Israeli police advised drivers of expected congestion on Highways 1, 2, 4, and 6 on Wednesday afternoon, as a planned protest is set to take place. Authorities urged motorists to plan ahead and use alternate routes.
Israeli police have added Highway 6 to the list of expected traffic congestion zones in a fresh advisory on Wednesday afternoon, widening an earlier warning that had named Highways 1, 2, and 4. The updated alert comes roughly five minutes after an initial police warning (15:10 Jerusalem) that focused on a planned Haredi protest against the arrest of draft evaders. The specific nature of the protest in the current notice was not detailed, but it aligns with a series of coordinated actions reported throughout the day.
As The Zioneer has reported since Tuesday evening, Haredi protest organizers have been planning a mass vehicle convoy from 19 cities starting at 16:00 Wednesday toward Military Prison 10 at Beit Lid. The thread shows the scale and tactics escalating sequentially: an initial Telegram call for thousands of cars to block roads (version 2, Tue 21:32 Jerusalem) was followed by activist warnings of major disruption (v4, Tue 21:32), identification of the Gur Hasidic sect as an organizer (v5, Tue 21:32), and reports of 2,000 registered vehicles traveling at 50 km/h (v7, Tue 21:32). The planned action was initially reported on three highways (v11, Tue 21:32), with Highway 6 now added.
Protests against the military draft for Haredi yeshiva students have been ongoing for weeks. Route 57 was blocked by protesters at the Beit Lid and Kfar Yona junctions earlier this month (The Zioneer, Wed Jun 17, 16:51 Jerusalem), and police have forcibly cleared road blockades in past demonstrations (The Zioneer, Mon Jun 8, 20:53 Jerusalem). The current wave of convoy-based protests differs from earlier physical blockades of yeshiva students, as noted by commentator Shalom Yerushalmi (v3, Tue 21:32 Jerusalem).
It remains unclear whether the protest mentioned in the latest police advisory is the same as the planned Haredi convoy or a separate action, as the notice did not specify the protest's nature. The actual size of the convoy and the precise timing and duration of the traffic disruptions on Highway 6 and other routes are not yet independently confirmed.
16 developments
- StrongHaredi protest organizers say they will block roads if convoys are disrupted
- DevelopingPolice declare Haredi protest illegal, move to disperse rioters
- DevelopingHaredi protesters disperse after rabbis order: following run-over incident
- StrongHaredi protesters begin dispersing after rabbinical order
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