National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir plans to implement what he has presented as the Israel Police's new policy regarding protests, specifically efforts to limit the ability to demonstrate on major roads.
The document, outlining the policy and published on Thursday, includes a sweeping prohibition on blocking major roads, a limitation on protest freedoms in the immediate vicinity of public officials' homes, and an increase in police presence at protests in general.
The national security minister demanded that Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara issue a response to the policy within five days, or by the start of next week, as his office added that she had been sent the document in June but had yet to reply. If no response is granted, Ben-Gvir said the policy will take immediate effect.
Sources within the police, however, emphasized to Ynet that such decisions cannot be made hastily and require on-the-ground assessments, which officers can only make in real-time.
The deadline for the policy implementation falls on the same day - Wednesday - that hostage families, captivity survivors, and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum designated as another national day of protest, to insist that the government seal a deal that would free the 50 hostages Hamas is still holding captive. It is scheduled to take place in Jerusalem.
The document, which is four pages long, outlines “critical roads” that must remain open and cannot be obstructed by people or objects. These include main roads and highways, access roads to Ben-Gurion Airport, hospitals, emergency routes, and roads whose closure would isolate communities.
Current policy proposal lacks legal parameters, safeguards
The policy, in its current form, lacks clear and delineated legal parameters. If it is adopted as is, it could significantly expand the police's authority in real-time against protesters.
The document also outlines more flexible measures to be taken against protests held outside the homes of public officials, as well as forbidding the placement of large objects on roads that cannot be blocked (such as burning tires).
Other clauses include the ability to take action against public or private property, supporting or identifying with terrorist groups, or denying the October 7 massacre, which, due to its sweeping nature, may have the potential to be used against anti-war protests.
Another clause forbids protesting inside a place of worship, particularly synagogues.
“The right to demonstrate is not an inherent right, but rather relative... and cannot come at the cost of human life and public safety,” reads the document.
Ben-Gvir publicized the policy document under the obligations he has towards Baharav-Miara, as outlined in a work agreement between the two. She has since said that the minister has not fully honored it.
The agreement signed between the two in April, when Ben-Gvir returned to the role, stipulates that the minister refrain from addressing matters related to protests or acts against the government. However, one of the clauses stipulates that regarding protests, any policies must be published ahead of time in their final format.
Politicians, protest leaders, and former police officers all decried the policy, calling it dangerous in its intrusion into police calculations and a broader democratic threat.