Bar-Ilan Light-Rail Protesters Block Roads as Police Move In

Extremist anti-light-rail protesters set trees on fire and tried to block roads in Jerusalem's Bar-Ilan area on Tuesday night, according to same-night reports citing police at the scene. A police officer declared an unlawful assembly and ordered demonstrators to leave the roadway, while Jerusalem District Police and Border Police moved to disperse the crowd. The disruption follows weeks of attempts to obstruct Green Line construction along Bar-Ilan Street. Police and reports described a public-order disturbance at the work area by protesters, not conduct by the broader law-abiding Haredi community.