Major traffic disruptions were reported this afternoon after dozens of members of extremist factions staged demonstrations at several locations, including the entrance to Yerushalayim, the Beit Shemesh area, and near Modiin Illit.
According to reports and eyewitness documentation, demonstrators blocked Route 38 heading toward Yerushalayim, bringing traffic to a halt. At the same time, additional attempts were made to obstruct the main entrance to the capital.
The protests follow the unrest that took place yesterday in Bnei Brak. In the past hour, groups affiliated with the extremist factions gathered at key junctions leading into Yerushalayim, as well as in the Beit Shemesh region and adjacent to Modiin Illit.
Netivei Israel stated that Route 443 has been closed in both directions between the entrance to the Modiin industrial zone and the Maccabim-Reut junction due to preparations for a demonstration. Localized traffic congestion has been reported in the area.
Israel Police said that officers from the Yerushalayim District, together with Border Police forces, are operating at the protest sites along Route 38 and at the entrance to Yerushalayim. Authorities reported that at both locations, demonstrators blocked roads by standing in the lanes of traffic, disrupting vehicles and preventing passage. Police are working to clear the roads and disperse those involved in the disturbances.
Earlier in the day, all individuals arrested yesterday in Bnei Brak on suspicion of involvement in the riots were released.
{Matzav.com}
Yisrael Beiteinu chairman MK Avigdor Leiberman delivered sharp criticism following the disturbances in Bnei Brak yesterday, labeling those involved as “terrorists” and holding the chareidi leadership responsible. Speaking in a Monday morning interview on 103FM, he said the government had pledged to restore order but instead allowed chaos to take root.
“They promised us governance and we got lawlessness. Yesterday, terrorists attacked female soldiers in the heart of Bnei Brak. They are not Jews, they are not citizens – they are terrorists, plain and simple,” Leiberman said. He asked how security forces would have reacted had a comparable assault taken place in Gush Etzion or along the Lebanon border, arguing that the situation revealed what he sees as unequal enforcement.
Responding to reports that police had not been informed in advance about the soldiers’ entry into the city, Leiberman said, “We are eroding reality in a way that sometimes makes you want to pinch yourself. I heard people in the Israel Police say, ‘Their entry into Bnei Brak was not coordinated with us.’ This is the center of the country – what coordination? Soldiers cannot be restricted from entering key areas like Ramat Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, or Mea Shearim. This is unacceptable. It is not a fringe issue; unfortunately, this is the central leadership.”
Leiberman directed his strongest criticism at leading rabbinic and political figures within the chareidi world. He cited Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, who publicly urged followers to tear up draft notices and “flush them down the toilet,” as well as Moshe Hillel Hirsch, who described draft evasion as a religious obligation. He also pointed to statements by United Torah Judaism head Goldberg, who compared military service to wearing a “yellow badge.” “They care only about power, respect, and money for themselves. The chareidi public is held hostage; we need to rescue them,” Leiberman said.
He further warned that many young chareidim lack preparation for gainful employment because they are not taught core subjects such as English, mathematics, and computer skills, leaving them reliant on stipends and communal support. “Along with the charity and the allowance, they will also get a voting slip. They only care about themselves; their public doesn’t matter to them,” Leiberman said.
Making his political stance unmistakably clear, Leiberman ruled out participation in any future governing coalition that includes chareidi parties. “God forbid. The chareidi parties must move to the opposition for at least two terms. The extortion by the chareidi parties has crossed every line; we can no longer subsidize it.” He added that the makeup of the next government would depend on whether voters align with what he described as the camp of those who serve versus the camp of draft evaders. “If we go with a clear bloc strategy, I see at least 63 mandates,” he said.
On the security front, Leiberman called for the immediate deployment of two Border Police battalions to Bnei Brak. “Every time draft dodgers are arrested, they are released through a revolving door. This lawlessness cannot continue when we are building a state within a state. Blocking Jabotinsky Road, the main artery of Gush Dan, is unbearable. It threatens national resilience and unity. When there is draft dodging, there is no unity,” he concluded.
{Matzav.com}
Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu on Sunday reiterated his doubts regarding the possibility of any deal with Iran, which he said must include the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, and not just stopping uranium enrichment.
His comments came ahead of a second round of U.S.-Iranian talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, and amid a major American military buildup in the region which is still underway.
“I will not hide from you that I express my skepticism of any deal with Iran, because, frankly, Iran is reliable on one thing: they lie, and they cheat,” Netanyahu said in a keynote speech to the annual gathering of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem.
In his first public address after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington last week, the Israeli leader said that any agreement must remove all enriched nuclear material from Iran, dismantle its enrichment infrastructure, curb its ballistic missile program and dismantle the axis of terror that Tehran has built across the region.
“There shall be no enrichment capability—not stopping the enrichment process, but dismantling the equipment and the infrastructure that allows you to enrich in the first place,” he said.
Gaza
Turning to Gaza, Netanyahu said that in the second stage of Trump’s peace plan, Hamas must be disarmed of some 60,000 AK-47 assault rifles it still possesses, which, he noted, were the primary weapon used during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
At the same time, Israel must “complete the job” of demilitarizing Gaza by dismantling its vast network of tunnels—which the terror group built up for years across the coastal strip. About 150 kilometers (93 miles) of an estimated 500 kilometers (311 miles) of tunnels have been destroyed to date.
“We’re giving the president’s plan a chance,” said Netanyahu. “And he put it very succinctly. He said it can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way. We hope that it will be done the easy way, because we know the ravages of war. We know what it means to lose people, we know the human cost of war, but that goal has to be achieved, one way or the other, and one way or the other, it will be achieved.”
Economy
Despite the two-year war, Netanyahu highlighted Israel’s booming economy, citing an Economist survey that found Israel had the third most vibrant economy in the OECD, and highlighting the record highs of the Israeli stock market, as well as the 30-year high the Israeli shekel has reached against the dollar.
He noted that growing ties between Israel and a string of countries across Latin America, singling out special praise for Argentina under the leadership of Javier Milei, and also noting that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due in Israel next week to further expand burgeoning bilateral relations.
He added that Israel was a leading power in cyber technology, which has attracted vast foreign investment, and intends to reach the same heights in partnership with the United States in artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.
“Israel is a very strong country coming out of the war… economically, militarily, and technologically, and we intend to be a lot stronger,” he said. JNS
