Footage shows violent police arrests in Haifa, at a protest organized by Arab Israelis. In Tel Aviv, Noam Tibon, a retired IDF general, spoke against the Gaza war: 'The IDF is sinking in the bloody swamp – this terrible bleeding must stop'
Thousands of protesters gathered across Israel to call for an end to the war in Gaza on Thursday. Israel Police said they arrested 24 people in the northern Israeli city of Haifa in what they termed an illegal protest.
The protesters in Haifa, who were waving signs and calling for an end to the war in Gaza, were arrested a few minutes after the demonstration began. The demonstration was organized by Arab Israelis, with dozens still demonstrating at Haifa's German Colony an hour after the arrests.
Police said the arrests were immediate because the protesters' actions "could disrupt public order." The demonstrators "waved signs and slogans against Israel's actions in the war in Gaza, and ignored the police instructions at the scene," they said in a statement. Footage shows the arrests were violent, and police tore up protest signs.
Right-wing Israelis also organized a counter-protest and lauded the police during the arrests. A statement distributed by the right-wing organization "Btsalmo" stated that "Haifa has never been and will never be a Palestinian city." The statement also noted that the right-wing demonstration was "legal and approved."
