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
- DevelopingBen Gvir seeks to remove Bnei Brak-Ramat Gan police station commander over roadblocks
- DevelopingEli Hirschman posts police station commander video that sparked Ben-Gvir-MPS rift
- DevelopingDeputy Bnei Brak police commander reportedly opened van door to show protest organizer released detainee
- DevelopingHaredi protesters accuse Minister Ben Gvir of police violence in signs
Source and signal
- Open-source intake