Overview
- Dozens of ultra‑Orthodox protesters rioted outside Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg’s West Bank home on Wednesday night, smashing windows, damaging a vehicle, and forcing police to detain scores of suspects.
- Police arrested roughly 62–65 people and brought them to Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court where judges extended detention for many suspects while investigators from the Judea and Samaria Major Crimes Unit continue collecting evidence.
- Detainees and defense lawyers said many arrestees were kept for long periods on a police bus with limited ventilation, water or restroom access, and courts have heard complaints about those post‑arrest conditions during remand proceedings.
- Senior judicial, political and religious figures condemned the attack as an assault on the rule of law, while some Haredi party leaders denounced the violence yet also criticized the court rulings that spurred stepped‑up enforcement.
- The violence was sparked by Sohlberg’s recent ruling urging police to cooperate with military authorities to enforce draft rules for yeshiva students, a shift that has intensified enforcement and could prompt prosecutions, further unrest, or policy changes on conscription.