Court rules woman arrested for throwing sand at Ben Gvir during beach visit to stay in jail overnight

The Tel Aviv Magistrates Court rejects an appeal to have a 27-year-old woman released from police custody after she was detained for allegedly throwing a handful of sand at National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as he visited a Tel Aviv beach.

The court says the woman will be held until a scheduled hearing on extending her remand, which is set for Saturday night.

The ruling comes after several hours in which the woman’s family and activists said she had disappeared and was no longer at the Tel Aviv police station.

The Ynet news site reports that she was taken to the Neve Tirza women’s prison and then brought back to Tel Aviv due to “faulty paperwork.”

The judge orders the police and prison services to ensure she receives all necessary medical treatment after the woman’s mother claimed she suffered from a chronic illness.

זו הבת שלי שנעצרה בחוף הים בטענה שזרקה חול על בן גביר.

משטרת הדיקטטורה החליטה, ללא הצדקה לסכן את חיי הבת שלי, שחולה במחלה כרונית – ומשאירה אותה במעצר מסכן חיים מבחינתה.

אין לה שום עבר פלילי, אפס מסוכנות.

אבל זאת ההנחייה מלמעלה.

אם למישהו שם בכל זאת יש לב ושכל, בבקשה… pic.twitter.com/tNBH8NFRBH

— Sharon Goldenberg ????️ (@goldens32) September 6, 2024

Police said the minister was at the beach with his family and that it takes the crime of “assaulting a public servant” seriously.

Ben Gvir, the leader of the far-right Oztma Yehudit party, oversees the police. He has often been the target of public protest for his hardline positions and his staunch opposition to a deal that would release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.