An Israeli police officer pushed and knocked Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats (a coalition of Labor and Meretz, Israel's main left-wing parties), to the ground on Thursday during a demonstration in Jerusalem against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
At the demonstration, thousands of people (according to the progressive daily Haaretz) gathered around the president's home on Azza Street. Police charged at the crowd and tried to disperse them using foul-smelling water cannons.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. After 38 years in the Army, a few pushes won’t stop us,” Golan wrote on social media.
"Change the government, take the country back from the hands of corrupt, evasive, and failing people to the hands of the people. Only in a determined struggle, with all of us in the streets, will we fight, only then will we win," he added.
A video recorded during the protests shows a police officer advancing toward several protesters, followed by other officers, and pushing them. The footage captures Golan passing between the officers when one of them shoves him. Although the politician tries to grab onto other protesters, he ends up falling to the ground.
Once on the road, the protesters gestured, demanding explanations from the officers, who charged at them again while the politician remained lying down.
"I strongly condemn the police's conduct and the harm caused to Yair Golan. A former deputy chief of staff and chairman of an opposition party cannot be attacked while demonstrating for Israeli democracy.", wrote centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid on social media.
The protest headed to Netanyahu's home after protesting outside the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament), where they later marched again.
Since Tuesday, the day Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza with a wave of bombing raids on the Palestinian territory (at least 506 people have died in the offensive since then), Jerusalem has become the focus of anti-government protests.
Originally, Israeli pro-democracy groups such as the Black Flags had called for protests against Netanyahu's dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.
Resuming the offensive, however, also brought many protesters to the protests that denounce that These attacks put at risk the 59 hostages who remain in Gaza and are demanding an end to the war to ensure their safe return.