16 arrested as Haredi sect protests again in capital
Radical sect within the Haredi community refuses to relent in wave of demonstrations against the arrest of draft dodgers as its members disrupt traffic in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak; policewoman lightly injured.
A female police officer was lightly injured during one of the demonstrations by a police cavalier and was treated by Magen David Adom paramedics at the scene.
The protesters, from the minority sect, selected the Bar Illan Junction in Jerusalem for their latest protest, where 6 arrests were made.
A separate demonstration was also staged at the entrance to the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak on Route 4, bringing traffic to a temporary standstill as 10 additional activists were handcuffed.
Police immediately set about dispersing the crowds in scenes of unrest which replicated a wave of protests staged by the group over the past few weeks.
On Sunday evening, the sect announced their intention to renew the demonstrations and block off roads at key junctions.
Furthermore, they recently announced intentions to intensify tactics to counter the arrest of yeshiva students who refuse to draft into the military, threatening to seriously disrupt movement to and from Ben Gurion Airport.
The extreme minority faction's methods are largely rejected by the mainstream Haredi community,
(Translated and edited by Alexander J. Apfel)
