Ex-Shin Bet chief, former general handcuff themselves to fence outside PM’s residence

Police have begun removing anti-Netanyahu protesters outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem by force, so that a demonstration of right-wing Netanyahu supporters can be held there later today. Some of the protesters appear to have been detained.

Police say they have closed down parts of Gaza, Arlozorov, and Keren HaYesod Streets, as well as Paris Circle, so that the pro-Netanyahu demonstration can take place. Agron and King George Streets are also expected to be closed, as the number of demonstrators grows, into the evening.

Former Shin Bet director Carmi Gilon has handcuffed himself next to retired Brigadier General Amir Haskel, and both of them are refusing to leave.

“We tried to speak to police, we listened to each other, but there was no progress,” Gilon tells The Times of Israel. “I’m willing to be arrested to protect my right to protest, which is a sacred right in my eyes.”

Amir Haskel tells The Times of Israel that police previously told them that they would not have to leave so that the pro-Netanyahu protest could take place. Haskel says it is a double standard for the anti-Netanyahu protesters to be removed when a similar pro-Netanyahu protest encampment there had never been asked to do so, during demonstrations against the prime minister.

“This is a clash of their right to protest versus our right to protest. It’s their right, just like ours,” Haskel says. “We’ve been protesting here for more than two months. Have we ever asked the [pro-Netanyahu protesters] to remove their tent here?”

In a statement, Jerusalem police say they are not “evacuating” the anti-Netanyahu protest tent, but merely “moving it several meters away so that the other protest could take place.” Police say they informed protesters that the anti-Netanyahu protest tent could be rebuilt as soon as the demonstrators supporting the prime minister leave.

“The decisions of the Israel Police are purely professional. They are intended to maintain the security of the protesters ,and to prevent friction between the parties as much as possible,” police say.

— Aaron Boxerman