A dramatic confrontation unfolded shortly after midnight on Highway 1 leading to Yerushalayim when police attempted to detain a yeshiva bochur and transfer him to military authorities. The arrest was ultimately prevented after dozens of protesters rushed to the scene and blocked the roadway.

The incident took place near the Kiryat Ye’arim interchange. According to reports, demonstrators who were alerted to the attempted arrest quickly arrived and staged a protest, bringing traffic to a standstill in opposition to the effort to take the student into custody.

After a lengthy standoff and a heated demonstration, police reportedly withdrew from the area and released the yeshiva student.

The incident comes amid growing tensions following the arrest of two students from Yeshivas Maalos HaTorah on Erev Shabbos. In response, the central faction of the Peleg Yerushalmi is scheduled to hold large-scale demonstrations across the country on Sunday protesting the arrests of yeshiva students and their transfer to military prison.

The leader of the Peleg Yerushalmi, Rav Ezriel Auerbach, issued a strongly worded call urging supporters to participate in the protests.

In his statement, Rav Euerbach declared that this is not a time for silence and that every ben Torah has a doubled and redoubled obligation to protest what he described as the humiliation of Torah and its students, the criminal arrests, and the actions of military authorities and those cooperating with them from within and without.

As previously reported, two 21-year-old students from Yeshivas Maalos HaTorah were arrested on Erev Shabbos after failing to report to military induction offices in accordance with the directives of leading gedolim.

According to reports, the two students—including the son of the rosh yeshiva—were stopped by traffic police on Highway 6 while attempting to obtain a ride home.

After police identified the pair in the system as draft evaders, they were immediately handed over to military authorities and transferred to military prison.

The timing of the arrests, occurring just hours before the onset of Shabbos as families were preparing to welcome the holy day, sparked widespread outrage in segments of the chareidi community and intensified calls for the nationwide demonstrations scheduled for Sunday.