Israeli police declared a protest at the Jerusalem light rail illegal on Sunday evening and began evacuating demonstrators to restore public order, according to Channel 12 journalist Eli Hirshman.
Israeli police declared the Jerusalem light rail protest illegal on Sunday evening and began clearing demonstrators from the construction compound, according to Channel 12 journalist Eli Hirshman. The fresh evacuation order came after a protest that had escalated through the afternoon, with initial reports at 15:41 Jerusalem of protesters breaking fences at the Bar Ilan Street site. By 22:38 Jerusalem, police had moved to formally outlaw the gathering and physically remove those present.
The thread began at 15:41 Jerusalem on Sunday, when ynet first reported protesters trying to block light rail construction works at the same site, with police and Border Police already on scene. Minutes later, Hirshman shared documentation of radical ultra-Orthodox demonstrators breaking through fences on Bar Ilan Street; two subsequent versions from the same timestamp added further footage and refined the description of protesters breaking fences. At that point, the protest was ongoing but police had not yet declared it illegal or begun clearing the area. By Sunday evening, as the current update was filed, the police declaration and evacuation had commenced — marking an escalation in the authorities' response compared to the earlier standoff.
The protest is the latest in a recurring pattern of ultra-Orthodox demonstrations against the Jerusalem light rail project, as The Zioneer reported in multiple past bulletins. Background items from the desk show that on multiple prior occasions — including on Tue Jul 7, 23:52 Jerusalem, Thu Jul 2, 00:21 Jerusalem, and Wed Jun 17, 10:06 Jerusalem — police cleared Haredi protesters from the same Bar Ilan construction compound, sometimes using force. On Wed Jun 17, protesters claimed police used stun grenades and batons, though that account was not independently verified at the time. Previous protests at other locations, such as Highway 1 on Thu Jun 11, 18:22 Jerusalem, and Highway 4 on Wed Jun 24, 17:26 Jerusalem, also saw police declare gatherings illegal and forcibly disperse crowds.
As of this filing, no injuries or arrests have been reported in the current incident. It remains unclear whether police deployed physical force or made arrests during the evening clearing operation, as no official police statement or independent verification beyond Hirshman's initial report has yet emerged.
4 developments
- DevelopingPolice release new footage of ultra-Orthodox protesters at Jerusalem light rail site
- DevelopingPolice begin clearing Haredi protesters from Jerusalem light rail construction site
- DevelopingUltra-Orthodox protesters block Jerusalem light rail over arrests of suspects in judge's home disturbance
- DevelopingRadical ultra-Orthodox protest halts Jerusalem light rail in Shevet Israel area
Source and signal
- Internal intake