After Pause, Israeli Military Police Resume Arrests of Yeshiva Students at Home

After several months of quiet, the IDF Military Police have resumed their controversial operations targeting yeshiva students who have not reported for military service. The renewed effort began overnight with an attempted arrest in the chareidi neighborhood of Neve Yaakov in northern Yerushalayim.

The incident, which occurred shortly after midnight between Sunday and Monday, saw Military Police investigators attempt to detain a yeshiva student at his home on Edmond Fleg Street. Within minutes, large crowds of local residents gathered in protest, leading to a major confrontation that forced the police to retreat from the area without completing the arrest.

Eyewitnesses described chaotic scenes as residents poured into the streets, chanting and blocking police vehicles. The Peleg Yerushalmi issued a statement claiming responsibility for the resistance. “The masses who arrived prevented the arrest, and the police withdrew,” the statement read. “Eyewitnesses reported that the Military Police used force in an attempt to break down the door.”

The dramatic standoff marks the first such attempt in months. Until now, the Military Police had largely confined their operations to airport arrests — detaining yeshiva students identified as draft evaders when attempting to leave or return to the country.

The renewed activity comes amid heightened tensions surrounding the draft issue and ongoing debates within the government over the future of the draft law. Community leaders in Neve Yaakov condemned the incident, warning that any attempt to arrest yeshiva students from their homes risks inflaming already fragile relations between the religious community and the state.

For now, the yeshiva student remains free, and police sources say the operation will be reviewed, though indications suggest that further arrest attempts could follow in the coming weeks as enforcement intensifies.

{Matzav.com}