Israel-Gaza war live: Palestinians flee as Israeli forces launch fresh strikes in northern Gaza
Israeli military issues evacuation order for Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighbourhood while Palestinian emergency service says attacks killed at least seven peopleSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageHundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men blocked a major highway in central Israel for two hours on Thursday to protest a recent supreme court decision ordering young religious men to enlist for military service, reports the Associated Press (AP).
According to the AP, protesters sat on the highway and lay on the ground as police lifted them up and dragged them away. Officers mounted on horseback charged into the crowd. Many demonstrators held signs and chanted “To prison! Not to the army!”
“We all came here for one goal, we reflect the position of all the Orthodox public,” said a young man, identifying himself to the AP only by his first name Ozer. “All the Orthodox public prefers to go to prison and not to the army.”The ultra-Orthodox see their full-time religious study as their part in protecting the state. Many fear that greater contact with secular society through the military will distance adherents from strict observance of the faith.
The supreme court this week ordered the government to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men, saying the system of exemptions is unequal. Military service is compulsory for most Jewish men and women in Israel.
The AP reports that the decision could lead to the collapse of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Ultra-Orthodox parties and their followers oppose any change in the system.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders have not yet said whether they will quit the government, but their followers have scheduled a large protest in Jerusalem on Sunday. Continue reading...
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