Dozens of demonstrators blocked the Geha Interchange (eastern Tel Aviv area) this morning, according to Israeli media reports. The protest caused traffic disruptions on a major artery.
Around 08:25 Wednesday morning, dozens of Haredi demonstrators blocked Highway 4 at the Geha Interchange east of Tel Aviv, prompting police to declare the gathering illegal and divert traffic. The protest disrupted the morning rush hour on a major artery; officers were on scene attempting arrests, and the highway was closed in both directions between Em HaMoshavot and Aluf Sadeh.
The interruption is the latest in a thread The Zioneer has tracked since 08:25 Wednesday. The first report identified hundreds of protesters from the hardline Jerusalem faction blocking the highway in protest against the arrest of draft evaders, with police on scene. Within the same minute, further reports detailed clashes and police efforts to make arrests, followed by a police officer's formal declaration that the gathering was illegal, authorizing forcible dispersal. A police statement then confirmed the closure in both directions and diversion to alternative routes. The current update adds that the specific junction is the Geha Interchange.
The protest is part of a recurring pattern of demonstrations by the extreme Haredi Jerusalem faction against military conscription, as The Zioneer has reported in previous coverage of draft-evasion arrests. The declaration of illegality allows police to take enforcement action including arrests and dispersal.
As of 08:58 Jerusalem, the full duration of the closure, the number of arrests made, and the precise demands of the demonstrators beyond opposition to draft enforcement remain unconfirmed by police. The highway's status—whether still blocked or reopened—has not yet been updated.
8 developments
- StrongVideo captures suspected deliberate hit-and-run at Geha Interchange
- StrongPolice and Military Police arrest three more suspects in Hawara violence — six in custody
- DevelopingPolice detain 5 at Rabbi Friedman-aligned Haredi protest; witnesses say harsher than other protests
- StrongMDA corrects: pedestrian injured at Geha protest is 93, condition moderate
Source and signal
- Internal intake