebuild Israel anew, and the police as well.”
Lazimi said on Tuesday that she was standing at the side of the protest when two police officers targeted her — dragging and hitting her. She had told them she was a Knesset member, she told Army Radio. She said only the intervention of a third, more senior officer, ended the incident and noted that the footage showed exactly what had happened.
Democrats chair Yair Golan posted a statement online supporting Lazimi, saying, “When the police allow themselves to beat a Knesset member, it is clear that incitement has seeped in, and restraint has disappeared.”
“We will ensure that the officers responsible are brought to justice,” Golan vowed.
Police investigating cop for sexually assaulting protester
Also Monday, the Department of Internal Police Investigations confirmed to The Times of Israel that it is investigating a police officer for sexually assaulting a female protester during a previous anti-government demonstration.
The incident, which occurred several weeks ago, was caught on film and circulated widely on social media. The officer could be seen grabbing the protester’s chest and pushing her as police cleared the road of demonstrators.
Channel 12 reported that DIPI investigators are trying to locate both the police officer and the protester.
טוב, שימו לב. אפרופו הדיון על החשד להטרדה מינית של פעיל "לוחמי כיפור" אייל יפה שוטרת מג"ב. צפיתי בסרטונים. הערוך והלא ערוכים. לא מצליח לגבש דעה מוצקה. סומך על בית המשפט (לא על המשטרה). לעומת זאת, כאן יש לכם סרטון בו נראה בבירור שוטר במשטרת ישראל חופן במרץ את החזה של מפגינה.… pic.twitter.com/Yw33X0l0fC
— Ben Caspit בן כספית (@BenCaspit) March 31, 2025
The investigation was confirmed days after the arrest of a prominent anti-government activist on suspicion he pressed up against a female border cop during a Jerusalem demonstration.
Footage of the incident earlier this month, posted to Instagram by far-right rapper and activist Yoav Eliasi, showed the suspect, Eyal Yaffe, appearing to cling to the officer from behind as she and other cops bent down to disperse demonstrators blocking a road in Jerusalem. The officer and another female colleague pushed him away.
Yaffe denied any wrongdoing, calling the video “completely fabricated” in an interview with Channel 12 last Tuesday.
The Times of Israel Community.