Toddler and Father Hurt in Bnei Brak After Stroller Used to Block Military Police Vehicle

A 23-year-old father and his 2-year-old son were lightly hurt in Bnei Brak on Sunday after the man used the child’s stroller to block a Military Police vehicle, according to people familiar with the incident.

The father was taking the boy home from kindergarten along Yitzhak Nappaha Street when he came across a protest that had begun after a military police vehicle entered the area. Dozens of demonstrators surrounded the vehicle and blocked its path, with tensions escalating quickly. Some in the crowd shouted “murderer” at the security forces, witnesses said.

At some point, the father placed the stroller in the vehicle’s path. Both he and his son sustained bruises and abrasions to their legs, the sources said. Witnesses claimed the vehicle continued moving and did not stop to check whether the father and the child needed medical attention.

Additional police units were summoned to help extract the military police vehicle and its crew. The protest died down after officers managed to clear the vehicle from the area.

The incident underscored the charged atmosphere in Bnei Brak, a mostly ultra-Orthodox city where resentment over military conscription has simmered for years. The question of drafting yeshiva students has repeatedly emerged as one of Israel’s most volatile domestic issues, pitting Haredi leaders and political parties against the security establishment, which argues for a broader sharing of the national service burden. Legal rulings against blanket exemptions have added pressure to reach a new arrangement, but attempts to legislate a compromise have stalled.

Sunday’s episode also highlighted how quickly such tensions can spill into ordinary streets, where daily routines can become part of a larger confrontation. With no sign of an immediate political breakthrough, incidents of this kind are likely to remain a flashpoint in relations between police, the military, and parts of the ultra-Orthodox public.