The High Court on Sunday issued a conditional order requiring the state to explain why it has not set a protest policy that properly balances security needs with the rights to free expression and protest, in the legal fight over Saturday night’s anti-war demonstrations. The order was issued by President Isaac Amit and Justices Khaled Kabub and Yechiel Kasher, following a hearing held on Thursday.
The ruling did not itself set new crowd limits or a fresh operational framework for the demonstrations. Instead, it moved the case into its next procedural stage, directing the respondents - Police Commissioner Danny Levi, the Home Front Command chief, and the Attorney-General - to show cause why no such policy has been adopted.
Responses to court due on Monday
Under the timetable set by the court, response affidavits are due by Monday afternoon, and the parties may file written arguments by Tuesday at noon.
The petition was filed by activist Itamar Greenberg and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel after police restrictions on anti-war protests on Saturday night sparked a broader legal clash over who sets the terms for public demonstrations during wartime, and whether those restrictions are being applied proportionately and equally.
The court had intervened over the weekend to allow the protests to go ahead under set limitations after sharply questioning the state’s handling of the issue.
Sunday’s decision signals that the justices are no longer dealing only with one contested night of demonstrations, but with the broader question of whether the state has a coherent policy for protests under wartime conditions.
What comes next is the state’s formal response to that question - and, potentially, a fuller ruling on the balance between emergency security restrictions and the constitutional protections for protest and free speech.