Itamar Ben-Gvir accuses police chief of favoring Left after haredi riots near Bnei Brak

The protest near Bnei Brak became a violent confrontation between police and haredi anti-enlistment demonstrators. Protesters blocked Highway 4, disrupting traffic and prompting a forceful police response. The incident matters because a dispute over military enlistment turned into injuries, road closures, and clashes between citizens and law enforcement.

According to the supplied reports, one officer was hit in the head with a rock. Three officers were injured overall, and one broke his ribs. Police deployed a water cannon at a Peleg Yerushalmi protest and used stun grenades while trying to clear the highway and disperse demonstrators.

The reports do not specify how long the road remained closed or how many protesters were arrested. They do show a sharp escalation from blocking traffic to physical violence and crowd-control measures. The response also triggered criticism from Itamar Ben-Gvir, who accused the police chief of favoring the Left.

Peleg Yerushalmi is a haredi faction associated with opposition to military enlistment. The supplied headlines identify its event as a protest against enlistment, but they do not provide the group’s full history, membership, or formal structure. Its demonstration matters because it brought a highly sensitive religious and civic dispute onto a major highway.

The concrete action was road blocking near Bnei Brak. Police moved to disperse the protesters, using a water cannon and stun grenades. The confrontation became violent: a police officer was hit in the head with a rock, and reports said three officers were injured, including one who broke his ribs.

The reports establish the protest’s central issue and its immediate consequences, but not the group’s detailed demands. The continuing reality is that opposition to enlistment can produce disruptive demonstrations and direct conflict with police. Future protests could again affect traffic and public order if roads are blocked.

Three police officers were injured during the haredi protest near Bnei Brak. One officer broke his ribs, while another was hit in the head with a rock. These details show that the confrontation involved significant physical danger for police, beyond ordinary crowd-control problems. The injuries are central to understanding why the event became a major news story.

The supplied reports also mention water cannon and stun grenades. Those measures indicate that police were trying to disperse protesters and clear Highway 4 after demonstrators blocked traffic. The available text does not state whether protesters were injured, arrested, or charged, so those details cannot be confirmed here.

The immediate reality was a violent clash that injured officers and shut down a major highway. Such injuries can intensify public arguments about policing, protest tactics, and responsibility. They also raise the stakes for future demonstrations over haredi military enlistment.

Itamar Ben-Gvir is Israel’s national security minister. Under Israel’s government structure, the minister has political responsibility for the Israel Police, including broad policy direction and oversight. This makes his criticism of the police chief politically significant. The supplied headlines identify his accusation but do not describe his formal powers.

Operational decisions, such as deploying a water cannon or stun grenades, are normally made through the police command during a specific incident. A minister can influence priorities and demand accountability, but that does not mean he personally directs every action at a protest. This distinction helps separate political responsibility from on-the-ground command.

Ben-Gvir accused the police chief of favoring the Left after the haredi riots. That claim places the police response inside a wider political dispute. The supplied reports do not establish whether the accusation is true or whether it changed the police operation. They show only that the criticism followed the clashes.

Accusing the police chief of favoring the Left means alleging that policing is politically biased. In this case, Itamar Ben-Gvir claimed the police chief was more sympathetic to left-wing protesters or causes than to the haredi demonstrators near Bnei Brak. Such an accusation challenges the force’s neutrality and can weaken public trust.

The claim followed a forceful response. Police used a water cannon and stun grenades after protesters blocked Highway 4. Three officers were injured, one with broken ribs, and an officer was hit in the head with a rock. Ben-Gvir’s criticism may therefore concern how police handled this protest compared with other demonstrations, though the supplied text gives no comparison.

The reports do not confirm unequal treatment or explain the police chief’s reasoning. The immediate effect was to turn a street clash into a dispute about political impartiality. That could increase pressure on police leadership and deepen tensions between the government, police, and haredi community.

When protesters block Highway 4, ordinary commuters can be forced to stop, turn around, or seek slower alternate routes. Traffic can spill into nearby streets, affecting residents, businesses, and public transport. A major road closure also matters for emergency services because ambulances, fire crews, and police may need longer routes, although the supplied reports do not record a specific emergency delay.

The concrete example is the protest near Bnei Brak. Reports say police shut down Highway 4 while confronting demonstrators. Water cannon and stun grenades were used as officers tried to disperse the crowd. The road disruption therefore became both a public-order issue and a daily-life problem for people traveling through the area.

The reports do not state how long the closure lasted or quantify the number of affected commuters. The broader implication is clear: repeated blockades can widen a focused political protest into community-wide disruption. They can also increase pressure on police to restore movement while preventing further injuries.

Military enlistment is contentious in Israel’s haredi community because it touches religious study, community identity, and the question of whether all citizens should share national obligations. Haredi leaders and anti-enlistment activists have opposed military service, while other Israelis have challenged exemptions as unequal. This broader background is established context, not detailed in the supplied headlines.

Over many years, disputes over haredi draft exemptions have remained politically unresolved. When authorities seek broader enlistment or protesters resist it, demonstrations can move from religious communities into public roads. Near Bnei Brak, Peleg Yerushalmi supporters blocked Highway 4. Police responded with water cannon and stun grenades, and officers were injured.

The clash shows how a legal and political dispute can become a public-order crisis. The supplied reports do not describe a new enlistment policy or say what negotiations follow. Unless the underlying disagreement is settled, future protests may again combine road blockades, police intervention, and competing claims about fairness.