JERUSALEM: Thousands of Jewish ultra-Orthodox men clashed with Israeli police in central Jerusalem on Sunday during a protest against a Supreme Court order for them to begin enlisting for military service.
The landmark decision last week ordering the government to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel wages war in Gaza.
Tens of thousands of men rallied in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood to protest the order. But after nightfall, the crowd made its way toward central Jerusalem and turned violent.
Israeli police said protesters threw rocks and attacked the car of an ultra-Orthodox Cabinet minister, pelting it with stones. Water cannons filled with skunk-scented water and police mounted on horses were used to disperse the crowd. But the demonstration was still not under control late Sunday.
Military service is compulsory for most Jewish men and women in Israel. But politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won exemptions for their followers to skip military service and instead study in religious seminaries.
The long-standing arrangement has bred resentment among the broader public, a sentiment that has grown stronger during the eight-month war against Hamas. Over 600 soldiers have been killed in fighting, and tens of thousands of reservists have been activated, upending careers, businesses and lives.
Ultra-Orthodox parties and their followers say forcing their men to serve in the army will destroy their generations-old way of life. Earlier Sunday, thousands of men crowded a square and joined in mass prayers. Many held signs criticizing the government, with one saying “not even one male” should be drafted.
The ultra-Orthodox parties are key members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition and could potentially force new elections if they decide to leave the government in protest.
Party leaders have not said whether they will leave the government. Doing so could be risky, with Netanyahu’s coalition’s popularity lagging since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war.
Ultra-Orthodox protest against order to enlist in Israeli military turns violent in Jerusalem
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Ultra-Orthodox protest against order to enlist in Israeli military turns violent in Jerusalem
- Tens of thousands of men rallied in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood to protest the order
- Israeli police said protesters threw rocks and attacked the car of an ultra-Orthodox Cabinet minister, pelting it with stones
Palestinians evacuate homes in Silwan following collapse blamed on Israeli excavations
- Ground under 3 adjacent houses caves in resulting in severe structural cracks and the collapse of a room in one of the properties
- Israel has been carrying out excavations beneath Silwan since 2007 to create an underground tourist attraction called ‘City of David’
LONDON: Palestinian residents were forced to evacuate three homes in Silwan, a neighborhood in the south of occupied East Jerusalem, on Monday after the ground beneath them caved in, reportedly as a result of decades of Israeli excavations in the area.
The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate said a retaining wall collapsed on Sunday and the ground beneath three adjacent homes belonging to the Abu Sbeih family gave way. This resulted in severe structural cracks and the collapse of a room in one of the houses.
Residents said they had repeatedly notified the Israeli Jerusalem Municipality about urgent safety concerns, but no preventive measures were taken to prevent a collapse, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.
Fawaz Abu Sbeih said cracks in the walls of his house were the result of Israeli excavations in the ground beneath and around the property. Since 2007, the Israel Antiquities Authority and settler group the Elad Association, also known as the Ir David Foundation, has been excavating under Silwan to create an underground tourist attraction called the “City of David.”
A recent storm and heavy rains in Jerusalem accelerated the collapse, said Abu Sbeih, who added that Israeli authorities require residents to obtain permits before maintenance work to reinforce building foundations can be carried out.
The excavations in Silwan have affected many residents, some of whom face eviction orders from Israeli authorities for building without permits.
Jerusalem Governorate described ground collapses in Silwan as part of Israel’s “systematic policy of forced displacement based on dangerous colonial excavations and the deliberate neglect of their impact on the homes of Jerusalemites, while simultaneously preventing Jerusalemite families from repairing or reinforcing their homes.”
