Anti-judicial reform protesters should be responsible and keep roads clear near the Ben Gurion Airport, Central District police commander Avi Biton appealed on Sunday morning before a major demonstration on Monday.
Biton said that an emergency situation, in which a United Airlines flight with hundreds of passengers suffered a broken window and had to land in Israel, demonstrated why it was essential to keep security roads open.
“I call on protest organizers: Show responsibility so that a disaster will not happen that we will regret,” said Biton. “The traffic lanes in the Ben Gurion Airport area are defined as emergency roads and must be left open for rescue services at all times.
Biton said that protesting was a key democratic right, but public safety needed to be taken into account. The police will allow demonstrators into the airport area, but Biton said that they would not allow the blocking of roads, and will have zero tolerance for those that do.
Why is the upcoming protest at Ben Gurion happening?
Protest leaders announced the Ben Gurion protest on Tuesday, in response to the continued development of judicial reform legislation on Monday. A bill on the reasonableness standard will be discussed at the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee the same day.
At the penultimate moment before the final readings for the reform’s Judicial Selection Committee bill in March, intense protests and employee strikes brought airport traffic to a close.
Travelers are seen at the departure hall of the Ben Gurion International Airport on April 4, 2023 (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)The closure of roads throughout Israel during protests has remained a contentious issue during the judicial reform period. Critics of the tactic argue that it endangers both the pedestrian protester and drivers.
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