Violent clashes erupted Tuesday evening between Israeli police and ultra-Orthodox Jews who took to the streets to vehemently oppose their mandatory military draft.
Scores of Haredi Jews swarmed Highway 4 at the Coca-Cola Junction near Bnei Brak, a city dominated by ultra-Orthodox residents within the Tel Aviv area, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
Protesters aggressively blocked the highway, engaged in confrontations with police, and sat on the road.
Israeli public broadcaster KAN released footage showing demonstrators obstructing the road and braving water cannons deployed by the police to break up the protest.
Starting Sunday
Early Tuesday, Israeli media disclosed that the army plans to initiate the conscription of Haredi men starting Sunday.
The Supreme Court’s decision enforces the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews and strips financial support from non-compliant religious schools.
"We rather die than enlist in the army"
Israeli occupation forces dismantle a protest by Haredi Jews in occupied Jerusalem who are demonstrating against the government's new regulations mandating military service for them as well.
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities are flooding… pic.twitter.com/UHV4JfPnTN
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 16, 2024
The army deems these drafts crucial to meet manpower demands, asserting that reliance solely on voluntary enlistment is insufficient.
Haredi Jews, constituting about 13% of Israel’s population of approximately 9.9 million, have long resisted military service, citing a profound commitment to Torah study, Judaism’s sacred text.
The legal requirement for all Israeli citizens over 18 to serve in the military, coupled with the controversial exemption for Haredi Jews, has sparked fierce debate for decades.
" We will die, but we will not fight !"
Ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews today protested against the conscription law and blocked highways in protest. pic.twitter.com/s4r3ZjPN2d
— S p r i n t e r (@SprinterFamily) July 16, 2024
Ongoing Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 38,713 Palestinians have been killed, and 89,166 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
‘320 Cases of Severe Burns in 48 Hours’ – Gaza Officials Condemn Israel’s Use of ‘Banned Weapons’
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(Palestine Chronicle Staff)
