Police say they arrested 8 Haredi extremists who attacked cops during Ashkelon protest

Officers arrested eight Haredi protesters who attacked law enforcement during protests at the entrance to Ashkelon this evening, police say, just hours after major clashes broke out between police and ultra-Orthodox demonstrators in Jerusalem.

The arrests came as dozens of young Haredi men tried to reach the Ashkelon residence of an officer in the Military Police, the enforcement body responsible for detaining draft evaders.

They took buses to the coastal city to try and stage a protest in front of the officer’s home, but were blocked by law enforcement at the northern entrance.

After being stopped, the men disembarked from the bus and blocked traffic on Route 4, according to police.

Police say they have arrested eight rioters who “violently assaulted police officers and disrupted public order.”

The Jerusalem Faction, a hardline Haredi group behind the would-be protest, said that Ashkelon was “besieged together with him [the Military Police officer]” since police would not allow demonstrators in front of the residence.

“No one goes out, and no one comes in, as part of a mass protest against the horrible crime of persecuting Torah scholars in the Land of Israel,” the group says in a statement, as quoted by Ynet.

However, the protests have since been dispersed, with Route 4 once again open to traffic, police update.