A confrontation broke out between MK Gilad Kariv (Democrats) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) during protests demanding a ceasefire in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Saturday night.
The situation began after Kariv was filmed arguing with a police officer, accusing them of disrespecting an MK during a lawful protest.
“What a shame and disgrace that MK Gilad Kariv is breaking the law, lashing out at an esteemed and professional police officer,” Ben-Gvir wrote in a social media post, adding a warning that he would ask Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) to “reprimand Kariv.”
“The police are not the punching bag of frustrated politicians,” Ben-Gvir added in his post.
To this, Kariv responded that, “There is no doubt that there is much to learn about morality from an expert in pogroms, a convicted criminal, and a minister under whose watch the streets of Israel are washed with blood.”
He also added a video from a couple of years ago where Ben-Gvir appears physically and verbally confronting a police officer during a protest.
Hostage families, Israelis call for the release of all hostages
Israelis gathered across the country that night, joining hostage families in calling for the release of the remaining hostages in Hamas captivity amid the IDF's invasion of Gaza City.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum announced its intention to protest outside of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence, alongside the protests at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. The Forum also stated that protests across the country on Saturday night drew tens of thousands of attendees.
Anat Angrest, the mother of hostage Matan Angrest, played a recording of the phone call between the family and an IDF representative during a demonstration on Saturday evening, who said that the hostages are increasingly at risk due to the military's planned invasion of Gaza City.
"The risk has already increased, and it is a trend of rising risk that comes alongside the intensification of the [ground] maneuver."
Earlier on Saturday, Anat Angrest wrote on social media that her son was in immediate danger. “My Matan is in immediate life-threatening danger. That’s what I was told yesterday on the phone."