National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Wednesday he does not support a call to arrest leaders of Israel's Opposition for "insurrection."
On Tuesday Tzvika Foghel, a member of Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit faction, said the former Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz should be arrested. Ben-Gvir agreed, however, that Lapid and Gantz were igniting the streets and must act responsibly.
"Foghel heard them inciting against the government and calling for civil dissent, calling us Nazis. That is why he reacted the way he did," Ben-Gvir said.
The far-right minister said that contrary to reports, he did not instruct the police to use a heavy hand against anti-government demonstrators.
"This is another example of the demagoguery and unfair media conduct. I said there must be the same treatment of all demonstrators," he said. "I have demonstrated hundreds or thousands of time in my life, and support the maximum free expression, but under my leadership, there will a different police response to farmers, ultra-Orthodox and settlers, to the treatment of protesters on the Left. The law is the law."
Although the police force was heavy handed in its response to anti-Netanyahu protesters in Jerusalem in recent years, Ben-Gvir claimed they were treated with kid gloves.
He also said he did not instruct the force to use riot control measures.
"That is a decision of the force," he said, but claimed police officers told him that not all demonstrations are treated the same.
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