More than 100 arrested as Georgian police clash with protesters over suspension of EU talks

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — More than 100 demonstrators were arrested overnight in Georgia as protesters clashed with police following the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union, the country’s Interior Ministry said Saturday.

It was the second straight night of protests after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the country’s ruling Georgian Dream party announced the decision the previous day. Demonstrators faced off against police late Friday in a number of major Georgian cities, including the capital, Tbilisi, and the Black Sea port of Batumi.

The Associated Press saw protesters in Tbilisi being chased and beaten by police as demonstrators rallied in front of the country's parliament building.

Riot police used water cannons to push protesters away from the building and later moved to force them farther back along Rustaveli Avenue, the city’s main boulevard.

Police also used heavy force against members of the media and used loudspeakers to shout profanities and insults at the crowds.

Georgian Dream’s disputed victory in the country’s Oct. 26 parliamentary election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s aspirations to join the European Union, has sparked massive demonstrations and led to an opposition boycott of the parliament.

The opposition has said that the vote was rigged with the help of Russia, Georgia’s former imperial master, with Moscow hoping to keep Tbilisi in its orbit.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili joined protesters on Thursday after accusing the government of declaring war on its own people. In an address to the nation Friday, she urged police not to use force against protesters.

“This is evident in every way — no one is willing to accept a Russified Georgia, a Georgia deprived of its constitution, or a Georgia in the hands of an illegitimate government and parliament,” Zourabichvili said.

“That is why so many of you are out here today: I see you. I see you on Rustaveli Avenue and in cities across Georgia: Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Akhmeta, Lagodekhi, Telavi. It is unprecedented for citizens of Georgia to rise up simultaneously and spontaneously in this way.”

Kobakhidze, the prime minister, characterized the protests Saturday as “violent demonstrations.” He said that unspecified “foreign entities” wished to see the “Ukrainization” of Georgia with a “Maidan-style scenario” – a reference to Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan revolution.

Kobakhidze also said that Georgia remained committed to European integration.

“Once again, we pledge to the Georgian public, which expressed solid trust in us during the Oct. 26 elections, that no one will shake the peace and stability of Georgia,” he said. “Despite artificial barriers, Georgia will persistently continue its progress toward European integration.”

The government’s announcement that it was suspending negotiations to join the EU came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution that condemned last month’s vote as neither free nor fair. It said the election represented another manifestation of Georgia’s continued democratic backsliding “for which the ruling Georgian Dream party is fully responsible.”

European election observers said October’s vote took place in a divisive atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it meet the bloc’s recommendations, but put its accession on hold and cut financial support earlier this year after the passage of a “foreign influence” law widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms.

EU lawmakers urged a rerun of the parliamentary vote within a year under thorough international supervision and by an independent election administration. They also called on the EU to impose sanctions and limit formal contacts with the Georgian government.

The Georgian prime minister fired back, denouncing what he described as a “cascade of insults” from the EU politicians and declaring that “the ill-wishers of our country have turned the European Parliament into a blunt weapon of blackmail against Georgia, which is a great disgrace for the European Union.”

Kobakhidze also said Georgia would reject any budgetary grants from the EU until the end of 2028.

Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

A protester waves an European Union flag during a rally outside the parliament to protest the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Police use a water cannon on protesters during a rally outside the parliament to protest the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Demonstrators use firecrackers against police as police block a street to prevent protesters rallying against the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years, outside the parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Police use a water cannon to prevent protesters rallying against the governments' decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years, outside the parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Demonstrators use firecrackers against police as police block a street to prevent protesters rallying against the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years, outside the parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Demonstrators use firecrackers against police as police block a street to prevent protesters rallying against the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years, outside the parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Demonstrators use firecrackers against police as police block a street to prevent protesters rallying against the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years, outside the parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Demonstrators use firecrackers against police as police block a street to prevent protesters rallying against the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years, outside the parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

A demonstrator throws a firecracker toward police as police block a street to prevent protesters rallying against the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years, outside the parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

One of demonstrators holds a Georgian national flag in front of police who blocked a street to prevent protesters rallying against the governments' decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years, outside the parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Demonstrators use firecrackers against police as police block a street to prevent protesters rallying against the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years, outside the parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah weapons smuggling sites along Syria's border with Lebanon, the Israeli military said Saturday, testing a fragile, days-old ceasefire that halted months of fighting between the sides but has seen continued sporadic fire.

The military said it struck sites that had been used to smuggle weapons from Syria to Lebanon after the ceasefire took effect, which the military said was a violation of its terms. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities or activists monitoring the conflict in that country. Hezbollah also did not immediately comment.

The Israeli strike, the latest of several since the ceasefire began on Wednesday, came as unrest spread to other areas of the Middle East, with Syrian insurgents breaching the country's largest city, Aleppo, in a shock offensive that added fresh uncertainty to a region reeling from multiple wars.

The truce between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, brokered by the United States and France, calls for an initial two-month ceasefire in which the militants are to withdraw north of Lebanon's Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border.

The repeated bursts of violence — with no reports of serious casualties — reflected the uneasy nature of the ceasefire that otherwise appeared to hold. While Israel has accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire, Lebanon has also accused Israel of the same in the days since it took effect.

Many Lebanese, some of the 1.2 million displaced in the conflict, were streaming south to their homes, despite warnings by the Israeli and Lebanese militaries to stay away from certain areas.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone attacked a car in the southern village of Majdal Zoun. The agency said there had been casualties but gave no further details. Majdal Zoun, near the Mediterranean Sea, is close to where Israeli troops still have a presence.

The military said earlier Saturday that its forces, who remain in southern Lebanon until they withdraw gradually over the 60-day period, had been operating to distance “suspects” in the region, without elaborating, and said troops had located and seized weapons found hidden in a mosque.

Israel says it reserves the right under the ceasefire to strike against any perceived violations. Israel has made returning the tens of thousands of displaced Israelis home the goal of the war with Hezbollah but Israelis, concerned Hezbollah was not deterred and could still attack northern communities, have been apprehensive about returning home.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and its assault on southern Israel the day before. Israel and Hezbollah kept up a low-level conflict of cross-border fire for nearly a year, until Israel escalated its fight with a sophisticated attack that detonated hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah fighters. It followed that up with an intense aerial bombardment campaign against Hezbollah assets, killing many of its top leaders including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah, and it launched a ground invasion in early October.

More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.

Mroue reported from Beirut.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Teacher Ahmed Awada inspects his school that was damaged by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Displaced residents drive past destroyed buildings as they return to Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Displaced residents drive past destroyed buildings as they return to Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Displaced residents drive past destroyed buildings as they return to Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Hezbollah supporters cheer as they return to Dahiyeh, in Beirut, Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Displaced residents return to Dahiyeh, in Beirut, Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Displaced residents celebrate as they return to their villages following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Ablah, eastern Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)