Protesters at the Highway 4 demonstration identified the officer seen dragging a demonstrator in a video as Ramat Gan-Bnei Brak police station commander Deputy Superintendent Yuval Shavit, according to N12 journalist Eli Hirshman. Additional footage shows a police officer kicking a protester in the head. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said he will hold an urgent discussion on police use of stun grenades, citing protocol violations.
New footage and eyewitness accounts from Wednesday's Haredi protest on Highway 4 have identified Senior Deputy Commander Yuval Shavit, head of the Bnei Brak-Ramat Gan police station, as the officer shown dragging a demonstrator on the asphalt. The identification was reported by Channel 12's Eli Hirshman, who also shared a second clip showing a police officer kicking a protester in the head.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded by announcing an urgent discussion on police use of stun grenades, citing a rise in incidents of their use against civilians not in accordance with regulations, and warning that unless use is restricted to exceptional cases, stun grenades will be removed from police equipment entirely.
The incident is part of a series of police-protest confrontations this week. As The Zioneer reported, earlier footage from the same protest showed officers using batons and tearing protesters' clothing; senior police sources have defended the use of force as proportionate to the blocking of a major thoroughfare. Police have not yet issued a response to the identification of the commander.
4 developments
- StrongVideo shows police clashing with Haredi protesters in Abu Kabir; one arrested
- DevelopingEight lightly wounded as police break up protest on Highway 4 near Bnei Brak
- DevelopingTel Aviv district police chief suspends officer who kicked protester
- StrongProtesters claim police used stun grenades and batons; Eli Hirshman reports undercover arrests
Source and signal
- Internal intake