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- Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities across Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense minister for opposing his judicial overhaul proposal.
- In response, police on horseback have used water cannons and stun grenades to disperse the protesters.
- One video shows officers riding their horses into crowds of demonstrators in Tel Aviv.
A video taken at recent demonstrations being held in Israel show police horses running into crowds of protesters in an effort to disperse them.
On Monday, Israeli-based news broadcaster, i24NEWS English, tweeted the video that showed officers, who were mounted on horses, charging into demonstrators in the nation's most populous city, Tel Aviv.
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities across the country after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense minister over the weekend for speaking out against his planned judicial overhaul legislation.
The proposal would give the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, more power over Israel's courts, in what some are warning would threaten the country's democracy. Giving judicial control to the Knesset would essentially be equivalent to handing it over to whichever party is in power. Currently, Netanyahu's Likud is the leading party.
In the short video, crowds of people holding Israeli flags go running as horses chase them. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," one protester is heard saying. "Maybe it's time to leave?"
In response to the protests, which began two months ago, anti-riot police on horseback have used water cannons and stun grenades against demonstrators. While the firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant led to mass protests Sunday and early Monday, the unrest is part of a monthslong crisis over Netanyahu's plan.
"You can see demonstrators that have been stopped right now on the highway by Israel's mounted police and there's some sort of funny standoff," i24NEWS' Pierre Klochendler said from the Ayalon Highway in a Monday report. "They're galloping towards the protesters and we've heard many times, 'We love you police officers,' we've heard that many times during the weeks of protests here in Tel Aviv."
Israeli police have deployed horses on demonstrations in the past. When protesters took to the streets during the ongoing trial of Netanyahu for various corruption scandals in 2020, police were seen riding into the crowds and knocking into people, with some being trampled under the horses' hooves.
Dozens of protesters have already been arrested in relation to the unrest from the past day-and-a-half.
Netanyahu is facing growing calls, including from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, to halt the judicial overhaul plans "for the sake of the unity of the people of Israel, for the sake of responsibility."
In an interview on Monday with British journalist Piers Morgan, Netanyahu admitted he would rein back his proposal, but said he felt the Israeli citizens didn't truly understand what he was proposing. The prime minister blamed Israeli media for launching a "huge propaganda" campaign against him.
The country's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir agreed to delay the legislation on Monday until parliament reconvenes for its summer session on April 30.
Newsweek reached out to the Israeli government for comment.
Update 3/27/2023, 1:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more