ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 432
The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they happened.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomes Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s retraction of the remark that Israel should “wipe out” the Palestinian town of Huwara, clarifying that Jerusalem’s policy is to avoid collective punishment.
“It is important that Finance Minister Smotrich clarified that he had no intention [of referring to] harming innocent people or collective punishment,” Netanyahu tweets. “I know his opinions and they were reflected in his clarification.
“None of us is free of mistakes, including foreign diplomats,” he adds, in a thinly veiled swipe at US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, following reports — vehemently denied to The Times of Israel by his spokesperson — that Nides had urged Smotrich to be booted from the plane when he heads to the US later this month.
Netanyahu adds that “Israel’s policy is clear: to fight terrorists and terror supporters, while avoiding harming innocents and collective punishment.”
He notes that the Palestinian Authority hasn’t yet condemned last week’s terror murder of Israeli brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv in a Palestinian shooting attack in Huwara.
“It is regrettable that some in the international community have been quick to condemn Israel but haven’t yet demanded this needed condemnation from the PA,” the premier concludes.
In a follow-up series of tweets in English, Netanyahu makes similar points but also calls Smotrich’s original remarks “inappropriate” and says it’s “important for all of us to work to tone down the rhetoric” and “lower the temperature.”
That is why I want to thank Minister Bezalel Smootrich for making clear that his choice of words regarding the vigilante attacks on Harrawa following the murder of the Yaniv brothers was inappropriate and that he is strongly opposed to intentionally harming innocent civilians
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 4, 2023
Police say the Ayalon Highway is open in both directions after protesters tried to block it amid tonight’s anti-judicial overhaul rally.
A police spokesperson says four have been detained in Tel Aviv during scuffles with officers.
פעם אחרי פעם המשטרה מכנה בהודעות רישמיות את "מתפרעים" כדי להצדיק את השימוש בפרשים ובמכת"ז. אפילו מוציאים סרטון!
אבל אין התפרעויות. אין אלימות. פשוט אין. מפגינים שחוסמים ורוצים למחות, זה הכל.
אז למה להכפיש? pic.twitter.com/RHKXA09UkA— Josh Breiner (@JoshBreiner) March 4, 2023
Police say four protesters have been detained during an anti-judicial overhaul protest in Jerusalem this evening for allegedly attacking police officers.
Protesters had begun a march following a large rally near the president’s residence, but were blocked by police from advancing past Ben Saruq street.
“During this procession and due to disorderly conduct and a case of violence against police officers, 4 suspects were arrested and they were taken to the police station for questioning,” a police spokesman says.
Police say they have begun to use water cannons against protesters at tonight’s anti-judicial overhaul rally in Tel Aviv.
A police spokesperson the water cannons are being used at protesters trying to block the Ayalon Highway near Al Parashat Drakhim Street.
תיעוד הפעלת המכת"זית אל עבר מפגינים באיילון
(צילום: דוברות המשטרה)@AnnaPines_ pic.twitter.com/x5td2XFyJW— גלצ (@GLZRadio) March 4, 2023
Hundreds of protesters are trying to block traffic on southbound Ayalon Highway amid tonight’s anti-judicial overhaul protests.
Mounted police officers are attempting to disperse them.
Police say three have been detained by officers.
פרשים על איילון דרום.
המפגינים: "איפה הייתם בחווארה?", "בן גביר מחבל" pic.twitter.com/X5N6qY1hjM— Josh Breiner (@JoshBreiner) March 4, 2023
Police say some 200 protesters at the anti-judicial overhaul rally in Tel Aviv have broken through a barrier at the HaShalom Interchange and lit a fire.
Police say officers are preventing them from reaching the Ayalon Highway.
In a statement, police say they have declared an “‘illegal demonstration” in the area.
באזור מחלף השלום הצליחו מפגינים לרדת לכיוון איילון וגם מצפון באזור מחלף ההלכה צעדה של אוהדי הפועל תל אביב בכדורסל שיצאו אחרי המשחק בדרייב אין לכיוון מרכז ההפגנה pic.twitter.com/mYEyQxNUGy
— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) March 4, 2023
מאות מפגינים פרצו את מחסומי המשטרה וחסמו את נתיבי איילון | @uri_sela @KarinSagy pic.twitter.com/uEbyjHOX7o
— וואלה! (@WallaNews) March 4, 2023
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calls Israelis demonstrating in Tel Aviv “anarchists,” as he visits a police command center.
I came here to exercise my policy. I have no intention of apologizing to anyone, certainly not to the anarchists who want to set the state of Tel Aviv on fire,” he says.
There have been no reports of violence at the demonstrations tonight.
בן גביר בחפ"ק המשטרה בתל אביב: "אין לי כוונה להתנצל בפני אף אחד, בטח לא בפני האנרכיסטים שמבקשים להבעיר את מדינת תל אביב"
לעדכונים השוטפים – https://t.co/wXQsQEq5zf pic.twitter.com/yFNlDzFsYw
— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) March 4, 2023
VIENNA, Austria — Iran has agreed to reconnect surveillance cameras at several nuclear sites and increase the pace of inspections, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says.
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi earlier said he had held “constructive” talks with Iranian officials in Tehran after the discovery of uranium particles enriched to near weapons-grade level.
On his return to Vienna, Grossi recalls there had been “a reduction in monitoring activities related to cameras and monitoring systems” and says “we have agreed that those will be operating again.”
“This is very, very important” in terms of continuity of knowledge, “in particular in the context of the possibility of the revival of JCPOA,” he says.
Grossi arrived in Iran on Friday as talks have been deadlocked on reviving a landmark 2015 accord on Iran’s nuclear activity, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
“We have put a tourniquet on the bleeding of information and lack of continuity of knowledge we had — now we can start working again. These are not words, this is very concrete,” he says.
The Vienna-based IAEA has been seeking greater cooperation with Iran over its nuclear activities.
The Biden administration has held discussions on whether or not to grant Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich a visa to enter the US after he called to “wipe out” a Palestinian town, an official familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel.
The official confirms a Channel 12 news report revealing the discussions, and insists that no decision has been made.
A second source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel that the US is unlikely to actually bar Smotrich’s entry. The source notes that the White House was unlikely to have announced on Thursday that US government officials would not meet with Smotrich when he’s in town later this month had the administration intended to take the step of refusing him a visa.
Earlier this week, Smotrich called to “wipe out” the West Bank town of Huwara after settlers rampaged there following a terror attack.
Channel 12 says the US is weighing Smotrich’s entry in light of his remarks potentially constituting incitement to violence and the encouragement of war crimes.
The TV station quotes an American source saying it would be better if Smotrich announces that he’s canceling his March 12-14 trip.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Wednesday denounced Smotrich’s remarks. “These comments were irresponsible. They were repugnant. They were disgusting,” he said. “Just as we condemn Palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amount to incitement to violence.”
Likud MK Yuri Edelstein, who earlier this week joined a call for dialogue on the judicial overhaul based on President Isaac Herzog’s proposals, declines to pledge that he will vote for the sweeping reforms in their current form.
“We have the opportunity to halt the legislative process for a limited period,” he tells Channel 12, “and to drop the talk of needing a 60-day halt” — as originally sought by opposition leader Yair Lapid.
If, after debating judicial reform for a few days, it becomes clear that the opposition is merely trying to play for time and opposes all changes, “and that it sees the entire judicial system as being sacred, then we can go back to the legislative track.”
Asked whether he will vote for the overhaul if there is no effort at dialogue with the opposition, Edelstein chooses not to directly answer the question, saying he doesn’t want to be presented with that kind of ultimatum.
Israeli company Crowd Solutions estimates that some 160,000 demonstrators are gathered at the main anti-judicial overhaul rally in Tel Aviv, Channel 13 news reports.
The company says another 19,300 are gathered in Netanya; 16,500 in Haifa; 13,300 in Kfar Saba; and 5,300 in Herzliya.
Opponents of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have been taking to the streets for nine straight weeks to protest Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s proposals to shake up the judiciary by severely curbing the High Court of Justice’s judicial review powers and cementing political control over the appointment of judges.
Channel 13 news reports that the Prime Minister’s Office is upping security for the prime minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu.
The move comes after thousands of protesters gathered outside a hair salon she was at in Tel Aviv during demonstrations against the government’s judicial overhaul on Wednesday.
Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich says his call earlier this week to “wipe out” the West Bank town of Huwara after settlers rampaged there following a terror attack, was a “slip of the tongue” made in “a storm of emotions.”
Speaking to Channel 12 news, Smotrich, one of the most senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, says his choice of words was “incorrect.”
“It was a slip of the tongue in a storm of emotions,” he says, apparently referring to the killing of two Israeli brothers in the Huwara terror attack.
“It’s outrageous that anyone would think that I meant” to literally wipe out Huwara, he adds. “It goes without saying.”
Smotrich refuses to say that the actions of the extremist settlers who rampaged through the Nablus-area town and set homes and cars on fire, resulting in one Palestinian shot dead and several badly hurt, was terror.
He says the rampage is “a very serious nationalist crime, but not terror.”
Thousands of people are gathering on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv for a weekly protest against the government’s judicial overhaul plans.
Channel 12 news is live-streaming footage from the rally below.
Police chief Kobi Shabtai says he will not allow main roads to be blocked by demonstrators amid tonight’s anti-government protests.
“I’m appealing to the public to lower the flames. Police aren’t anyone’s enemy,” Shabtai says in a statement to reporters from a police command center in Tel Aviv.
“We are here to protect the public and allow freedom of protest,” he says.
“But in a protest in a democracy there are boundaries, and we expect them to be respected,” Shabtai says. “We will not allow vandalism or blocking of main arteries, and especially not attacking officers.”
Protesters in previous weeks have sought to block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says he is heading to the police command center in Tel Aviv as tens of thousands rally in the coastal city, in a weekly protest against the government judicial overhaul.
A statement from Ben Gvir’s office says he will hold an assessment with police chief Kobi Shabtai.
Ben Gvir has told police to crack down further on anti-government demonstrators, after mass protests on Wednesday saw the use of stun grenades and mounted officers against the anti-government protests for the first time.
Thousands of people are gathering at some 95 locations across the country for weekly protests against the government’s judicial overhaul push.
A main protest will be held later on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv, after a march from Dizengoff Square. Tens of thousands are expected to gather at the main rally.
רמת השרון pic.twitter.com/EXu6aKWyKT
— Tal Schneider טל שניידר تال شنايدر (@talschneider) March 4, 2023
קיבוץ סמר pic.twitter.com/LFavpJ87Hn
— Nati Yefet (@ntiyft) March 4, 2023
צומת נהלל ???????? pic.twitter.com/j9XRB2k3QD
— KOM (@A125856974) March 4, 2023
The Likud party issues a statement after former military chief Dan Halutz said Benjamin Netanyahu is no longer an Israeli patriot while invoking Hitler, but saying he wasn’t comparing the two.
“Dan Halutz… accuses Prime Minister Netanyahu, a bereaved brother, a fighter and commander in Sayeret Matkal, who was wounded in the Sabena operation to rescue hostages, of lack of patriotism,” the Likud party says.
“Dan Halutz continues the delusional and dangerous line of incitement and compares Prime Minister Netanyahu to Hitler,” the statement says.
“This is an open incitement to murder. Where has the law enforcement system gone?” it adds.
Former military chief Dan Halutz says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “not an Israeli patriot” for pushing the judicial overhaul.
During a live interview at a conference in Rishon Lezion, Halutz says “Netanyahu is no longer an Israeli patriot, as far as he is concerned the state will fall apart.”
“I have not felt since the Yom Kippur War such great anxiety as I feel today. I don’t sleep at night,” Halutz says.
“Netanyahu is not an Israeli patriot, his wife said that in 1999, and since then it has only gotten stronger,” he says, referring to the push for judicial overhaul and claiming that in 1920 Adolf Hitler made similar remarks.
“I’m not comparing them, but to tell me that something was said in 1999 is irrelevant? It is very relevant,” he says. “Netanyahu’s conduct today proves that he is not an Israeli patriot.”
Police begin to close main roads in central Tel Aviv ahead of major anti-government rallies that will be held in the coastal city this evening.
Tens of thousands of people are expected at the main protest on Kaplan Street.
Several more demonstrations are anticipated in other cities around the country, including Jerusalem, Haifa, Herzliya and Beersheba.
Opponents of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have been taking to the streets for nine straight weeks to protest Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s proposals to shake up the judiciary by severely curbing the High Court of Justice’s judicial review powers and cementing political control over the appointment of judges.
