Tel Aviv protesters shut down key motorway after police chief resigns

UN rapporteur accuses Israel of committing war crimes in the occupied West Bank

Israelis block a motorway as they protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial reform plans. AP

Israeli protesters brought parts of Tel Aviv to a standstill on Wednesday evening, blocking a key motorway as they demonstrated against what they said was the unfair treatment of the city’s police chief, Ami Eshed.

Mr Eshed, who resigned on Wednesday, claims that a series of appointments were made in the force without his input, while Israeli media outlets reported that he was at loggerheads with hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over how much force to use against protesters.

Mr Ben-Gvir has pushed for a tough police response to massive protests against plans to overhaul the country’s judiciary.

The proposed reforms, which began in January and are the largest in the country's history, would significantly increase the government's power to influence judicial appointments.

“I am paying an intolerably heavy personal price for my choice to avert a civil war,” Mr Eshed said in a statement, as he resigned from his post.

The standoff is part of a growing rift within the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has agitated millions of Israelis with his judicial reform agenda.

Mr Netanyahu has even triggered dissent within the armed forces due to his plans, including a hardline, deferential attitude to Israeli settlers, who stand accused of ramping up violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

War crimes allegation

Israel’s internal chaos comes at a time when the country has been accused of war crimes by Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory, following some of the worst violence in the occupied West Bank in years.

Ms Albanese, who was accompanied by Paula Betancur, the special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, said on Wednesday that Israel could be guilty of “egregious violations of international law and standards on the use of force, and [its actions] may constitute a war crime”.

Both rapporteurs said Israel was subjecting the Palestinian people to “collective punishment”.

It follows a series of raids into the West Bank town of Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp, once home to 18,000 people and now partially evacuated after 12 Palestinians including five children were killed during Israeli army raids.

About 4,000 people have fled the camp.

The Israeli army said the raids were focused on militants who have used the camp as a staging area for operations.

However, violence in the past week has been compared to the Intifada, or uprising, 23 years ago, and has involved the use of powerful Apache attack helicopters and armoured bulldozers tearing up streets in the camp.