Lawyers Shlomo Hadad and Itai Cohen, who represent the detainees from Sunday’s protest in Bnei Brak, stated that approximately 27 protesters were arrested during the incident in the city. They added that around 20 have been released so far, while 7 remain in custody.
Among the detainees who remain in custody, four are minors. The seven are expected to be brought before a judge for a detention extension hearing.
The lawyers claimed, "Unfortunately, in the vast majority of cases, these are arrests for show. Both minors and adults were forcefully pulled into police vehicles, and it seems that the purpose of these arrests was solely to create a deterrent and psychological effect, rather than being based on any real suspicion of a crime."
They added, "The majority of the detainees were passersby who did not participate in the events and committed no offense. We strongly condemn the handling of the situation and will fully assert the rights of our clients within the legal proceedings."
The serious incident that sparked the riots involved the assault of female soldiers by rioters in Bnei Brak. The two soldiers were visiting a soldier they knew but the crowd mistakenly believed they were military police officers distributing conscription orders.
During the event, a group of haredi men gathered around them, attempting to approach them. According to reports from the scene, objects were thrown, and attempts to assault police officers were also recorded.
Police forces who were called to the scene evacuated the soldiers from the area. During the riots, five police officers were injured and required medical treatment. The rioters overturned a police vehicle and set fire to a police motorcycle, which contained prayer books and tefillin that were burned.