Thousands of Israelis who oppose legal reform plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government have blocked roads in and around Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.
The protests forced the location of the negotiations with Austin to be changed at the last minute.
Just hours before the American arrived, three Palestinians were shot dead by undercover Israeli border police in the occupied West Bank, where violence is on the rise despite UN appeals for restraint.
Austin’s meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, was moved due to the protests. Netanyahu also met with the head of the Pentagon, his office said.
The prime minister then traveled to Rome (Italy), a flight that the demonstrators tried to obstruct by blocking the access roads to the airport with vehicles.
One of them, 18-year-old Ori Gal, said he was protesting “the dictatorship that emerges from the sewers” and “threatens Israeli democracy”.
Near the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, foot protesters blocked one of the main streets, an AFP photographer reported.
There were also smaller demonstrations in various parts of the country, forcing Netanyahu to travel to the airport by helicopter instead of by car.
Opponents of the reform plans – which would give political power more power over the courts – have been protesting for nine weeks straight against what they see as a threat to democracy.
Israel’s far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir said he had instructed police to prevent protesters from blocking roads.
“Demonstrate, shout, democracy,” he said. “But illegality will not be tolerated,” she added.
– Increased violence in the West Bank –
At the same time, violence in the West Bank is on the rise, coinciding with Netanyahu’s coalition government, which took office in December and is considered the most right-wing in Israel’s history.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced this Thursday the “martyrdom” (death) of three men who were shot dead by Israeli forces in Jaba, near the northern city of Jenin, the epicenter of the violence.
The Ministry of Health identified the dead as Sufyan Fakhoury, 26, Ahmed Fashafsha, 22, and Nayef Malaysha, 25.
Israeli police said special forces accompanied by soldiers were in Jaba to arrest suspects involved in shootings against soldiers in the area, including Fakhoury and Fashafsha.
They are two members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
“During the operation, shots were fired at infiltrated border police… They responded by shooting and killing three gunmen in the car,” the police said.
“Several weapons and explosive devices were found in the vehicle,” he added.
For its part, Islamic Jihad condemned Israel for the “cruel murder” perpetrated in Jaba.
On Tuesday, an Israeli army attack in Jenin left seven Palestinians dead, including a Hamas member accused of killing two Israeli settlers last month.
The UN envoy for peace in the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, on Wednesday called on Israel and the Palestinians for “calm and restraint”, saying the “cycle of violence must stop immediately”.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health has identified the seventh fatality from Tuesday’s attack as 14-year-old Walid Nassar.
Since the beginning of the year, the violence has left 75 Palestinians dead, including adults and children, including civilians.
In turn, thirteen Israeli adults and children, including members of the security forces and civilians, as well as a Ukrainian civilian, were killed in the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources on both sides.