Khaled Yousef
17 June 2026•Update: 17 June 2026
Israeli police on Wednesday forcibly dispersed ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters after they blocked a major traffic intersection in protest against the arrest of Haredi draft evaders, according to local media reports.
Thousands of Haredi demonstrators gathered outside Prison 10 near the Beit Lid–Kfar Yona junction on Highway 57, a key route linking the cities of Tulkarem in the West Bank and Netanya in central Israel and one of the country’s busiest intersections, Channel 12 reported.
The broadcaster aired footage showing thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews arriving outside the prison, where individuals accused of evading compulsory military service are being held.
The local 103 FM radio said Israeli police used force to disperse the protest after demonstrators blocked the major intersection.
Knesset member Michal Michaeli criticized the violent police response, describing it as “conduct unbecoming of the police.”
Israeli commentators and writers also circulated footage showing police officers assaulting ultra-Orthodox demonstrators protesting the detention of members of their community over refusal to perform military service.
On June 4, Israeli police said they detained 65 Haredi Jews after they attempted to storm the home of Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Solberg in the illegal settlement of Alon Shvut, southwest of Jerusalem, in protest against the conscription of religious seminary students.
The Haredi community has continued demonstrations against military service since an Israeli Supreme Court ruling on June 25, 2024, ordered their conscription and barred funding for religious institutions whose students refuse military service.
Senior rabbis, whose rulings are widely regarded as binding religious guidance within the Haredi community, have repeatedly called on followers to refuse military service and even to “tear up” draft notices.
Haredi make up about 13% of Israel’s population of 10 million. Many oppose military service on the grounds that they devote their lives to studying the Torah and argue that integration into secular society threatens their religious identity and way of life.
The dispute over military conscription comes as Israel continues to mobilize thousands of reservists while maintaining military operations and escalating tensions across multiple fronts, including Lebanon, Iran, the Gaza Strip, and the occupied West Bank.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul
