DISTURBING FOOTAGE
18-Year-Old Haredi Protester Struck by Vehicle as Anti-Autopsy Riots Paralyze Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh | WATCH
An 18-year-old was hit by a car and listed in moderate condition as Haredi anti-autopsy riots turned violent. Highway 4 is blocked, and Beit Shemesh (Rama Bet) is under lockdown. Read the full report.
Violent clashes erupted across Israel on Tuesday afternoon as ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) demonstrators took to the streets to protest the court-ordered autopsies of two toddlers who died in the Jerusalem daycare disaster. The protests, which blocked major arteries and shut down public transport, resulted in injuries, including an 18-year-old protester who was struck by a vehicle.
The most serious incident occurred on Golda Meir Boulevard in Jerusalem. Magen David Adom (MDA) reported receiving a distress call at 14:45 regarding a pedestrian hit by a car during the commotion.
"There was a great commotion at the scene," said MDA emergency medic Eli Raymond. "We found an 18-year-old male, conscious, suffering from injuries to his limbs. We began medical treatment and evacuated him to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in moderate condition."
This incident occurred just two weeks after 14-year-old Yosef Eizental was tragically killed by a bus during similar protests in the capital.
The escalation followed a public call by Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, a leader of the radical "Jerusalem Faction," urging Torah students across the country to join the demonstrations ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on the autopsies.
According to police, the protests quickly turned violent. Demonstrators were documented causing significant damage to infrastructure, uprooting trees, rolling boulders onto roads, and clashing with police and civilians. In response, police deployed heavy riot dispersal means, including stun grenades.
The Light Rail service in Jerusalem was partially suspended between Ammunition Hill and the Davidka station after protesters blocked the tracks near Shivtei Yisrael.
In Beit Shemesh, the situation deteriorated rapidly. Police hermetically sealed the Rama B neighborhood due to the intensity of the riots.
Public transportation in the city was almost entirely halted. The police commander ordered the "Beit Shemesh Express" bus company to immediately cease operations after two bus drivers were injured by rioters. Mayor Shmuel Greenberg is currently in contact with police command regarding efforts to restore order.
The unrest spread to central Israel as well, with protesters blocking Highway 4 in both directions between the Aluf Sadeh and Em HaMoshavot interchanges. Police forces are currently at the scene attempting to clear the road and extract trapped vehicles.