Israeli police used water cannons to disperse protesters in central Jerusalem and arrested at least 55 of them as clashes broke out overnight after thousands staged a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israelis have held a series of demonstrations in recent weeks calling on Netanyahu to resign, citing his trial on corruption charges and his government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The protest near the prime minister’s residence began at about sundown on Thursday. A smaller counterprotest in support of Netanyahu was held nearby, with the two camps separated by metal barricades and a large police presence.
Police say they moved in to disperse the protesters when they tried to stage a procession through the city.
Police scuffled with demonstrators before four large trucks roared into action, spraying water cannons back and forth, scattering the protesters.
Israel imposed a general lockdown when the first coronavirus cases were reported in March and by May had largely contained the outbreak.
However, it lifted virtually all restrictions and in the following weeks cases surged.
A unity government formed in May following three inconclusive elections in less than a year was supposed to prioritize the pandemic, but has been unable to agree on clear policies.
Netanyahu meanwhile faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust over a series of corruption investigations.
Critics have speculated that he intends to call yet another election, which he dismissed as “absurd” at a news conference on Thursday.
At the same conference, held as the protests were under way, he called on demonstrators not to clash with police, saying it would “lead to anarchy.”
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