Anti-draft extremists crossed a dangerous line in Ashkelon when rioters from the Jerusalem Faction breached the private home compound of Brig. Gen. Yuval Yamin, the IDF’s chief Military Police officer, while his family was inside.

The incident came during a wave of violent protests against the arrest of a Haredi draft evader and the renewed enforcement of conscription orders. According to Israeli reports, hundreds of demonstrators had gathered in Ashkelon after earlier blocking Route 4 for roughly three hours. At the height of the unrest, dozens entered Yamin’s yard, prompting security forces to rush to the scene. Police later said the rioters trespassed, acted violently and disrupted life in the area, while officers began arresting suspects. Ynet reported that 25 people were arrested.

The attack triggered rare, across-the-board condemnation from Israel’s political and security leadership. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “wild and violent attack” and demanded firm action against those involved. Defense Minister Israel Katz described the rioters as violent criminals who must face the full severity of the law. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said harm to security personnel and their families is “a dangerous red line,” adding that decisive enforcement is now required.

Police Commissioner Danny Levy also ordered immediate action, saying the right to protest does not include trespassing, violence or threats against family members.

The backdrop is Israel’s exploding Haredi draft crisis. The High Court recently ordered the government to impose real sanctions on draft evaders, including steps to condition certain welfare benefits on enlistment and to pursue criminal enforcement. The court said more than 79,000 conscription orders have been issued to ultra-Orthodox men since the 2024 ruling requiring enlistment, but only about 2,100 have enlisted; between January 2025 and January 2026, police proactively arrested only 17 ultra-Orthodox draft evaders.

The Jerusalem Faction, a hardline anti-Zionist Haredi group, framed the arrest of yeshiva student Nehorai Bachar as its own “red line” and called for further mass protests. But after Ashkelon, the state’s challenge is no longer only how to enforce the draft. It is whether Israel will allow violent anti-draft extremists to intimidate soldiers, commanders and their families at home while the country is at war.