A man in a Tiberias mall was restrained and arrested by Israel Police in front of large crowds on Sunday for refusing to wear a mask.
The incident, which some have described as violent, occurred when a man was stopped inside a mall by police officers from the Tiberias Police Station, who requested that he wear a mask while indoors, in accordance with the coronavirus directive from the Health Ministry.
According to the police, the man both refused to wear a mask and refused to provide the police with proof of identification upon their request. He then allegedly resisted both detention and arrest, at which point he was forcibly restrained.
In a video of the event, the man can be seen lying on the ground with police officers restraining his hands behind his back. A passerby in the video can be heard protesting the arrest, saying "shame on you, you are strangling him."
חזרנו לתיעודים המזעזעים האלו, הכל בגלל מסכה, טבריה כעת. pic.twitter.com/mavVmbwodJ
— אריאל אלחרר (@ariel_elharar_) August 8, 2021
However, police denied allegations that they mishandled the situation, maintaining that the man had resisted arrest.
"The suspect persisted in his refusal and was therefore told that he was detained but he objected to the detention as well, and so the policeman informed him of his arrest. Still, at this stage, he continued to resist and the policeman had to use force to arrest him," the statement read.
"Once again we are witnessing an attempt to discredit the activities of the police using partial documentation that shows only the moments of arrest, and not what preceded and led to them," Israel Police also said in response to the event.
The man was eventually taken, while still struggling, to the Tiberias Police Station.
Concluding the statement, the police stated that this was "undoubtedly an unfortunate incident that could have been avoided if the citizen had cooperated, identified himself as required by law, and obeyed the instructions of the police."