Haredi anti-draft protest blocks highway near Tel Aviv, 8 hurt as police clear road
Haredi protesters blocked traffic Wednesday morning near Bnei Brak during an anti-draft demonstration that became violent, with police using stun grenades and batons to disperse participants.
Five protesters were arrested during the demonstration, which blocked traffic in both directions on Route 4 east of Tel Aviv as morning rush hour reached its peak.
Eight protesters were lightly injured during the demonstration, the Hatzalah paramedic service told the Haaretz news outlet.
Cops were filmed tearing the trousers of participants as they dragged them off the highway, throwing stun grenades at demonstrators and hitting them with batons, in scenes the sparked sharp condemnation from ultra-Orthodox politicians.
A row of police lined up in front of a group of protesters sitting on the tarmac, threw stun grenades at them, then rushed them, beating them with batons.
In another video, the commander of Bnei Brak’s police station, Ch. Supt. Yuval Shavit, was seen tearing the trousers of an ultra-Orthodox man as he dragged him off the highway.
In a statement, police said that a number of protesters crawled under vehicles in an attempt to prevent the road from being cleared after the protest against the arrest of draft dodgers had been declared an illegal demonstration.
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הפגנה בכביש 4: עימותים קשים בין המפגינים למשטרה pic.twitter.com/gzFBST7SFa
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One boy was seen walking with blood streaming down his face amid the chaotic demonstration, as officers shoved ultra-Orthodox men refusing to budge from their spots on the........
