Israeli Channel 12 and the private newspaper Israel Hayom reported that one person was killed and three others were injured when they were run over by a bus during a demonstration in Jerusalem.
The channel reported that Israeli police arrested the driver, noting that it was not an attack but an accidental incident. The driver told police, "I tried to escape the demonstration, but they blocked my path," according to the same channel.
Haredi protesters had blocked roads in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening, as part of a large demonstration involving tens of thousands of people, in protest against conscription.
The Hebrew newspaper Yediot Aharonot said that the protest was called for by a number of rabbis, including Moshe Tsedaka, head of the Porat Yosef religious school, one of the most prominent voices opposing conscription in Sephardic circles (Jews of Spanish and Eastern origin).
In a video posted on Monday, Rabbi Tsedaka called for participation in the protest, saying that participating in it was a "great duty and obligation," and expressed his hope that the march would contribute to the cancellation of the compulsory conscription decision.
The Haredim continue their protests against military conscription following the Supreme Court’s decision on June 25, 2024, to compel them to serve and to prevent financial assistance from being provided to religious institutions whose students refuse military service.
In another context, several Palestinian bodies condemned on Tuesday the Israeli army’s storming of Birzeit University in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and the injury of a number of its members.
In a statement, the Palestinian Cabinet condemned "the storming of Birzeit University today by Israeli occupation forces, who broke down the main gate and fired live ammunition, tear gas, and stun grenades at students, resulting in injuries." The statement added that these violations "contradict all international norms and conventions."
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli army stormed the campus of Birzeit University, detaining a number of its guards and injuring 11 Palestinians, amid a widespread deployment of soldiers inside its buildings.
In a separate statement, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education condemned the storming of the university and the resulting assaults and injuries. It stated, "These attacks blatantly disregard all international norms and conventions that criminalize the violation of the sanctity of universities and educational institutions in general."
Birzeit University administration also condemned, in a statement, the storming of the university during lectures and the presence of students inside the teaching halls, considering it "an organized criminal attack targeting Palestinian education and the students' right to learn."
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, crews transported 11 injuries to the hospital, including 5 from live ammunition and the rest from gas injuries and falls during the pursuit.
Since the start of the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip on October 8, 2023, the Israeli army and settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, resulting in the martyrdom of 1,105 Palestinians, the injury of about 11,000, in addition to the arrest of more than 21,000.
