The political fallout continued on Wednesday after police dispersed a Jerusalem Faction demonstration on Highway 4, an operation that drew harsh criticism online and in political circles. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said he was alarmed by repeated recent cases in which stun grenades were allegedly used against civilians contrary to procedure.
Ben Gvir said he plans to hold an urgent discussion to ensure the weapon is used only in exceptional cases and in line with police instructions. He issued an unusually sharp warning: “If the use is not limited to these cases, there will be no stun grenades in the police.” His comments came after footage from the morning showed Haredi protesters injured, bruised and bleeding during the evacuation, with claims that stun grenades were thrown near demonstrators sitting on the road.
Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri also attacked the police, directing his criticism at Ben Gvir. “Itamar Ben Gvir, wake up!” he wrote, arguing that the police did not act against “anarchists” at Kaplan in the same way it is now acting against citizens who say they are being turned into criminals only because they study Torah. Deri said he opposes protests, but could not ignore the images from the morning. “You proved that when it matters to you, you know how to deploy the police. Now get up and stop the police violence against the Torah students,” he added.
MK Meir Porush said he had appealed to the chairman of the Knesset’s National Security Committee, MK Tzvika Fogel, and demanded an urgent hearing on police enforcement against Haredi protesters. In his letter, Porush said that over the years of left-wing protests police had shown restraint toward road blockages and public disorder, while Haredi protests were met with far harsher force. He said the morning’s events marked a “dangerous and bloody peak” of selective enforcement, and described what he called brutal force, stun grenade use, beatings, dragging, and injuries during the evacuation.
