Five Israeli police officers were injured in clashes with ultra-Orthodox protesters protesting against coronavirus restrictions in cities across the country on Sunday.
Police reported the five officers injured and at least four arrested, while a large crowd of ultra-Orthodox protesters clashed with officers in several Israeli cities, The Associated Press reported.
Israeli lawmakers have been most reluctant to prevent people in the ultra-Orthodox community from violating COVID-19 requirements, including by reopening schools, praying in synagogues and organizing large weddings and funerals.
But on Sunday, officers confronted a crowd of protesters who spoke out against the restrictions.
In Bnei Brak, young people provoked police and threatened journalists, leading an officer to shoot his gun in the air to discourage the crowd, according to AP. Two days earlier, ultra-Orthodox protesters had attacked a police vehicle in the city.
Law enforcement used tear gas and rotten water to disperse hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters outside a reopened school and called police “Nazis.” Dozens of protesters also clashed with police in Ashdod outside an ultra-Orthodox school.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin (Bibi) NetanyahuMORE condemned disobeying coronavirus restrictions, saying a small minority of people were behaving in an “unacceptable” way.
“I expect all Israeli citizens to follow the security guidelines,” he said, according to the AP. “It includes all sectors, including the ultra-Orthodox.”
Israel has one of the highest infection rates in any country in the world, with an average of over 8,000 confirmed cases per day. Health experts have attributed the recent spread of the non-compliance virus to the ultra-Orthodox community.
Israel has recorded nearly 600,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 4,400 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
COVID-19 disproportionately affected the ultra-Orthodox community, which accounts for more than a third of cases in Israel, while accounting for 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 PA.
The protests also come when Netanyahu announced that the nation will close its international airport for almost all flights from Tuesday to January 31. Exceptions will be made for a small number of humanitarian cases and cargo flights.