Dozens of people opposed to COVID-19 vaccination protested outside Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s home in Ra’anana on Friday after the prime minister said that those who refuse to vaccinate are harming everyone, Maariv reported.
The protesters reportedly blocked several roads and confronted police officers on the scene.
כעת מול בית רה"מ בנט ברעננה: עשרות מפגינים ביניהם אנשי ימין שמפגינים נגד הממשלה ומתנגדי חיסונים שהגיעו למחות בעקבות נאום בנט אתמול. המפגינים הפרו את הסדר הציבורי כשהגיעו למתחם שאינו המתחם המאושר לקיום המחאה. בשלב זה שוטרי מרחב השרון עצרו חמישה מפגינים. (קרדיט:חדשות בזמן) @N12News pic.twitter.com/kPWPDII9pP
— אור רביד | Or Ravid (@OrRavid) July 23, 2021
Police at the scene ordered protesters to move to the designated area set aside for protests, but they refused, leading to violent clashes.
Police continued to evacuate the protesters from the area, arresting five for disturbing public order and assaulting a police officer.
Some people who are opposed to the COVID-19 vaccination are celebrating the climb in cases in Israel.
Social media – and even some more mainstream media – has been buzzing in recent days with claims that Israel’s more than 1,000 daily cases are proof that the vaccines don’t work or – even worse – that perhaps the vaccines are the catalyst behind the Delta variant.
Maayan Hoffman contributed to this report.