Five Israeli police officers were wounded on Sunday in clashes with ultra-Orthodox protesters who were protesting restrictions on coronavirus in cities across the country.
The police reported the five wounded policemen and at least four arrests, while large crowds of ultra-Orthodox protesters confronted police in several cities in Israel, The Associated Press reported.
Israeli police have been hesitant mainly to crack down on people in the ultra-Orthodox community for noncompliance with the requirements of COVID-19, including the reopening of schools, prayers in synagogues and holding large weddings and funerals.
But on Sunday, the police came across a crowd of protesters speaking out against the restrictions.
In Bnei Brak, young men defied the police and threatened journalists, prompting a police officer to fire his pistol into the air to stop the crowd, according to the AP. Two days earlier, ultra-Orthodox protesters had attacked a police vehicle in the city.
The police used tear gas and rotten-smelling water to disperse hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters who were outside a reopened school and calling the police “Nazis”. Dozens of protesters also faced the police in Ashdod, outside an ultra-Orthodox school.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin (Bibi) NetanyahuMORE condemned disobedience to coronavirus restrictions, saying that a small minority of people were behaving in an “unacceptable” manner.
“I hope that all citizens of Israel respect the security guidelines,” he said, according to the AP. “This includes all sectors, including the ultra-Orthodox.”
Israel has one of the highest infection rates of any country in the world, with an average of more than 8,000 confirmed cases per day. Health experts attributed the recent spread of the virus to the ultra-Orthodox community’s lack of adherence.
Israel recorded almost 600,000 cases of COVID-19 and almost 4,400 fatalities, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
COVID-19 disproportionately affected the ultra-Orthodox community, which represents more than a third of Israel’s cases, with just over 10% of the population.
The increase in cases could jeopardize the success of Israel’s vaccination effort after the country vaccinated more than a quarter of its 9.2 million population, according to the AP.
The protests also occurred at the time when Netanyahu announced that the country would close its international airport for almost all flights, starting on Tuesday until January 31. Exceptions will be made for a small number of humanitarian cases and cargo flights.