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A spokesman for the firefighters association said similar flag-burning incidents also took place in the ultra-religious neighborhoods of B'nei Brak outside Tel-Aviv.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he viewed the matter as very grave, and Knesset speaker Dan Tichon also condemned flag burning, which is an offense that can carry a one-year prison conviction.

Haim Miller, of the ultra-religious Agudat Yisrael Party, maintained that photographers had encouraged the youth in Mea Shearim to burn the flag. He said the photographers were trying to defame the community.