Live Update
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, March 4, 2023
Police chief Shabtai: We will not allow protesters to block main arteries in Tel Aviv

Israel Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai and Jerusalem District police chief Doron Turgeman at the scene of a deadly terror shooting in Jerusalem's Neve Yaakov neighborhood, January 27, 2023. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
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.