Israeli Police Forcibly Disperse Anti-War Protest in Tel Aviv

Israeli police used force to disperse an anti-war protest at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square on Saturday evening, April 4, as internal tensions arose over the war with Iran, Haaretz reported.

The confrontation began after police declared the gathering an “unlawful assembly,” claiming the number of participants exceeded the 600-person limit set by the High Court of Justice. Mounted police and officers were seen on video pushing protesters out of the square and engaging in scuffles with activists.

Shortly before the rally, Israel’s High Court had issued an interim ruling protecting the right to protest at Habima Square for up to 600 people, while setting limits of 150 for Jerusalem, Haifa, and Kfar Saba. The court order followed an appeal by activists against stricter gathering restrictions imposed by the Home Front Command and police under martial law.

Among those detained was Alon-Lee Green, a leader of the Standing Together movement and one of the protest organizers. “There is no such thing as an illegal demonstration,” Green told the crowd via megaphone before his arrest, calling for an end to the “endless war.”

The protests in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem reflect growing domestic friction as the conflict with Iran enters a critical phase. On Saturday, a strike near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant killed a security guard, an incident Tehran described as a “significant threat” to regional safety.

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Israel secretly deployed military and intelligence units to Azerbaijan during its war with Iran, CNN reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the operation. The network reportedly included covert sites in Iraq, the UAE, and Somaliland.

The major escalation in the Middle East has prompted the Israeli military to prepare for potential strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure as early as next week, pending a “green light” from Washington. The internal legal dispute over the right to protest highlights the complex balance between national security and civil liberties as Israel faces a multi-front conflict that began on Feb. 28.