A 14-year-old boy was killed in Jerusalem on Tuesday after a bus drove into a crowd of ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters demonstrating against mandatory military service. The Israeli police said the driver was detained and is under investigation.
Video footage shows the bus ploughing into a group of men at the protest, which attracted thousands. Police stated that the incident occurred after rioters blocked traffic routes, damaged buses, set bins on fire, threw objects and eggs at officers, and assaulted journalists. The driver alleged he was attacked by rioters before the accident.
Mass demonstrations against the conscription law have become frequent as Israel’s military seeks to address manpower shortages following two years of war on multiple fronts. The ultra-Orthodox, who make up 14% of Israel’s Jewish population, have long been exempt from military service under a 1948 ruling for those devoted to full-time religious study.
The exemption has faced growing scrutiny as tens of thousands of conscripts and reservists are mobilised. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition relies on ultra-Orthodox parties for its survival, with the United Torah Judaism party quitting the government over a previous conscription bill and Shas ministers resigning from the cabinet.
