Video of police forcing mask compliance on a haredi woman whose nose was exposed has been circulating on the Internet since yesterday.
In the video, four police officers are seen trying to move the woman from her place to the sound of loud protests by bystanders until they succeed in tackling the woman to the ground where she is handcuffed.
Meanwhile, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon sent a letter to Health Ministry Deputy Director Prof. Itamar Grotto, expressing his intention to declare a number of neighborhoods in the city as “red neighborhoods” and impose closure on them.
“My unequivocal stance is against the closure,” wrote Leon. “The proposed closure may make the relevant neighborhoods into coronavirus incubators.
“It’s important to stress: Unlike other cities, the neighborhoods in Jerusalem are neighborhoods where tens of thousands of people and families blessed with many children live in crowded apartments, with hundreds of people living in each building. Their hermetic closure will lead to mass infection within the community and make matters worse,” he explained.
In his letter, Leon suggested “opening dedicated commands to be operated by the Municipality and IDF Home Front Command in those neighborhoods and to immediately evacuate every verified patient from home within 24 hours to prevent further infection.”
The Israel Police said in response to the incident: “During police enforcement activities in Jerusalem, they identified a woman who got off the light rail while not wearing a mask on her face as required. When she noticed the police, she tried to evade them and when they detained her for identification, she refused to identify herself while trying to walk away on the railroad tracks. ”
“Therefore she was first detained by the policewomen, and despite repeated warnings to cooperate and not to interfere with enforcement, they were forced to arrest her after she refused to be detained and eventually handcuffed her for resisting arrest.
“Once she was identified and despite her unlawful conduct, it was decided to settle for only issuing her a citation (USD 146) for not wearing the mask and she was released,” the police added.
Source: Arutz Sheva