Tensions over the arrests of chareidi military draft evaders intensified Tuesday after a yeshiva bochur was detained in Eilat and transferred to the Military Police, with activists warning that major demonstrations could erupt Wednesday — the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre — if he is not released.

The detainee was identified as Yakir Ralbag, a bochur currently learning at Yeshivas Beis Meir Sosnovsky who previously learned at Yeshivas Chevron Knesses Yisroel. According to reports from the Peleg Yerushalmi, Ralbag was arrested Tuesday in Eilat and subsequently handed over to the Military Police.

His arrest came one day after another young avreich, who married only several months ago, was detained in Eilat after being stopped for a check by traffic police and was also transferred to the Military Police.

Both men are awaiting hearings in their cases. They and their families are being represented by attorneys affiliated with the Notnim Gav organization, which is also providing assistance and support.

Activists are now preparing for the possibility of widespread protests if Ralbag remains in custody. Any demonstrations Wednesday would coincide with Israel’s commemoration of three years since the October 7 massacre, potentially adding another volatile element to an already sensitive day.

The arrest also came just hours after Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara demanded an urgent increase in enforcement against chareidi draft evaders, including the resumption of proactive arrests rather than relying primarily on encounters with wanted individuals at airports, border crossings and during unrelated police activity.

“Proactive enforcement efforts and field arrests must be urgently improved,” the attorney general said. “The absence of proactive enforcement is inconsistent with security needs, the principle of equality, and the state’s commitments to the High Court.”

Figures presented during the discussion underscored what officials described as gaps in the existing enforcement system. Authorities disclosed that 64 draft evaders had succeeded in leaving Israel without being apprehended and were arrested only when they returned to the country.

Additional figures indicated that 163 chareidi draft evaders were detained at border crossings during September, with the Taba crossing becoming a significant enforcement point and accounting for 20 apprehensions. Of 188 individuals apprehended at Ben Gurion Airport during the relevant period, 64 were reportedly caught only upon returning to Israel, indicating that they had managed to leave despite being wanted by military authorities.

Following the disclosure, the Population and Immigration Authority said it would investigate whether loopholes exist that are allowing draft evaders to depart Israel despite their status.

At a meeting held under the deputy attorney general, officials decided that the Military Police should resume proactive enforcement operations as soon as possible, working in coordination with Israel Police. Military officials said those operations are expected to restart during October.

At the same time, the existing joint procedure between the military and Israel Police will remain in effect for draft evaders and deserters who are encountered incidentally by police officers and subsequently identified as wanted by military authorities.

Officials also determined that the Military Advocate General’s Office should quickly complete steps toward lowering the threshold for prosecuting draft evasion cases, including cases involving individuals who failed to report to the IDF induction center, and move ahead with changes to the military’s disciplinary regulations.

The developments follow a dramatic confrontation overnight in Modiin, where an attempt by Military Police officers to arrest another yeshiva bochur ended with the arrest being abandoned after large numbers of protesters descended on the scene.

Shortly after midnight, a small Military Police force arrived at a residence on Yaar Yerushalayim Street in Modiin to arrest a young man classified by the military as a draft evader. The young man, who comes from a non-chareidi family and became religious, learns at Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim in Yerushalayim, headed by Rav Reuven Elbaz.

Word of the attempted arrest quickly reached Tzeva Shachor, an alert network established to notify the chareidi community about attempts to arrest yeshiva bochurim over their draft status. An alert was circulated, and within a short time bochurim and avreichim began arriving from chareidi communities, including large numbers from nearby Modiin Illit.

As the crowd grew, confrontations broke out with police. Protesters pushed toward the residential building where the Military Police officers and the wanted man were located, while additional Israel Police forces were summoned to the scene.

The standoff continued for more than an hour and a half before the Military Police ultimately left without taking the young man into custody. He remained at home, and the protesters dispersed.

The episode subsequently produced sharply conflicting accounts from the IDF and Israel Police over who made the decision to abandon the arrest.

The IDF said: “In light of the situation, during the arrest it was decided to send the deserter an order to regularize his status and release him, in order to disperse the demonstration.”

Military officials maintained that Israel Police made the decision and that the IDF merely implemented it.

Israel Police offered the opposite account. According to the police review of the incident, a small Military Police force arrived to make the arrest but, contrary to established procedures, failed to immediately remove the wanted man from the location after taking control of the situation and instead allowed him an extended period to prepare.

Police said they were called for assistance only after dozens of protesters had already gathered around the building, forcing a substantial deployment to help extract the Military Police personnel and restore order.

Israel Police insisted that the decision to release the draft evader and instead issue him an order directing him to regularize his military status was made by IDF officials, not by the police. Police said their officers responded at the military’s request, deployed substantial forces and assisted in carrying out the decision and restoring public order.

With the government’s legal authorities now pressing for intensified enforcement and chareidi activists mobilizing rapidly in response to arrests, Ralbag’s detention in Eilat could become the next flashpoint in the escalating confrontation over the draft — particularly if he remains in military custody when Wednesday’s October 7 commemorations begin.

{Matzav.com}