Arrests and Clashes Follow Violent Anti-Netanyahu Protests

Police said Sunday they arrested more than a dozen Israelis in countrywide protests the previous night that drew thousands of people in a growing and persistent show of force against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Thousands of people demonstrated outside Netanyahu’s official residence in Yerushalayim and hundreds gathered in a seaside park in Tel Aviv, demanding Netanyahu’s resignation.

For the first time since the wave of protests began weeks ago, hundreds also assembled outside Netanyahu’s private home in the upscale coastal town of Caesarea, where heavy security greeted them. Demonstrators across bridges and intersections waved black flags, the symbol of one of the movements behind the protests that is demanding Netanyahu’s ouster.

The protests are emerging as among the biggest challenges to Netanyahu’s lengthy rule since demonstrations over the cost of living in 2011 drew hundreds of thousands to the streets.

At a press conference last week that coincided with protests, Netanyahu addressed the surging protests, warning demonstrators: “Do not drag the country into anarchy, violence, vandalism.”

Police fired water cannons on protesters at the Yerushalayim protest and said 12 people were arrested there for being involved in disturbances. Two other people were arrested in separate locations for attacking protesters with pepper spray and a knife.