Israeli police use water cannon to clear ultra-Orthodox protesters outside Supreme Court hearing

(26 Feb 2024) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Jerusalem - 26 February 2024 1. Israeli police throwing ultra-Orthodox protester away from road 2. Various of police dragging protesters from road where they are lying down, scuffling with them 3. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Eli Shabroner, ultra-Orthodox protester: “We will die but we will not enlist, that’s the message from the protest here.“ 4. Ultra-Orthodox protesters sitting on road holding sign reading (in Hebrew) “We are telling the Supreme Court, to the prison and not the army“ 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Israel Kay, ultra-Orthodox protester: “They don’t want us to be Jewish, therefore we prefer to die and not go to the army“ 6. Pan from protesters sitting next to car and buses on road 7. Various of protesters linking arms, and sitting in road, blocking entrance to Jerusalem, cars beeping 8. Various of protesters being dragged away by police 9. Group of youngsters kicking and hitting protesters, scuffles 10. Mounted police moving away protesters 11. Various of water cannon being sprayed on protesters 12. Police dragging away protesters 13. Water cannon being sprayed on protesters STORYLINE: Ultra-Orthodox men protested outside Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday after it heard arguments in cases that would force them to serve in the Israeli army, as the military’s manpower is strained by the nearly five-month-long war in Gaza. Protesters briefly blocked a major Jerusalem intersection, sirring and lying in the road. Scuffles broke out as police dragged protesters away and as night fell, mounted officers and water canon vehicles were deployed to clear the streets. Earlier, hundreds of people protested outside the court in Jerusalem, waving flags and chanting for equal service, as the court began to hear arguments that would cancel the exemption for the the ultra-Orthodox males. Military service is compulsory for Jewish males, but politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won exemptions for their communities to allow men to study full-time in religious seminaries. These exemptions have prompted widespread anger and resentment from the secular majority, especially as the army has recently announced that compulsory service may be extended and reserve duty will be more frequent as the war continues in Gaza and tensions on the northern border escalate. The government is required to submit a new draft law in the coming months. Ultra-Orthodox parties, which are a key coalition partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hope to continue the system of exemptions. Opponents, including key members of a mass protest movement against Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul, say the exemptions are unfair and must end. Activist groups filed petitions last year to force the state to strike down the exemptions and subsidies for young ultra-Orthodox men who study full-time in religious institutions called yeshivas. In the past, attempts to overhaul the draft law to include ultra-Orthodox in the draft have drawn tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox to the streets in large, violent protests that blocked major roadways. AP video shot by Moshe Edri =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel 44(0)2074827482 Email: info@. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: