As a protest blocking Highway 4 dragged into its second hour, drivers began attacking Haredi demonstrators, according to journalist Daniel Amram. The confrontations mark an escalation in the day's wave of protests against the arrest of draft evaders.
As the Haredi anti-draft protest on Highway 4 entered its second hour, drivers began physically attacking demonstrators, journalist Daniel Amram reported at 19:07. The attacks mark a sharp escalation in a day of confrontations that began with the arrest of draft evaders at a military prison.
The thread shows a rapid sequence of escalation. At 18:12 Jerusalem, initial reports said Haredi protesters blocked a road near Jerusalem and were nearly struck by a truck. Minutes later, at 18:12, Israeli media and journalist Avi Moskov documented ongoing violent confrontations on Highway 4 between drivers and protesters. At 18:22, a grenade was thrown toward protesters on the same highway, with no immediate reports of casualties, according to Moskov. By 18:34, a female driver who wielded a metal bar against protesters on Highway 6 was herself attacked, according to Yedioth Ahronoth footage, and police were attempting to forcibly clear blockades on that highway. The current report of drivers attacking protesters at 19:07 thus follows a pattern of escalating confrontations from multiple locations, with sources ranging from single reporter accounts to Israeli media and video evidence.
As The Zioneer reported throughout the evening, the protests originated from the arrest of Haredi draft evaders and spread to multiple cities, shutting down major arteries including Routes 4 and 1, the Ayalon Highway, and suspending rail service from Tel Aviv. The incidents include a truck driver attacked after striking demonstrators with an iron bar, as reported at 18:15.
What remains open: there are no official police statements confirming the attacks by drivers on protesters at 19:07, and the severity of injuries — if any — is not yet reported. The report relies on a single journalist's account.
4 developments
- DevelopingHaredi activists block Highway 4 in Ashdod, force police to release draft deserter
- StrongNew video shows female driver attacked after wielding weapon at protesters on Highway 6
- DevelopingHaredi protests spread to multiple cities after draft dodger arrests
- DevelopingGrenade thrown at protesters on Highway 4
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