Two Arrested After Guns Drawn on Haredi Protesters Blocking Route 1 to Jerusalem

by | Jun 26, 2026 | News

grayscale photo of people near smoke

Israeli police have arrested two men suspected of pulling firearms on ultra-Orthodox demonstrators during mass protests that paralyzed the main highway into Jerusalem.

The demonstrations were part of a nationwide wave against the conscription of yeshiva students. Convoys of protesters headed toward Prison 10 near Kfar Yona, where some students are being held, and others blocked Route 1, the main artery connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The closures left drivers stranded for hours and tempers running high.

In one incident captured on video, a driver was filmed aiming a handgun at a group of protesters sitting in the roadway. Officers from the Harel station seized the weapon, detained the man, and jailed him after questioning. Police said he would be brought before a court for a remand hearing.

A second man was filmed later the same night on the same stretch of highway. Police said he does not hold a gun license and remains under questioning on suspicion that he threatened demonstrators with a firearm.

The confrontations laid bare the deepening friction over the draft, an issue that has split coalition politics and spilled repeatedly into the streets.

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