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As reports of widespread flouting on coronavirus regulations persist among the ultra-Orthodox sector, a police officer was seen in unusual documentation on Sunday flinging a bucket at a 13-year-old boy before arresting him during civil unrest in the settlement of Beitar Illit.
Officers handcuffed the boy after he tried to escape and said that he was documented hurling a cinderblock at police.
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Police officer seen hurling a bucket at a 13-year-old boy before arresting him during civil unrest in the settlement of Beitar Illit
"As [police] dispersed a crowd of dozens in Beitar Illit, stones and objects were hurled at forces," police said in a statement. "A suspect who was spotted throwing a cinderblock at a police vehicle was arrested by officers."
At the same time, we view very severely the officer's conduct at the scene, which comes in contrast with the organization's values. Accordingly, the district commander ordered to forward the footage for a Department of Internal Investigation review as soon as possible."
The 13-year-old will be questioned by police and will likely be released on parole.
In another event at the scene, a police officer was seen pushing a man while holding a baby. The cameraman can be heard in the footage shouting at police, "he's with a child, he's with a child."
Before the incidents, police cracked down on a number of illegally-run synagogues across the ultra-Orthodox settlement, leading to several violent clashes.
Similar events were also reported in ultra-Orthodox communities in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak.
In Bnei Brak, officers shut down two illegal synagogues on Saturday, operated out of yeshivas while the students are away on holidays. One of the synagogues was run by the fanatical Jerusalemite faction inside the prestigious Ponevezh Yeshiva.
Around two dozen parishioners that were inside during the raid were fined NIS 500, while the yeshiva's administrators received NIS 5,000 penalties.
The sect is known for its civil disobedience and frequent clashes with security forces over conscription as well as state and religious affairs.
Officers also raided two mass gatherings in the area, celebrating the Sukkot holiday, one organized by a confirmed virus carrier and another, a Tish (a gathering of Hasidim around their Rebbe), organized by the Zotshka Hasidic Dynasty.
A total of 22 illegally operated prayer houses were closed by the police in Bnei Brak, with dozens of fines handed out to local businesses and residents for violating lockdown rules.
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Clashes between police and Haredim in Jerusalem
In Jerusalem, a police car was pelted with stones by locals during a routine patrol in Shivtei Yisrael Street.
In the capital's predominately ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood, many synagogues operated as usual with complete disregard for health regulations. Some synagogues placed Hasidim "guards" outside, in order to warn the locals when the police are in the area.
"There is no entrance for those not from the community," a Breslav follower from the neighborhood told Ynet. "The police were here but ran away. There is a Tish every Saturday," he brazenly claimed.
"Most of the people here already had coronavirus, including me. Every night there will be an event here, and whoever takes out a phone to take a picture will be jumped on."