Six arrested at small anti-war protest in Haifa

Police arrest six demonstrators at a small Haifa anti-war protest tonight.

In a statement, police allege protesters disturbed the peace by waving signs and chanting slogans “condemning Israel and its actions in the war in Gaza.”

But protesters insist the demonstration remained peaceful and was forcibly dispersed by cops within a few minutes after it started.

Itay Gavish, who attended the protest this evening, tells The Times of Israel that police explicitly told him not to hold signs with the phrases “genocide,” “massacre,” or “ethnic cleansing.”

Earlier this week, law enforcement sought to forbid protesters from waving hostage posters, pictures of Gazan children and certain slogans referring to “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” as a condition for their approval of a Tel Aviv anti-war demonstration this Thursday.

They soon backtracked on their demands, but cops on the ground regularly confiscate what they deem “incendiary” signs at anti-war demonstrations.