AS anti-government protests gather steam in Israel, hundreds of protesters besieged the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Tel Aviv hair salon on Wednesday, prompting the intervention of police, according to The Times of Israel.
In a day of “rare” clashes between police and protesters in Tel Aviv, demonstrators rushed to Kikar HaMedina Plaza upon hearing that Prime Minister’s wife Sara Netanyahu was at a hair salon there, the report said.
“The country is burning and Sara is getting a haircut,” protesters chanted — a phrase that rhymes in Hebrew — while others chanted “May your hair ends burn”, it added.
The first lady was eventually evacuated by the police. Later, Mr Netanyahu tweeted a picture of him embracing his wife. “The anarchy needs to stop — it could end up costing lives,” he wrote.
The report said opposition leaders supporting the protests were taken aback by demonstrators’ decision to surround Ms Netanyahu at the salon and called on protesters to let her leave.
The incident occurred as the premier compared protesters who clashed with police to settlers who rampaged through a Palestinian town, according to the report.
In Tel Aviv, the police used water cannons and stun grenades against demonstrators who tried to block the Ayalon Highway, the first time such means were used in recent demonstrations, the media outlet reported.
Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2023
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