Two police dolls with swastikas hung in Beit Shemesh

In addition, a doll in the image of Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion was hung in the Mea Shearim neighborhood in protest of the light rail.

The southern entrance to Beit Shemesh (photo credit: REVAH HAFAKOT/WIKIPEDIA)
The southern entrance to Beit Shemesh
(photo credit: REVAH HAFAKOT/WIKIPEDIA)

Two dolls in the shape of policemen with swastikas painted on them were hung on Thursday in Beit Shemesh. Israel Police arrived to remove them, and a riot with some 200 people broke out.

The dolls were hung on Jordan River Street in the city. Police arrived at the scene followed by hundreds of people gathered around them, throwing stones and eggs at them and blocking the roads. The police used crowd-control measures to stop the riot and allow open access to the roads.

Elsewhere, in Jerusalem, a doll in the image of Mayor Moshe Lion was documented hanging in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in protest of the light rail construction.

Earlier on Thursday, a mass brawl occurred in Modi'in Illit. Documentation from the incident shows police arresting rioters by force. "This is [only] partial documentation, which does not show the full event shortly before," police said.

Police officers said they were called to the scene after dozens of protesters disrupted traffic.

Israel Police face protesters fighting against the construction of the light rail in Jerusalem, January 25, 2021.  (credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Israel Police face protesters fighting against the construction of the light rail in Jerusalem, January 25, 2021. (credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

"Some of them blocked a police car, laid down on the road, threw objects at it, jumped on it and tried to take operational equipment out of it," they added. Following the violent gathering, three suspects were arrested after they allegedly resisted arrest and assaulted police officers, lightly injuring one of them.