March 30 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Hundreds of demonstrators have taken to the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities in Israel to protest against the National Guard, the new security body that the Minister of National Security, the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, has presented with the aim of “restoring governability ” in the country.
According to ‘The Times of Israel’, several roads in Tel Aviv have been blocked by protesters, who reject the creation of this 2,000-strong force that they consider “Ben Gvir’s militia”.
According to ‘Standing Together’, one of the groups that have called the protests, groups of protesters have formed in Haifa, Be’er Sheva, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Rehovot and Holon.
According to the Israeli news portal Walla, several of the activists have formed a “civil defense group” to try to protect protesters who have suffered violent incidents in recent days and, according to a message from the WhatsApp group in which there are With more than 500 people already gathered, “to create a group of determined people who can reach the points of conflict during the demonstrations and prevent violence.”
After weeks of demonstrations against the judicial reform proposed by the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and which was finally withdrawn this Sunday, the Israelis once again protest the implementation of this new security structure, which will be presented to the cabinet on Sunday and will have an initial budget of more than 1,000 million shekels (257 million euros), as reported by the newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’.
This Wednesday Gvir published a statement detailing the objective of the proposed National Guard, thus trying to silence criticism from both activists and the opposition, who brand it a private militia to satisfy the political needs of the far-right.
“A National Guard is a basic critical need for the State of Israel, without which we will not be able to protect our citizens to combat terrorism, nationalist crimes and restore governance in cities,” said fellow party leader Otzma Yehudit ( Jewish Power).
The proposal comes after a tacit pact between the leader of the Likud and that of Otzma Yehudit in exchange for the halting of judicial reform in Israel.
