Tel Aviv Police Chief Resigns After Refusing To Use Further Force Against Protesters

He assures that his departure is the result of trying to “avoid a civil war”

July 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The commander of the Tel Aviv District Police, Amichai Eshed, has finally submitted his resignation this Wednesday in the face of criticism from the Government against him for not making greater use of force against the protesters during the protests registered in the country. for months.

Eshed has now indicated that his resignation is due to “political considerations” and has expressed that “he is paying the costs of having tried to avoid a civil war.” The decision comes shortly after the chief commissioner of the Israeli Police, Kobi Shabtai, informed him that he would head a training center for the Police, which many have understood as a demotion.

Shabtai and Eshed have maintained a good relationship despite the fact that the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, has lashed out at the Tel Aviv Police chief for considering that he has not been strong enough in dealing with the wave of protests against the reform of the judicial system.

For his part, Shabtai has announced that he will finish his term, which ends in January, but will not seek re-election, according to information from the newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’. Thus, Eshed has clarified that he “could have used disproportionate force to quell the protests (…) paying the cost of breaking bones and ending the pact between the Police and the citizenry.”

“As a commander, I teach generations of police officers to recognize the limits of force and safeguard their contract with the public. Unfortunately, for the first time in three decades of service I have been faced with the strange reality that calm and order are no longer are not the objective, but rather the opposite”, he lamented.

Esher’s resignation is expected to spark further protests in several cities across the country. The organizers have condemned her resignation and have linked it to his refusal to use more force, while warning that it is the “last blow to democracy in Israel.”