A retired lieutenant colonel participating in a protest calling for the return of the remaining hostages held in Gaza was punched by a group of young men Saturday afternoon, while police officers present at the scene did not intervene, according to eyewitnesses and video footage.
The incident unfolded in the streets of Rehovot during a demonstration against the government and in support of the hostages held in Gaza. Partial video shows protesters standing on a pedestrian crossing holding Israeli flags when several young men confronted them. One attacker attempted to break a flagpole, while another threw an object at the demonstrators amid chants of “Bibi is king.”
(Video: Yair Lapid's X)
Police officers and a patrol car were visible nearby but remained on the sidelines at the start of the altercation without taking action.
Hili Brook, one of the protest organizers at the Science Park junction in Rehovot, said the protesters were on the sidewalk and not blocking the road when four young men emerged from a vehicle. “Two of them made obscene gestures and started hitting people. One struck a person — a retired lieutenant colonel — with a stick,” she said.
The retired Lt. Col., Elad Even-Chen, who has completed 300 days of reserve duty and is still under call-up, recounted the attack. “I arrived at the protest as I do every Saturday. One of them tried to snatch my phone and attacked someone standing next to me. Then a friend of his arrived, I got punched, and they threw bottles at us,” Even-Chen said.
Brook added, “What’s most disturbing is that the police stood by and did nothing. It took a long time before they finally acted.”
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During the violence, protesters repeatedly called out to police officers, shouting “Police! Police! Stop the attackers!” One protester confronted a female officer directly, asking, “Why aren’t you arresting them?” Meanwhile, one of the attackers threatened a woman filming the incident, saying, “You want me to break your phone?” When she asked why, he angrily replied, “Then why are you filming me?” He later threatened another protester, saying, “I’ll break your face.”
The protest movement “Free in Our Land” condemned the attack, stating: “Two young men broke the national flag and assaulted protesters in broad daylight in Rehovot. This is the spirit coming from the minister and spreading on the ground. We demand that Israel Police immediately open an investigation and arrest the perpetrators. The police must do their job to protect freedom of expression and the right to protest.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid shared the footage and said, “The violent attacks against a public calling only for the return of hostages are the product of a violent incitement campaign led by the government. We will not stop or abandon the hostages until all of them come home.”