Haredi protesters took to the streets Wednesday evening under the direction of the "Committee for the Salvation of Torah World" to block major roads in the Sharon area in protest against the arrest of draft dodgers and the Draft Law.
The protesters blocked Highway 2 near the Netanya Interchange in both directions, Highway 4 at the Beit Lid junction, Highway 57 to the east and west, and Highway 6 from the Nitzanei Oz Interchange and the Baqa South Interchange in both directions.
The police clashed with the protesters and are trying to disperse them by force. As a result of the protest, massive traffic jams formed on the blocked roads.
The demonstration was supposed to take place in front of Prison 10 at Beit Lid, but this appears to have been a tactic to divert police.
"This is the first stage in an unlimited campaign against the oppressive persecution of Torah learners in the Land of Israel," the organization wrote in a statement. "The central traffic arteries of the Land of Israel — Highway 2, Highway 4, and Highway 6 — will be shut down in the coming hours in a painful and just protest against the declaration of war by the authorities against Torah learners in our holy land and their imprisonment in military prisons."