State attorney says police can’t probe protesters for incitement without his okay

The State Attorney’s Office on Sunday clarified that the Israel Police are not authorized to open an investigation on suspicion of incitement against protesters without its permission.

In a statement to the Walla website, the office also noted that police had not approached it on the matter so far.

During protests Saturday against the government’s planned overhaul of the judiciary, flyers were distributed at a number of locations in Tel Aviv with photos of officers accused by demonstrators of violence.

Police later in the evening said they were opening an investigation on suspected offense to public workers as well as slander and incitement to violence. The force also called on the public to “avoid publications that harm police officers and their families and slander them.”

Police have defended officers’ conduct in responding to the mass protests last Monday and early Tuesday, pushing back against accusations of excessive violence and police brutality.

שמאלניים נראה שתוקפים רכב. מאשימים עכשיו את בעל הרכב בניסיון דריסה!!! הכצעקתה????
אתם רציניים @IL_police לא מבינה! תראו איזו אלימות הם הפגינו???? pic.twitter.com/YBZuyDSWNJ

— ????or keren (@Wq0oQJmUSfZunt5) July 29, 2023

Among the cops spotlighted in the posters was riot police officer Yair Hanuna, who was photographed apparently smiling while allegedly hitting 18-year-old Amitai Aboudi during nationwide demonstrations. In one widely shared video, Aboudi was manhandled and dragged by a group of police officers during his arrest on the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv.

Kan reported on Wednesday that Aboudi’s family lodged a formal complaint with the Police Internal Investigations Department against the officers who arrested and allegedly assaulted him, including Hanuna. Police have denied that Hanuna hit Aboudi after he was subdued.