Israel Police arrested four people Saturday night during a protest in Kfar Saba, where Likud MK Eli Dalal stumbled to the ground while making his way through the protesting crowd.
Israel Police later elaborated by saying that "four suspects were arrested for disrupting the peace and attacking police officers during an illegal protest in Kfar Saba. Meanwhile, the police removed the protesters from the building, and the incident is under control."
The protest took place in front of a Likud event, and was demanding for the establishment of a deal that would guarantee the return of all the hostages and an end to the war in Gaza. They also protested against David Zini's appointment as head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).
"I felt like I was going through a lynching. We're in the month of Yom Kippur; we can argue, but I saw hatred in the eyes," Dalal said to N12 and added, "We all need to be horrified, we might reach murder. We need to calm down. Ready to talk with anyone and negotiate but not in a way of violence."
The Prime Minister's Office referred to the event in a statement: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with MK Eli Dalal and expressed shock at the attack carried out against him at the Likud conference in Kfar Saba. The Prime Minister called on the Israel Police to bring the attackers to justice and warned against the wild incitement against coalition members."
This incitement is becoming more extreme every day as the rioters who incite discover that the majority of the public is not with them. If the law enforcement authorities do not put an end to these dangerous phenomena, it will end in blood on their hands."
Reactions to Kfar Saba protest
Other key figures from Likud also commented on the situation, with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana saying that what happened in Kfar Saba was proof that "the legal advisor to the protest is ready to legitimize everything, even violence, just so that the government falls."
"Forget that he’s a Knesset member, an *adult* person aged 70 (and also, one of the most moderate and charming there are) is thrown to the floor, and these filthy “democratic” maggots are throwing objects at him," he posted in X/Twitter.
"I strongly condemn the violent attack against Knesset member Eli Dalal," said Transportation Minister Miri Regev. "Again and again, we are witnessing the same rioters from the left. Last week it was against me in Petah Tikva, today it's against Dalal, and in parallel in Jerusalem they are breaking through the fences around the Prime Minister's Residence, to remind you that two weeks ago they set fire to vehicles there!"
"This is not a protest; this is anarchy. Freedom of expression is a supreme value in democracy, but violence, arson, and break-ins must stop. I call on the law enforcement system to stop the selective enforcement and to act with an iron fist and to exhaust the full legal proceedings against the rioters," she added.