Israeli police used water cannons and deployed mounted units to disperse the illegal protest in Tel Aviv against the government and in support of the release of the hostages from the Gaza Strip, accompanied by clashes with law enforcement and arrests, reported RIA Novosti.
Earlier on Saturday, thousands of activists gathered in central Tel Aviv to demand early elections and an immediate deal to free Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip for more than seven months. The weekly protest, coordinated with the police, took place near a complex of government buildings, where the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense is located.
After the end of the agreed protest, a group of hundreds of activists began to block traffic on the nearby streets. The crowd ignored repeated requests from police to disperse, after which law enforcement used water cannons and deployed horse units.
Protesters blocked the city's central Ayalon highway and the intersection near the Azrieli shopping center. According to the Ynet portal, at least 15 activists were detained by the police for disturbing public order.
Israeli police spokesman Major Michael Zingerman said all those detained at the Tel Aviv protest had been released, adding that 27 violators had been fined.
The protest came amid a deadlock in Gaza ceasefire talks in exchange for the release of hostages and an ultimatum issued by minister without portfolio and member of the military cabinet Benny Gantz, who said on Saturday he would quit the government of Benjamin Netanyahu government, if by June 8 the country's leadership does not have an approved plan for further actions in the Gaza Strip.