- July 23, 2026
- 5:36 pm
- Israel
The video of a harsh confrontation between a police officer and the head of the local council of Yeruham, Nili Aaron, caused a wide resonance in Israel. In the published footage, the police officer demands that she leave the Omer council building, warns of possible arrest, twists her arm behind her back, and attempts to apply handcuffs.
Aaron resists, ends up on the floor, and screams: “You won’t touch me!” Some time after the incident, she was taken to Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva. However, a full arrest did not occur, and the police intervention was stopped after the head of Omer refused to file a complaint.
The incident occurred on July 21, 2026 in the Omer local council building. However, the cause of the conflict was not police activity but a long-standing financial dispute over the Yeruham Lake Park.
Why the head of Yeruham came to Omer
The chairman of the Jewish National Fund Keren Kayemet LeIsrael — KKL — Eyal Ostrinsky came to Omer for a meeting with the head of the local council, Erez Badash. Upon learning about the meeting, Nili Aaron appeared at the building with a megaphone to publicly demand answers regarding the funding of the Yeruham Lake Park.
The Yeruham administration claims that KKL unilaterally stopped transferring the funds necessary for the park’s operation. According to the municipality, this decision threatens jobs, territory maintenance, and the future of one of the city’s most important public facilities.
Furthermore, the Yeruham leadership claims that about 40 million shekels intended for the park’s development have been blocked for more than four years. Aaron claims that the KKL leadership refuses to conduct substantive negotiations with her and the municipality’s professional team.
The Yeruham Lake Park holds special significance for the city. It is not only a recreational area but also one of the most prominent tourist and ecological sites in the Negev. Therefore, the cessation of funding is perceived by local authorities as a blow not only to the municipal project but also to the residents of Israel’s periphery.
The Yeruham council stated that Nili Aaron came to Omer not for conflict but to protect the interests of residents, park employees, and the city’s future.
How the protest turned into a confrontation with the police
The parties’ versions of what happened in the building differ significantly.
The Yeruham council claims that the action was peaceful and pre-agreed. According to this version, Aaron was in an open public building, and about ten minutes after her arrival, police officers and special unit fighters appeared.
Yeruham representatives stated that excessive and disproportionate physical force was used against the council head. According to them, one of the officers knocked her to the floor, twisted her arm, and took out handcuffs, intending to make an arrest. The municipality demanded an investigation into the police’s actions.
Omer head Erez Badash presented the opposite version. He stated that Nili Aaron arrived without prior agreement, entered the building with a megaphone, and entered the room where the meeting was taking place.
According to Badash, the action went beyond legal protest, disrupted order, and effectively disrupted the meeting. The police were called by a municipal security officer.
In the video, the police officer asks Aaron if she is ready to leave the building or go to the station. She refuses to leave the premises and asks if he intends to remove her by force.
After the arrest warning, Aaron raises her voice and states that the officer has no right to touch her. Then the police officer twists her arm behind her back. The head of Yeruham falls to the floor and demands to be released.
The published recording shows the most emotional moment of the confrontation but does not provide a complete picture of what happened before the filming began. Therefore, from this fragment alone, it is impossible to determine whether the action was indeed agreed upon, whether Aaron entered the meeting room, and what demands the police made of her before using force.
What the Israel Police stated
The police reported that officers arrived at the building after a call to line 100 due to a public order violation.
According to the official version, Nili Aaron was explained that she could continue the protest outside the building but must leave the municipal premises. After refusing to comply with the requirement, she was warned that further resistance would lead to the use of powers provided by law.
The police claim that Aaron resisted being removed from the building, so officers used force and removed her. Subsequently, she allegedly apologized, and the head of Omer refused to file a complaint. After this, the police investigation on the spot was terminated.
Erez Badash confirmed that he intervened to prevent the arrest of the neighboring municipality’s head. According to him, he left the meeting and withdrew the complaint, although he continues to consider Aaron’s actions a violation of order.
Thus, Nili Aaron was not officially arrested. However, the moment when the police officer twisted her arm behind her back and took out handcuffs became the central episode of the widespread video.
Why Nili Aaron was taken to the hospital
After the conflict, the head of Yeruham was taken by ambulance to Soroka Hospital.
The Yeruham council reported that Aaron had previously undergone two heart catheterization procedures. After the confrontation, she allegedly had unusual medical indicators, so doctors kept her for examination and observation. This information was published by municipal representatives and was not accompanied by a separate medical report.
The council linked her condition’s deterioration to the use of physical force. The police, in turn, did not acknowledge the officers’ actions as excessive and stated that they were responding to the refusal to comply with repeated demands to leave the building.
NAnews Israel News Nikk.Agency emphasizes: at the moment, the results of an independent investigation that could determine whether the use of force was necessary and proportional have not been publicly presented.
What the KKL leadership responds
KKL chairman Eyal Ostrinsky rejected the claim that he refuses to talk to the head of Yeruham. According to him, Aaron was repeatedly offered to hold a meeting, but she herself canceled the last one at the last moment.
Ostrinsky claims that after letters from lawyers and appeals to the Israel Land Authority, the dispute moved into the legal realm. He also stated that Aaron posed the question ultimatum and warned of her intention to go to court if the problem was not resolved within two weeks.
The KKL chairman sharply criticized the way the action was conducted. He stated that public pressure, shouting, and interference in a working meeting would not make him bypass professional procedures.
Aaron, for her part, claims that Yeruham is being treated unfairly. Ostrinsky rejects this, pointing out that the fund cooperates with municipalities of different political directions, including Sderot, Dimona, Kiryat Shmona, and the Merhavim Regional Council.
The main issue is not only the police officer’s actions
The viral video turned a complex financial dispute into an emotional story of a confrontation between a woman and a police officer.
Some viewers saw in the footage unjustifiably harsh treatment of an elected municipal head who came to defend the residents’ interests. Others believe that the position does not exempt Aaron from the obligation to comply with police requirements and maintain order in another local council’s building.
However, behind the few seconds of confrontation remain questions that have long-term significance for Yeruham residents.
Did KKL really stop funding the park’s operation? Why have approximately 40 million shekels not been used for more than four years? What are the fund’s documented obligations to the city? Were negotiations held, and who is responsible for their failure?
It is also necessary to establish whether Aaron’s action was agreed upon with Omer’s leadership. The Yeruham council claims that permission was obtained. Erez Badash states that she appeared without warning and entered the meeting room with a megaphone.
NAnews Israel News Nikk.Agency believes that the answers should be provided not by conflict participants on social media but by an official and transparent investigation. It should separately consider the police’s actions, the behavior of the head of Yeruham, and KKL’s financial obligations.
Until this happens, public attention will be focused on the most vivid moment of the video: the police officer twists Nili Aaron’s arm behind her back, she falls to the floor, and screams: “You won’t touch me.”
But the initial cause of the scandal remains not the handcuffs and not the screams. The cause was the money intended for the development of the Yeruham Lake Park and the long-standing inability of state and municipal structures to agree on the future of one of the important objects of the Israeli Negev.