Israeli paramedics load the body of a teenage boy into an ambulance in Jerusalem, Jan. 6, 2026. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua)
JERUSALEM, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A teenage boy was killed and three others were injured on Tuesday after a bus driver rammed into a protest by ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem, Israel's emergency services said.
The incident occurred during an anti-conscription rally attended by about 15,000 ultra-Orthodox men opposing proposed legislation that would require them to perform compulsory military service.
Magen David Adom said an 18-year-old was found dead beneath the bus, while three other people were taken to hospital with injuries.
The driver was arrested at the scene, Israel's state-owned Kan television reported.
Since Israel's founding, full-time students at religious seminaries, or yeshivas, have been exempt from mandatory military service, though some ultra-Orthodox men do serve. The long-standing exemption, backed by ultra-Orthodox parties that are key allies in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, has drawn increasing criticism during the war in Gaza.
In June, Israel's Supreme Court ruled the blanket exemptions unconstitutional. The government has since proposed a new draft law that would maintain exemptions for full-time religious students and men over 26, while gradually increasing the annual recruitment of ultra-Orthodox men starting in 2027 and imposing penalties on draft evasion. ■
Israeli paramedics load the body of a teenage boy into an ambulance in Jerusalem, Jan. 6, 2026. A teenage boy was killed and three others were injured on Tuesday after a bus driver rammed into a protest by ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem, Israel's emergency services said. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua)
Israeli police officers inspect a bus involved in the incident in Jerusalem, Jan. 6, 2026. A teenage boy was killed and three others were injured on Tuesday after a bus driver rammed into a protest by ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem, Israel's emergency services said. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua)
