Police Arrest Two Suspects Over Weapons Threats During Ultra-Orthodox Protest

Police said Thursday morning that two suspects were arrested on suspicion of threatening demonstrators with a weapon during an ultra-Orthodox protest in the Jerusalem area over draft evasion. One of those arrested is a driver seen in footage from Wednesday on Route 1, apparently drawing a handgun toward protesters during heavy traffic.

The arrests followed videos circulated on social media that raised suspicions of weapons threats against demonstrators in separate incidents. Both men were taken overnight for questioning, and police confiscated a weapon belonging to one of them. According to police, the second suspect does not have a gun license and is still being investigated.

Protest organizers said on Wednesday that a civilian had pointed a gun at demonstrators on Route 1, but the suspect could only be located after the video was published. The protest escalated into violent clashes in several parts of the country, including Arad, where residents tried to block vehicles carrying ultra-Orthodox participants who planned to join the convoys.

On Route 1, traffic stopped for about 50 minutes after the convoy of more than 100 vehicles left, despite police approval for a slow-moving drive. Near Kiryat Ono, an ultra-Orthodox man was filmed apparently striking passengers on a bus with what looked like a rubber strap after the bus was forced to stop because of the protest. At Sha'ar HaGai, a pregnant woman was moderately injured in a chain-reaction crash. The demonstration was organized by the Gur Hasidic dynasty, the largest Hasidic court in Israel and the most powerful force in Agudat Yisrael, whose organizers told participants to drive at a constant speed of about 50 km/h and keep double the usual following distance to avoid sudden braking and pileups.