Two female Israeli soldiers had to be rescued by police after being chased by a crowd of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.

Footage from the city of Bnei Brak showed the women running through streets strewn with rubbish and overturned bins as police officers formed a protective barrier. More than 20 people were arrested.

Reports suggest the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers were wrongly believed to be trying to deliver army conscription orders. Military service is mandatory for most Jewish Israelis, but ultra‑Orthodox Jews have long been exempt. Moves to reform this have caused outrage among the community.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the incident as "unacceptable".

"This is an extreme minority that does not represent the entire Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] community," Netanyahu said in a post on X.

"We will not allow anarchy, and we will not tolerate any harm to IDF servicemen and security forces who carry out their duties with dedication and determination."

Jewish religious leaders also condemned the actions of those involved in the unrest.

Riot police in Bnei Brak, on the edge of Tel Aviv, used stun grenades against the crowd and arrested 23 people, police said in a statement.

Three officers were injured and several police vehicles damaged, including a patrol car that was overturned and a police motorcycle that was set on fire, police added.

The IDF servicewomen had been on an official home visit to another soldier when the confrontation broke out, Israeli broadcaster Kan reported.

Late last year, hundreds of thousands of people took part in of one of the biggest anti-conscription protests by ultra-Orthodox Israelis in years.

The issue of conscription has become increasingly contentious during the war in Gaza, with the Israeli government now debating draft legislation that would require ultra-Orthodox men not in full-time religious study to serve.

Since the State of Israel was declared in 1948, students enrolled full-time at a religious school, or yeshiva, have been exempted from conscription.

That exemption was ruled unconstitutional by Israel's High Court of Justice more than a decade ago. Temporary arrangements to continue it were formally ended by the court last year, forcing the government to begin conscripting the community.

The ultra-Orthodox population has more than doubled its share of Israel's population over the past seven decades, and now accounts for 14%. (BBC)

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