Blocked Ayalon Highway reopens as police clear anti-government protesters

Protesters are filing off the Ayalon Highway as police clear the remaining people blocking the thoroughfare.

Police say traffic on the highway has reopened in both directions, and that 15 protesters had been arrested for disturbing public order.

Eitan Gozani, 35, one of the protesters on the highway, says protesters cleared the way because the police surrounded them.

“It ended pretty easily. One person threatened to use the water cannons, but nothing happened,” he says.

Gilad and Bar, two 20-something protesters, say the police pushed them and threatened to use water cannons.

“The ones with helmets, without tags, they’re the ones who pushed us around,” says Gilad, showing a scratch on his bicep.

Protester Yisrael, in his 40s, says that blocking the road “was revenge, because last week they threw stun grenades.”

His friend Yasmin, who attended the protest with him, says that stun grenades were “inappropriate and illegal” to use under the circumstances.