Maskless woman handcuffed on Tel Aviv beach after refusing to give ID to police
A woman was handcuffed by police officers on a Tel Aviv beach on Friday after she refused to identify herself as they tried to issue a fine over her lack of face mask.
A witness told the Haaretz newspaper that the woman tried to flee from the scene on Trumpeldor Beach, but was caught and arrested.
Although under virus regulations it is forbidden to be on the beach for any reason other than individual sporting activities, the woman was only fined for not wearing a mask as she sat on the sand with her partner.
“The beach was full of people,” an unnamed surfer told the Ynet news site. “There was a feeling that the policeman and the inspector had simply found a victim among all the people who were at the scene.”
A witness to the incident named only as Gili, said the arrest seemed heavy-handed given the seemingly selective enforcement of violations, and recent revelations of public figures flouting the rules.
“A young girl is going to sit at sea this weekend and they decide to stop her. Where have we got to? Is this what the police are dealing with? Nonsense. There is a violation of so many more significant regulations than someone sitting alone and not endangering anyone,” Gili said. “Elected officials are violating regulations on the right and left, there are such stupid decisions and there is a lack of trust in the regulations. The police could have exercised discretion and left her alone.”
Transmission rates are presumed to be lower outside, but there is still risk.
After initial success containing the virus in Israel with early lockdown restrictions, the government’s handling of its reopening has been widely criticized, with second-wave infections spiraling out of control in recent months and criticism that regulations are illogical.
Tel Aviv has a relatively low infection rate of 43 cases per 10,000 residents, according to data released by the Health Ministry on Friday. Meanwhile, the nearby ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak has 293 cases per 10,000 residents.