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| - Israeli police said Tuesday they had arrested 14 people following new clashes with ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrating against coronavirus lockdown measures. In Jerusalem's large ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of Mea Shearim, protestors set fire to rubbish and threw tomatoes at police who responded with a water canon, an AFP photographer said. Officers "were attacked as they arrived to enforce lockdown regulations," the police said in a statement, adding that protestors had "blocked roads and threw stones at security forces", leading to eight arrests. The other arrests took place during clashes in an ultra-Orthodox district of the central city of Beit Shemesh and the West Bank settlement of Modiin Ilit, the police said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had praised police on Monday for their response after ultra-Orthodox protesters clashed with security forces and torched a bus, injuring and hospitalising its driver. Bus driver Ayal Tzipori said some 50 people had blocked the road late on Sunday in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, with bins and tyres. They then attacked his vehicle, throwing stones and breaking windows. Israel late last month imposed its third national lockdown as it battles the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the measures, January has been its deadliest month yet, with more than 1,000 deaths linked to the disease so far this month. Israel has recorded nearly 4,500 coronavirus linked deaths since the virus hit the country in March last year. Some religious Jewish schools had stayed open despite lockdown measures. Many Israelis accuse ultra-Orthodox Jews, who account for around 12 percent of the country's population, of being disproportionately responsible for the spread of coronavirus. The country is carrying out a rapid vaccination programme and has given a first anti-coronavirus jab to more than 2.5 million inhabitants -- more than a quarter of the population. mib-ag/gl/par/dwo
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