Israel’s former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has warned against dragging Israel into a civil war for the first time in its history.
Head of Yisrael Beiteinu party accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of inciting Israelis against each other and causing chaos that leads to war.
Netanyahu couldn’t find any other way to evade his trial on corruption charges, he stressed, adding that the PM has also failed to manage the national battle against coronavirus.
When asked on Sunday about his opinion on the demonstrations storming the country and whether they contribute to spreading the virus, Lieberman refused to respond.
He ruled out any connection between the demonstrations and COVID-19.
“Most of the Israelis are demanding Netanyahu’s dismissal due to his corruption first and failure to address every other matter.”
Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators have stormed the streets, calling on Netanyahu to resign.
Most of them respected the law, which stipulates that the number of demonstrators don’t exceed 20 in open areas and prohibits people from being more than 1000 meters away from their homes.
However, some protesters defied this law. Dozens of demonstrators stormed the streets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as well as several new cities such as Kfar Saba, Petach Tikva, Beer Sheva, and others, recording more than 350 demonstrations.
Police forces were also heavily deployed in these areas to disperse people. They recorded at least 7,000 violations and fines, ranging from $150 to $15,000), against demonstrators.
Special forces were later deployed, arresting dozens of people and injuring others, including Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.
Far-right activists also took advantage of the police repression and carried out their own attacks. They appeared in almost every demonstration and attacked protesters by beating them with sticks and rocks.
Haaretz, for its part, quoted Sunday a number of high-ranking former police officers as saying that district police commanders are taking a hard line against protesters in order to please Public Security Minister Amir Ohana.
According to the former officers, the district chiefs, particularly Head of the Jerusalem district Doron Yedid, are seeking to please Ohana, the minister responsible for the police, to improve their own chances of becoming Israel’s next police commissioner.
