Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged restraint on Wednesday after a bus driver ran over and killed a 14-year-old ultra-Orthodox boy during a protest against a proposed law that would draft the community into Israel’s military.
In a statement, Netanyahu called for calm “to prevent the mood from becoming further inflamed so that, heaven forbid, we do not have additional tragedies,” and said the death would be thoroughly investigated.
The incident occurred Tuesday evening during a protest by thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrators in Jerusalem. Police said the victim was yeshiva student Yosef Eisenthal, 14.
Video obtained by The Associated Press showed Eisenthal trapped under the vehicle while the driver continued to drive on for several meters as onlookers jostled and screamed.
Police officers arrested and questioned the bus driver, who told investigators that he was attacked by protesters before his vehicle hit the boy. Police said Wednesday that the driver’s arrest had been extended until Jan. 15, and that he has not been charged.
A police spokesperson said protesters were blocking the road and acting violently toward officers, including throwing eggs and other objects at them. AP reported that the violence underscored widening tensions between Israeli authorities and the ultra-Orthodox community, known as Haredim, amid government deliberations on drafting them.
The draft exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews has expanded over time. When Israel was founded in 1948, a small number of gifted ultra-Orthodox scholars were granted exemptions from the draft, which is compulsory for most Jews in the country. The size of that exempt group grew over the decades after pressure from politically powerful religious parties.
Support for rolling back the exemption exists among many secular Israelis, particularly those who have served multiple rounds of duty in the latest war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. At the same time, draft measures have been met with staunch opposition from religious protesters, who have at times turned violent, saying military service would destroy their way of life.
Netanyahu’s statement was delivered as the issue has become a political problem for him because he relies on support from religious parties in Israel’s Parliament.