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Reporter violently shoved by Israeli police during anti-government protest – Israel News

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Yollan Cohen, a reporter for Israeli news channel N12, was brutally shoved by a police officer while covering anti-government protests in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. Footage of the incident was posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Cohen came to cover the protests in Tel Aviv that took place after hundreds of demonstrators gathered on King George Street in front of Metzudat Ze’ev, where the Likud headquarters are located, to protest against the government.

Protesters set fires in the street, including burning a tent bearing the words “There is no home.” Israeli police forces were deployed to the scene, many of them on horseback.

The police declared the protest illegal and arrested three people on the spot.

Supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu protest near the Hakirya base in Tel Aviv, June 22, 2024. (Source: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90)

Following the incident in which Cohen was pushed, Israeli police released an apology statement saying they were “sorry for the incident that occurred in the heat of the Axis evacuation.”

Israeli police apologize for violent incident

“The work of journalists deserves recognition and is important for reporting on the events. We will work to ensure that they can carry out their work safely to prevent similar cases from happening again in the future,” the statement continued.

“The work of journalists deserves recognition and is important for reporting on the events. We will work to ensure that they can carry out their work safely to prevent similar cases from happening again in the future,” it concludes.

Police cross boundaries

N12 subsequently condemned the attack and called on the police to investigate the circumstances of the incident.

In an interview on the N12 program “Hetzi Chatzot” after the incident, Cohen stated that the police had overstepped their bounds and described the events.

“We are very careful at every demonstration not to get in the way of the police or the protesters,” said Cohen. The incident “crossed all boundaries and unfortunately we were attacked. A police officer pushed us even though we identified ourselves as journalists – the microphone was impossible to miss. Minutes before the video was taken, the police officer on a horse almost ran us over.”

As Cohen tried to avoid being run over by the mounted police officer, she was pushed.

Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid condemned the incident at the X and responded: “There is no reason for a police officer to act so violently towards a civilian. Especially not towards a journalist on duty.”

He called on the police commissioner to take action.

“Where is the police chief? Where is the top leadership on the ground? All boundaries have been crossed. This cannot continue,” he added.

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