188 bochurim caught at Ben Gurion trying to bypass draft orders

A security gap in enforcement at Ben Gurion Airport has come to light in recent discussions on draft enforcement. According to a report Tuesday evening on Kan News, 188 individuals with outstanding draft orders were arrested at Ben Gurion in recent months, with 64 of them having successfully passed through border control on their way out of the country without being checked at all, and were caught only upon their return to Israel.

All those detained were immediately transferred to police for suspected violation of the Entry into Israel Law, a criminal offense carrying a potential sentence of up to one year in prison. Some of those involved have already been questioned at the airport police station, while the rest are expected to be interrogated in the coming period.

Investigation of the cases revealed that the primary method used by those with exit-ban orders to bypass the system was physical tailgating, staying close behind another passenger while passing through border control. In some instances, the suspects were captured on airport security cameras executing this maneuver, a technique reminiscent of past incidents in which similar tailgating methods were employed.

Following a series of media exposés on the subject, which presented evidence of various security gaps and different methods for "skipping" border control, the depth of the failure became clear, allowing those with exit-ban orders, whether due to draft orders, criminal offenses or debt-collection cases, to leave the country with relative ease.

The Population and Immigration Authority responded to the situation and took a series of measures aimed at closing the gaps, including reinforcement of the inspection apparatus at border terminals. The incidents join a string of similar attempts that have been thwarted in recent months.

About a month ago, six chareidi young men with outstanding draft orders were arrested at Ben Gurion by airport security teams while attempting to slip through and flee the country. They were transferred for further handling to the Population and Immigration Authority, where the suspicions were confirmed and it became clear that administrative and legal draft orders preventing their departure from the country were pending against them.

Ben Gurion Airport (Photo: Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

In that incident, two of the passengers were located in Terminal 1 and four others in Terminal 3, illustrating the scope of the phenomenon and the need for heightened supervision and security around border crossings.

The security breach was revealed against the backdrop of a particularly tense day on the draft-enforcement front. A formal legal-opinion document was published today establishing a drastic tightening of sentencing policy against those absent from military service for 350 days or more. In a follow-up discussion held by the Attorney General, measures by the Military Police and the prosecution were required to improve enforcement. Military officials announced that proactive enforcement will resume during October, in coordination between the Military Police and police stations.