Central roads across Israel were blocked Thursday afternoon as ultra-Orthodox protesters staged demonstrations against the arrest of draft dodgers, leading to nationwide transport chaos.
Major highways, including Highways 1, 4, and 6, were shut down, trains were halted, and Ben Gurion Airport faced severe disruption, leaving soldiers unable to return home and passengers stranded.
Ben Gurion Airport chaos
Haredi protest
(Video: Shilo Fried)
Videos showed extreme incidents during the protests, including a driver attacked with a metal rod and two people injured by vehicle incidents. The protests, organized by Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox factions, followed the arrest and military transfer of several suspects involved in previous disturbances.
Police reported that protesters walked along the sides of Highway 4 up to Ganot Interchange and blocked it themselves, leading to rail suspensions in affected areas. Officers at Gemzo Junction instructed a bus carrying ultra-Orthodox demonstrators to stop, but the passengers eventually joined the blockade.
In another incident, a driver exiting Highway 6 confronted protesters with a metal rod and was attacked. About an hour after the disruptions began, dozens of protesters blocked intersections near Netivot at Highways 34 and 25. A 93-year-old man was moderately injured when a car breached a crowd at Geha Junction; he received medical treatment and was taken to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.
Israel Railways emphasized that “the blockade at Ganot Interchange affects all trains across the country — it is a central route. From Beersheba, Ben Gurion, Modiin, and Jerusalem, passengers cannot reach Tel Aviv or points north. Soldiers returning from Beersheba are unable to travel.”
Footage from Ben Gurion Airport showed passengers struggling to leave as hundreds searched for alternative routes. Police assured that “the event is fully under control. Citizens have the right to protest, and once we decide to reopen the roads, we will do so. The goal is not to cause suffering or harm to protesters; this is a legitimate right.”
Traffic congestion is expected to continue throughout the evening, compounded by three major concerts in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area: Omer Adam at Ramat Gan Stadium, Ben Zohar at “Shlomo Bituch” Stadium in Petah Tikva, and Eyal Golan at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv.