The Peleg Yerushalmi announced Sunday afternoon that it is postponing planned anti-conscription demonstrations in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, and other locations across Israel for 24 hours amid what it described as significant progress in negotiations with military authorities regarding the release of imprisoned yeshiva bochurim and avreichim.

The announcement comes after a turbulent weekend that saw multiple arrests of draft evaders and growing tensions between the chareidi community, the police, and military authorities.

“In light of significant developments in contacts with the military authorities, and following serious and advanced negotiations taking place in recent hours regarding the release of a large number of yeshiva students and avrechim from military prison, it has been decided to postpone the planned protests by 24 hours,” the Vaad LeHatzalas Olam HaTorah said in a statement.

The organization stressed that the postponement does not constitute a cancellation of the demonstrations.

“If sufficient breakthroughs are not achieved, the protest actions will resume at full strength,” the group warned.

Responding to speculation that the announcement was intended to lower police readiness before surprise demonstrations, organizers insisted that “this is not a trick or a deception.”

According to the Peleg Yerushalmi, six yeshiva bochurim were arrested for draft evasion on Friday. Three were later released, while others remain in military custody. The organization also claimed that authorities attempted to arrest a seventh bochur near Kiryat Ye’arim at approximately 3:40 a.m. Sunday morning.

The developments follow Friday’s high-profile arrest of a Belzer avreich in Kiryat Gat, which sparked widespread outrage throughout the chareidi community. The avreich was ultimately released before Shabbos following intensive intervention by Deputy Minister Yisrael Eichler, senior askanim, and prominent chareidi officials serving in significant positions within the IDF.

The arrest led to sharp criticism from Belz and prompted emergency consultations amid concerns over the treatment of yeshiva students and avreichim.

It remains unclear who is conducting the negotiations with military authorities. Neither the IDF nor Degel HaTorah immediately commented on the talks. A senior Agudas Yisrael official reportedly stated that his party is not currently involved, despite Eichler’s efforts on behalf of those arrested last week.

For now, the planned demonstrations have been put on hold, but organizers made clear that if the negotiations fail to produce results, large-scale protests could resume within hours.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)