Demonstrators objected to the police response to arrests linked to draft enforcement.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Ultra-Orthodox protesters disrupted traffic across Israel on Wednesday with slow-moving vehicle convoys and road blockages as demonstrations intensified against the military draft of yeshiva students.

The protests began in the afternoon from dozens of locations, with organizers seeking to reach Military Prison 10 near Kfar Yona, which has become a focal point for demonstrations involving detained ultra-Orthodox draft resisters.

Police deployed to prevent protesters from reaching the facility and said demonstrators abandoned vehicles and entered traffic lanes on a highway. Heavy traffic congestion was reported on major roads nationwide.

Reuters images showed ultra-Orthodox protesters on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway near Abu Ghosh, where convoys moved along routes in an effort to block traffic.

Several ultra-Orthodox lawmakers participated in the demonstrations, including United Torah Judaism MK Yitzchak Goldknopf and Shas MK Michael Malkieli.

Goldknopf told Kol Barama radio: “There will come a day when we turn the country upside down.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also became a target of criticism during the protests.

Demonstrators objected to the police response to arrests linked to draft enforcement, with some carrying signs describing Ben Gvir as the “No. 1 enemy of the Jews.”

Confrontations were reported in several locations. In Arad, clashes broke out between secular residents and ultra-Orthodox protesters, leading police and Border Police forces to intervene.

Arad Mayor Yair Maayan urged calm and called on residents to “act with restraint and mutual respect, and to refrain from violent activity among residents.”

Near Kiryat Ono, video footage showed confrontations between protesters and motorists.

In Kfar Yona, authorities restricted access to neighborhoods near Military Prison 10 after residents organized counterdemonstrations.

Mayor Albert Taieb said the measures were intended to prevent a recurrence of damage and disturbances reported during an ultra-Orthodox protest the previous week.

The dispute over military service has intensified as Israel confronts wartime manpower demands.

While military service is mandatory for most Jewish Israelis, full-time ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students have for generations received exemptions that are now facing growing legal and political challenges.

The post Traffic disruptions spread across Israel as ultra-Orthodox protest military draft appeared first on World Israel News.

Palestine Action was outlawed in the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000 for “serious acts,” including breaking into a Royal Air Force base

An estimated 365 protesters on behalf of the proscribed Palestine Action group were arrested at a protest in London on Saturday.

Palestine Action was outlawed in the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000 for “serious acts,” including breaking into a Royal Air Force base and damaging planes to protest the UK’s support for Israel.

Demonstrators on Saturday gathered in Parliament Square to protest the outlawing of the group, many carrying signs that said, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

Around 500 to 600 people gathered for the demonstration and held up their signs at precisely 1 p.m., when Big Ben struck the hour.

Those who expressed support for Palestine Action were arrested; members of the group can face sentences of up to 14 years.

Of the hundreds arrested, seven were held for an extended period for additional offenses, such as attacking police officers.

The protests began when three Palestine Action members were arrested.

The illegality of the group has been challenged, and a full judicial review, as requested by co-founder Huda Ammori, is scheduled for November.

Among those arrested on Saturday was former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, the Telegraph reported.

He was held for five years for allegedly belonging to al-Qaida before being released in 2005.

Begg was arrested again in 2014 for alleged activities related to the war in Syria before being released again.

Palestine Action was founded on July 30, 2020, when activists entered and spray-painted the interior of Elbit Systems’ UK headquarters in London. The group was co-founded by Huda Ammori — whose father is Palestinian and mother is Iraqi — and Richard Barnard, a longtime left-wing activist.

In June 2025, the UK Home Office announced plans to designate Palestine Action as a proscribed terrorist organization. The move followed an incident in which members allegedly broke into RAF Brize Norton and vandalized two Royal Air Force Airbus A330 MRTT refueling aircraft, reportedly spraying paint into their engines.

The post 365 protestors for banned Palestine Action group arrested in London appeared first on World Israel News.