ASHKELON: Fifteen ultra-Orthodox Jews were arrested in southern Israel on Sunday as they protested against the relocation of ancient graves in a move they view as sacrilegious, police said.
The tombs, located next to the Barzilai hospital in the southern port city of Ashkelon, are being moved by archaeologists to make way for the construction of a new bomb-proof emergency ward.
Local officials say building a new ER facility is crucial because the city is within range of Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
"We have deployed several hundred police and arrested 15 demonstrators who tried to prevent the works," said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
Another three people were also arrested in Jerusalem, where hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews had staged demonstrations and blocked roads on Saturday night in a wave of angry protests, media reports said.
The planned relocation has provoked the fury of the ultra-Orthodox community for whom the removal of Jewish remains is forbidden under religious law.
However, archaeologists say there are no ancient Jewish graves at the site, which dates back to the Byzantine era.
Hundreds of riot police began deploying around the hospital late on Saturday in anticipation of attempts to disrupt the excavations which are being carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Haaretz daily said.
And staff at Barzilai hospital have been put on alert for possible attacks.
Two months ago, the government decided to shelve its construction plans following huge pressure from the ultra-Orthodox, among them Deputy Health Minister Yaacov Litzman, whose ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party holds five seats in the parliament.
The decision, which would have meant relocating the new wing elsewhere at a cost to taxpayers of at least 100 million shekels (€21 million, $26 million), caused an outpouring of public fury.
The government was then forced to perform a swift U-turn and give the go-ahead for construction at the contested site.
Eidelman, head of the Israeli Medical Association, said he hoped the new emergency facility would be built quickly.
"The bomb-proof emergency room is critical for the residents of the south, and we are hopeful that its construction will be completed quickly," Haaretz quoted him as saying.
