Soldiers are often the target of stone-throwing attacks by Arabs in Judea and Samaria.
This week, however, one soldier found himself under assault by stone-throwers in an unlikely place - the middle of Ashdod.
On Monday, a haredi man serving in the Israeli Air Force was confronted by angry yeshiva students outside of the Grodno Yeshiva in Ashdod.
The soldier, who spoke to Channel 2 on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals from extremists within the haredi community, said he is used to taunting and verbal attacks, but was unprepared for what happened on Monday.
“This isn’t the first time they’ve harassed me or threatened me, but this time they crossed the line,” he said.
The incident occurred while the soldier was walking with his young son near the Grodno Yeshiva, when he was accosted by several haredi men who began shouting at him.
The situation quickly turned violent, however, when some of the men began lobbing stones at the soldier. The soldier was hit, and quickly called police, while he attempted to hold back the attackers with a can of mace.
Police extracted the soldier and his son. The soldier has filed a formal complaint and police have opened an investigation.
This is not the first incident of violence directed towards soldiers in Ashdod. In February, rioters attacked military police and later clashed with police.