PM's office reportedly warned Ben-Gvir to leave East J'lem after threat of Hamas rocket attack
Some 200 Palestinians and 17 police officers were injured Friday night after clashes broke out in East J'lem
A person inside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office reportedly instructed a far-right lawmaker to immediately leave the flashpoint East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah or Hamas would begin firing rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory.
According to Hebrew-language broadcaster Channel 12, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel Parliament (Knesset) member from the extremist Religious Zionism party, was told to pack up his makeshift “parliamentary office” and evacuate the area immediately during a demonstration Thursday evening.
Channel 12 said that the unidentified person inside the prime minister's office warned that the defense establishment had received intelligence over the rocket threat and had deemed it credible enough to relay the message to Ben-Gvir.
The parliamentarian, who had set up a table under an awning in Sheikh Jarrah to protest what he said was a lack of protection for Jewish families in the neighborhood, refused to leave until more officers were dispatched to the area.
Reinforcement eventually arrived Friday morning, prompting Ben-Gvir to pack up his table and awning and leave the neighborhood.
“There will be a permanent [police] presence there. Get out of there as quickly as possible,” the unidentified person reportedly said.
Netanyahu's office did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai urged politicians on Friday not to further escalate tensions with unnecessary provocations following a night of violent clashes between Palestinian rioters and Israeli authorities in East Jerusalem.
“It doesn’t matter at the moment from what [political] side, because this has very, very serious consequences for all the State of Israel,” Shabtai told Hebrew media in a statement.
Some 200 Palestinians and 17 police officers were injured Friday night after clashes broke out in East Jerusalem over a land dispute in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Asked if Ben-Gvir was undermining efforts to calm the current situation, Shabtai responded: “I’m not getting into names.”