Chaos at protests: Journalist violently pushed by police, fires lit on street

Yollan Cohen, a reporter from Israeli news outlet N12, was seen being violently pushed on Saturday night by a police officer while covering the anti-government protest that took place in Tel Aviv. Footage of the incident was posted to X, formally known as Twitter.

שוטר מעיף בכוח את יולן כהן מחדשות 12 pic.twitter.com/ToED9fig7p

— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) June 22, 2024

Cohen arrived to cover the protest in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of demonstrators had arrived on King George Street outside of Metzudat Ze'ev, where the Likud headquarters are located, to protest against the government. 

Protestors started fires on the street, including burning a tent that had the words "There is no home" written on it.  Israel Police forces were brought to the scene, many mounted on horses.

Police said that the protest was illegal, and three arrests were made at the scene. 

Following the incident in which Cohen was pushed, Israel Police issued an apology statement saying they were "sorry for the incident that took place in the heat of evacuating the axis."

Israel Police apologize for violent incident 

"The work of the journalists deserves appreciation and is important for the coverage of the events. We will work to allow them to carry out their work safely to prevent the recurrence of similar cases in the future," the statement continued.

"The work of the journalists deserves appreciation and is important for the coverage of the events, we will work to allow them to carry out their work safely to prevent the recurrence of similar cases in the future," it concluded.

בשעה האחרונה כוחות המשטרה פועלים לשמירה על הסדר הציבורי ברחוב קינג ג׳ורג׳ בתל אביב. במסגרת פינוי מפירי הסדר נהדפה כתבת חדשות 12 יולן כהן, שנמצאת במקום ומסקרת את האירועים בשטח.משטרת ישראל מצרה על האירוע שהתרחש בלהט פינוי הציר. עבודת העיתונאים ראויה להערכה וחשובה לסיקור…

— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) June 22, 2024

Police 'crossing limits'

N12 responded by condemning the attack and demanding that police conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the case. 

In an interview on the N12 Hetzi Chatzot program following the incident, Cohen explained that police had crossed limits and described the events that occurred. 

"We are always careful in every demonstration not to interfere with the police and the demonstrators," Cohen said. The incident "crossed all limits, and unfortunately, we were attacked. A policeman pushed us even though we identified ourselves as journalists - it was impossible to miss the microphone. Minutes before the video was taken, the policeman on a horse almost ran over us."

After Cohen attempted to avoid being run over by the mounted policeman she was pushed. 

Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid condemned the incident on X and responded that "there is no reason for a police officer to act with such violence towards any civilian. Certainly not towards a journalist on duty." 

He called on the police commissioner to take action.

"Where is the police commissioner? Where is the senior command in the field? All boundaries have been crossed. It can't go on like this," he added. 

עוד ערב של איבוד עשתונות של משטרת ישראל. אין שום סיבה ששוטר ינהג באלימות כזו כלפי אף אזרחית. בטח שלא כלפי עיתונאית בתפקיד.איפה מפכ״ל המשטרה? איפה הפיקוד הבכיר בשטח? נחצו כל הגבולות. זה לא יכול להימשך ככה. https://t.co/Nx64Xx28Mv

— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) June 22, 2024