Fourteen indictments were submitted against haredim who disrupted public order in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh during demonstrations against the arrest of haredi IDF deserters.
During the violent demonstrations which took place in the last few weeks, police arrested twenty suspects who were arraigned in court. Fourteen of them were charged with crimes of endangering life on a public thoroughfare, participating in riots, arson, disturbing a policeman from fulfilling his duties, and insulting public servants.
Prosecutors asked that all suspects be remanded until the end of legal proceedings. During a hearing Monday in the Jerusalem District Court in which police appealed a court decision to release a suspect who was caught igniting a couch and rolling it onto the street, Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman accepted the appeal and extended the suspect's remand, stating that "the defendant participated in a riot in which stones were thrown at police, garbage cans were burnt and the defendant himself burnt a couch and rolled it onto the street.
"The defendant's actions could have endangered passersby. Moreover these were incidents which repeated themselves over the last few days and since during this period this was not an isolated incident it requires a proper response," explained the judge.
Israeli police promised to continue acting determinedly and sharply against violent riots by extremist groups which could endanger public safety.