Watch: Police Go On Violent Rampage In Bnei Brak, Infuriating Local Population

BNEI BRAK (VINnews) — In an unprecedented display of violence, police last night lashed out at Bnei Brak residents after a clash with a local yeshiva which was open illegally had left two policemen lightly injured. The policemen used stun grenades, batons and water cannon to target passersby and a number of journalists were attacked as well despite citing their profession. The police rampage even extended to supermarkets, which are legally open, and numerous passersby were targeted simply because they were trying to document the violence, which took place late at night and disturbed the sleep of thousands of residents.

רוצחים במדים pic.twitter.com/RtL2QfFWUb

— יוסי (@nba0523465476) January 22, 2021

הסרטון הזה של @bar_peleg מבני ברק מטורף, אין מילים pic.twitter.com/M6dEWUMTLw

— חיים גולדברג (@haim_goldberg) January 22, 2021

מי אישר את הטרוף הזה? מה המטרה של הכמויות רימונים האלה? pic.twitter.com/Uji2juSraD

— חיים גולדברג (@haim_goldberg) January 22, 2021

העיתונאי איתמר כהן הותקף קשות על ידי המשטרה אף על פי שבציג לשוטרים שהוא עיתונאי @ItamarC36002781 pic.twitter.com/4JybWSrzLw

— א.כהן (@A_Cohen_) January 21, 2021

https://twitter.com/ariel_elharar_/status/1352552345297711106

Chareidi politicians were quick to condemn the police rampage. Minister Yaakov Litzman criticized the “wild and aggressive revenge spree by incited policemen, collectively punishing tens of thousands of innocent residents of the city.”

Litzman stressed that “there is no justification for any kind of violence including that employed against policemen duing their duty. All violence is wrong and should be condemned.” He added however that “I condemn the order to bring in battalions of police to vent their anger against passersby, using stun grenades, batons and water cannon. During the entire night they endangered many people, disturbed the sleep of tens of thousands including many small children, who had committed no offense.”

Litzman said that he had asked for clarifications from Public Security Minister Amir Ohana and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai. It should be noted that when it became clear that police were planning to enter Bnei Brak, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri warned the Public Security Minister that “you need to deal with the hooligans and punish them but don’t make big mistakes, don’t make revenge actions and unnecessary rampages, don’t punish the Chareidi public for no reason.”

MK Betzalel Smotrich (National Union) also condemned the gratuitous violence, stating that “there’s nothing in the world which could justify the violent revenge rampage which police performed tonight in Bnei Brak. Enforcement must be focused and effective, but aggressive and uncontrolled violence against citizens is totally unacceptable. Instead of creating a consensus against violence, police just escalated the situation and increased the antagonism and lack of faith in them.

“There is no symmetry between civilian violence, as bad as it may be, and official and sanctioned police violence. The latter is a hundred times more dangerous in a democratic country. The police would not have dared to act in this way against violations of law and violence which is a hundred times worse in other sectors, as is proven daily in the Arab sector.

“Whoever gave this order is not worthy of continuing as commander of Israeli police. If the Chareidi Knesset members had not thwarted my suggestion to establish a national committee of enquiry over police brutality against Chareidim half a year ago, there might have been rules and regulations in place which would not have enabled this rampage,” Smotrich added.