Several thousand ultra-Orthodox Jews have blocked an intersection in central Jerusalem to protest against efforts to force them to enlist in the Israeli military like their secular compatriots.
There were simultaneous disturbances in other parts of the city on Thursday, including the ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood, where protesters blocked streets and set fire to rubbish bins, using them as flaming barricades.
“Police units mobilised in different areas of Jerusalem to respond to illegal demonstrations by right-wing ultra-religious demonstrators,” police said.
They later said they had arrested 120 demonstrators who were “involved in disturbances and blocked roads and major junctions”.
A series of such protests in recent weeks has been spurred by occasional arrests of ultra-Orthodox young men accused of dodging military service.
On Thursday, several thousand men and boys wearing traditional black suits and hats took to the streets of Jerusalem and blocked a key intersection.
Read the article in the Weekend Australian (AFP).