A mob of ultra-Orthodox men attacked two buses in the central city of Bnei Brak last night. One of the drivers was beaten and chased from his vehicle before the rioters set the bus on fire. By the time firefighters arrived, the bus was destroyed. The flames reached nearby electric cables, causing a partial blackout in the city. Apartments in the vicinity were damaged by the flames and smoke. Police used stun grenades to clear the rioters, who also chased some journalists at the scene.

Four people were reportedly arrested during the night on suspicion of damaging property and attempting to harm emergency workers. Rioters toppled a traffic light and set fire to trash bins. They continued to block roads in the city into the early morning. A police statement said that during the clashes, one of the officers felt threatened as he was surrounded by rioters and fired a warning shot into the air.

Tensions rose in ultra-Orthodox urban centers after the country went into a third nationwide lockdown on Jan. 10 to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Ultra-Orthodox leaders objected to government instructions to shut down all education institutions, claiming that religious schools and other institutions should not stop teaching the Torah. Several ultra-Orthodox schools remained open despite government instructions. 

The violent clashes started yesterday morning, when police tried to prevent students from entering the Gronda yeshiva in Ashdod. The school for the radical ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem faction had apparently violated lockdown and health restrictions on several occasions.