Hours of chaos, and only 1 arrested: clashes at the Haredi protest against the light rail in Jerusalem
Haredi protesters from the Jerusalem Faction caused damage to light rail infrastructure on Bar Ilan Street in Jerusalem, set fire to dumpsters, threw stones and injured police officers. Police arrested only one suspect after six hours of clashes. The protest, which began against the draft, turned into opposition to the light rail works.
Haredi protesters from the Jerusalem Faction caused heavy damage to light rail infrastructure on Bar Ilan Street in Jerusalem on Thursday evening. The clashes lasted more than six hours, during which the protesters set fire to dumpsters, threw stones and objects at police forces, and lightly injured police officers and security guards. The car of a police officer who passed the scene was attacked by the protesters, and she was rescued. Despite the scale of the violations, police arrested only one suspect. The protest began in the afternoon at several locations following the return of the draft dodgers' arrests, and included the blocking of Route 4 and the Strings Bridge. Later, the organized protest against the draft turned into a protest against the light rail works. The protesters chanted slogans such as "We will die and not be drafted" and called the police officers "Nazis." One of the protesters claimed that the protesters overcame the police in several evacuation attempts, saying "We are at 0:3." The protests are directed against the passage of the "Green Line" inside the Haredi neighborhoods. Construction of the line, which was supposed to be completed at the end of 2025, is now expected to be completed at the end of 2027. In July of this year it was reported that the damage from the riots reaches half a billion shekels.