Protestors block a road during an anti-government rally calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack in Tel Aviv on August 12, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)
Police strip-searched three female protesters after their arrest Thursday night at a Tel Aviv demonstration demanding a Gaza hostage deal, according to a Friday report.
The women were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct, Haaretz said, a charge that doesn’t typically lead to strip-searches, even though police have the authority to conduct them.
The women were arrested with two other men who were not strip-searched, the paper said.
Two of the protesters said that they were required to pull down their pants and lift their shirts.
Efrat Safran, one of the detainees, told Haaretz they were warned that “’If you resist, we’ll use reasonable force.’ We were left with no choice but to comply.”
Safran added that this was her fourth protest-related arrest, but she had never previously been asked to undress. Another detainee said the officer justified the search as necessary to ensure she was not a danger to herself or others.
According to the report, police said the search was a lawful and routine procedure, applied to all detainees, to prevent detainees from having objects that could harm them or others in the holding cell.
The protesters’ lawyer argued that since the detainees were suspected only of public order offenses, which do not legally justify a strip search, the procedure was an unnecessary violation of their rights.
Times of Israel / AFP