Despite advance notice: Police did not prepare for Haredi protests

The police knew about the expected Haredi protests against the arrest of deserters since yesterday, but did not prepare accordingly. Highway 4 was blocked in both directions, the Jerusalem light rail was shut down, and violent clashes broke out. Only after the chaos began, a statement was issued in the name of Police Commissioner Danny Levy instructing to prepare with determination.

The police knew about the expected Haredi protests against the arrest of deserters since yesterday (Wednesday), but did not prepare accordingly. Highway 4 near Bnei Brak was blocked to traffic in both directions, violent clashes broke out between police and protesters, and the Jerusalem light rail was shut down. Only after the chaos began, the police issued a statement in the name of the Commissioner, Chief Superintendent Danny Levy, instructing commanders to "prepare accordingly and act with determination to prevent disturbances of order." In Jerusalem, a driver was recorded accelerating toward a group of protesters and hitting a young Haredi man who was lightly injured, and later a truck was also recorded accelerating toward the demonstrators. The police threatened that any protest that turns into a disturbance of order would be dispersed, and that they would act with "zero tolerance." The article criticizes the police's lack of advance preparation and presents the late statement by the Commissioner as an attempt to regain control over a loss of control that could have been prevented.