Haredim protesters close major road near Tel Aviv; clash with police
Ultra-Orthodox anti-draft demonstrators have clashed with Israeli police after blocking Route 4 to protest the arrest of two Haredim draft dodgers, Israel Army Radio reports.
The newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported one protester was arrested.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews have been protesting in Israel, unhappy with the idea of being drafted into the army. They were exempt from military service until June 2024 when the Israeli Supreme Court unanimously ruled the exemption had no legal basis.
Israel’s chemical spraying destroys Syrian farmland and livelihoods
Israel is accused of spraying farmland across Syria and Lebanon with chemical herbicides, destroying crops along the shared border. Farmers say it’s threatening their livelihoods and called it an attempt by Israel to force them off their land.
Al Jazeera’s Ayman Oghanna met some farmers and sent this report from Quneitra, southern Syria:
