Four policemen were lightly injured as hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews rioted outside the IDF draft office in Jerusalem on Sunday night.

Cops used stun grenades and water cannons to disperse the protesters, after normal crowd control methods failed.

The protesters were demonstrating over rumors of the arrest of a young woman from the Har Nof neighborhood for draft-dodging, the ultra-Orthodox news site Behadrei Haredim reported.

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The riot began with a few dozen men who began throwing projectiles at cars. Horse-mounted police tried to control the crowd, which quickly grew to several hundred. Several of the rioters were reportedly injured during the demonstration.

Police units in Jerusalem dispersed an ultra religious illegal demonstration with stun grenades after 4 police officers were injured lightly — Micky Rosenfeld (@MickyRosenfeld) April 15, 2018

Police spokesman Micky Ronsenfeld said, “Police units in Jerusalem dispersed an ultra religious illegal demonstration with stun grenades after 4 police officers were injured lightly.”

בפעם הראשונה מזה שנים: המשטרה משתמשת ברימוני הלם כדי לפזר חרדים קיצוניים שמפגינים שמונה שעות כבר ליד לשכת הגיוס pic.twitter.com/1OJlDbsfCh — Yossi Eli (@Yossi_eli) April 15, 2018

Behadrei Haredim said that in the past, protests have begun over false rumors of arrests. In this case, the site reported, a young woman was arrested, but the site said it was shown photos of the woman posted on Facebook two months ago, which appear to show that she does not outwardly adhere to a religious lifestyle. </s> Israeli police launched stun grenades at hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem, who were protesting against plans to arrest a female draft-dodger.Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that law-enforcement units dispersed rioters 'with stun grenades' after four policemen sustained minor injuries in clashes.The protests were triggered by the decision to arrest an ultra-Orthodox girl for not presenting herself to deal with her draft notice. The decision triggered public outrage and hundreds took to the streets to riot outside the IDF draft office in Jerusalem on Sunday night.One of the strongest military powers in the Middle East, Israel requires both men and women to serve in the military upon reaching the age of 18. While men are supposed to serve for two years and eight months, women are expected to serve for two years. That law, however, does not apply to ultra-Orthodox Jews. As members of a radical fringe of the religious population, ultra-Orthodox men can be excused from military service on condition that they are engaged in religious study. Young men must report to the army to receive a deferral of service, which Jerusalem faction leaders have defied and some seminary students have refused to do also.The issue of the ultra-Orthodox exemption from military service was brought up again in March and resulted in a clash of opinions which almost brought down the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The government compromised by offering controversial legislation that allows ultra-Orthodox Jews to be largely exempt from enlisting in the IDF.Known for strictly observing the rules of Judaism in all aspects of daily and spiritual life, the ultra-Orthodox vowed to "fearlessly defend the walls of true Judaism" and continue serving their society through prayer.The reason for the girl's arrest was her 'not religious' appearance which does not conform with the strict ultra-Orthodox rules, ultra-Orthodox newspaper, Behadrei Haredim, reported . Judging by her Facebook photos, in which she wore 'revealing clothing,' she did not appear to show that she outwardly adhered to a religious lifestyle and was therefore suspected of draft-dodging, the paper said. </s> JERUSALEM (JTA) — Four police officers were injured during clashes with haredi Orthodox demonstrators protesting in Jerusalem against mandatory conscription.

The police used riot control measures, including stun grenades and water cannons, to break up the violent demonstration on Sunday night.

The demonstration took place in front of the Israel Defense Forces recruitment center in Jerusalem. Demonstrators reportedly also threw objects at police officers and passing cars.

The riot reportedly was sparked by attempts by the military police to arrest a woman, who was at the IDF recruitment office, for refusing to enlist.

Several demonstrators also were reported injured. </s> Israeli police used stun grenades Sunday to try to calm a violent protest by ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem, the latest angry demonstration against the military draft.

A police statement said four officers were slightly injured in scuffles as law enforcement tried to disperse "several hundred ultra-Orthodox extremists" outside an army enlistment office in the holy city.

"Police used stun grenades and water cannon against rioters," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.

Israeli law requires men to serve two years and eight months in the military on reaching the age of 18, while women must serve for two years.

Ultra-Orthodox men are excused from military service if they are engaged in religious study, but must still report to the army to receive their exemption.

Some seminary students have refused even to do that.

There have been protests since the beginning of March, after the arrest of a young ultra-Orthodox man who failed to show up to request an exemption after receiving a call-up notice.

Last month the issue sparked a crisis in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's factious coalition government, with ultra-Orthodox parties threatening to torpedo a crucial budget vote.

The crisis was revolved for with a compromise in which the ultra-Orthodox supported the budget, while Netanyahu promised to give coalition MPs freedom on how to vote on a future bill on draft exemptions.

Hardline ultra-Orthodox youngsters, however, continue to block roads and scuffle with police in Jerusalem and elsewhere, in protests against military service. </s> The Israel Police and hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters clashed late Sunday evening outside the IDF recruitment office in the Makor Baruch neighborhood in Jerusalem. Police used stun grenades and water cannon to disperse the protesters.



It said in a statement that four police officers suffered light injuries and were treated at the scene. Ichud Hatzolah said that eight protesters were injured as well, and were treated by their EMTs.





Some of the injured were taken to hospitals nearby.Police did not say if any of the protesters were arrested.Demonstrators are protesting against the Military Police intention to arrest an ultra-Orthodox teen girl that is held in the recruitment office. </s> Israeli police fired sound grenades to disperse Palestinians during confrontations on Sunday outside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque where tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers gathered for the Eid al-Adha holiday, witnesses said.

A Palestinian ambulance service said that at least 14 Palestinians were taken to hospitals for treatment. Israel's Kan public radio said four police officers were injured.

Facing off with police in the packed compound outside Islam's third-holiest site, Palestinians chanted "With our soul and blood we will redeem you, Aqsa".

Scuffles ensued and the crowd fled as the sound grenades exploded and smoke wafted through the compound, witnesses said.

In a statement, police said they had deployed forces at the site in anticipation of disturbances and "dispersed rioters".

Revered by Jews as Temple Mount, the site of two biblical Jewish temples, and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, the area is one of the most sensitive sites in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Tensions had mounted at the start of Eid al-Adha as the holiday overlapped this year with Tisha B'Av, a Jewish fast day marking the destruction of the two temples.

In a bid to avoid friction at the site, police barred the entry of non-Muslim visitors, including Jews who intended to make a Tisha B'Av pilgrimage, before the clashes erupted.

The compound is situated in a part of Jerusalem captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that has not won international recognition. </s> The Israeli teenagers were on a group hike in the Tzafit Valley near the southern Dead Sea when severe storms hit the area, causing flash floods. The youths were students at the Bnei Zion pre-military academy in central Israel.

Eight girls and one boy were among the dead, according to Magen David Adom of the Israeli emergency response service. Another girl is missing.

More than a dozen other members of the group were rescued as the Israeli military and emergency responders launched massive efforts to find them in southern Israel.

"I am sending all my strength to the security and rescue forces that are currently working to save lives and locate those missing in the severe disaster that occurred today in the Tzafit Valley," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni , who was set to speak to the students Sunday at the academy, said, "An entire nation is crying today. An unimaginable and unbearable disaster. Today, I hug the families and the other heartbroken cadets." Israeli rescue services search for the teens Thursday after flash floods swept through the area. In the West Bank, Palestinian police and emergency services launched rescue efforts. Fifteen people were rescued in the village of Ubeidiya east of Bethlehem, Palestinian police spokesman Loai Zreqat said. Two other teenagers died in separate flash flooding incidents Wednesday when storms pounded the area, even bringing hail. A Bedouin teenager in southern Israel was swept into a stream in the Negev desert. He was pronounced dead after he was found, according to emergency responders. In the southern West Bank, a young Palestinian girl died when she was swept away by flooding near Hebron, police said. The weather caused accidents, road closures and traffic jams across the region, with low-lying roads submerged under a few feet of water. An Israeli military helicopter takes part in the search mission Thursday in southern Israel. The flash floods came with such force that they broke through Israel's separation barrier -- a 10-foot wall of solid concrete -- in two places. Pictures from Anata, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, showed what appeared to be about 10 concrete slabs that had been washed away. The water broke through in the Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem as well. Security fence in the shuafat area collapsed as a result of flash floods in the Jerusalem area. Border police police are at the scene. pic.twitter.com/BCG4sBDZVk — Micky Rosenfeld (@MickyRosenfeld) April 26, 2018 Such severe storms in late April is surprising, with the region usually prepping for the beginning of an arid summer. Powerful thunderstorms are not unheard of at this time, but they haven't occurred in a number of years. Israeli soldiers and emergency services cover their faces Thursday from the dust from a helicopter. Raging waters filled streets and flooded stores and homes in videos and photos posted on social media, while videos from the desert showed the parched landscape suddenly inundated with torrential waters. </s> According to the Israel Police, over one hundred people have been arrested across the country in connection with the wave of protests sparked by the shooting of a young Israeli-Ethiopian man by an off-duty police officer on Sunday.

The protests dissolved into violent riots Tuesday night, following the funeral earlier in the day of 19-year-old Solomon Tekah. Police reported 136 arrests and 111 officers wounded across the country.

According to police, though an effort was made to act with restraint in the early hours of Tuesday’s demonstrations, when things became violent they were forced to act. Those arrested are being held for assaulting police officers, vandalism and disturbing public order, said police.

Tekah was shot in Haifa’s Kiryat Haim neighborhood on Sunday when an off-duty police officer attempted to break up a street fight among some youths at a playground he was visiting with his wife and children.

According to police, the officer claims that after he identified himself to the youths they began throwing stones at him. The officer, believing he and his family were in danger, fired his weapon at the ground. The officer claims the bullet ricocheted and struck Tekah in the chest. The officer’s version of events has reportedly been refuted by an eyewitness to the shooting.

The officer was arrested on suspicion of unlawful killing, but later released to house arrest by the Haifa Magistrate’s Court. He was placed under police protection due to fears for his safety, and a gag order was placed on the publication of his name for the same reason.

Demonstrators continued to block major roads overnight Tuesday. Images of cars being torched and roads strewn with debris have been circulating on social media.

Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan expressed his remorse for “the great sorrow and suffering” of the Ethiopian community in the wake of the killing, but said Wednesday morning that “today, if we see such a level of violence, police will have no choice but to use all means to disperse demonstrations.”

Activist leaders have called for protesters to gather on Wednesday afternoon at major intersections throughout to country. </s> An Israeli soldier, a member of an aid delegation, prepares to board a flight to Nepal at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv, Israel April 26, 2015. — Reuters picTEL AVIV, Sept 13 — The Israeli Supreme Court yesterday struck down military draft exemptions for Jewish seminary students, enraging the small but powerful ultra-Orthodox community.

Court documents seen by AFP showed a panel of nine justices agreed that a 2015 amendment to the law on military service treated the students more generously than their secular compatriots.

“All the justices ruled that the new draft arrangement violates equality,” the decision read.

It said an eight-to-one majority went a step further, ruling that it must be struck from the law books.

Most Jewish Israelis are obliged to enlist, usually at the age of 18, with men serving for two years and eight months and women for two years.

Many continue to be called up for periodic periods of reserve duty into their 40s.

“The majority justices ruled that the annulment of the arrangement would take effect only a year from the date of the ruling, in order to enable the arrangement to be implemented,” an official summary of the judgement said.

The year of grace gave the military and other authorities time to organise for an enlarged draft.

It also gave politicians a chance to find an alternative formula which would be acceptable both to the court and the ultra-Orthodox political parties, whose support is vital for the government’s slender parliamentary majority.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders raged against yesterday’s decision but did not threaten the stability of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, currently halfway through its four-year term.

“It’s a miserable ruling,” lawmaker Menachem Eliezer Moses, of the United Torah Judaism party, told state-owned Channel One TV.

“We are certainly not going to dismantle the government,” he added. “There are still two years to elections. We shall change the law.”

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, took a similar line.

“The Supreme Court is totally cut off from our (Jewish) heritage and tradition,” he said on Twitter.

“We will act with all our might to amend the law to allow the continuation of the existing arrangement.”

Ultra-Orthodox Jews represent about 10 per cent of the Israeli population and live by a strict interpretation of Jewish laws.

There have been large and heated ultra-Orthodox protests against the draft, which many of them view as a source of temptation for young people taken out of the cloistered world of prayer and religious study.

In March thousands took to the streets and dozens have been arrested on public disorder offences in the past few months. — AFP
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews riot outside the Israel Defense Forces draft office in Jerusalem after rumours emerge of a female draft dodger being arrested in Har Nof. Police open fire with water cannons and stun grenades.