The IDF confirmed Thursday that military police arrested several yeshiva students overnight, following days of criticism in the Israeli media over haredi protesters successfully blocking attempted raids.
In recent days, haredi demonstrators have repeatedly prevented military police from detaining bnei Torah classified as deserters. In one incident in Modiin, forces were compelled to withdraw without arresting a baal teshuva yeshiva student they had come for.
The left's sharp criticism of the IDF's inability to carry out arrests in the face of haredi resistance prompted an unusual clarification from the IDF Spokesperson Thursday, apparently aimed at quieting the backlash.
"During the night, a number of initiated arrests of draft evaders and deserters were successfully carried out across the country," the official IDF statement said.
The IDF emphasized that "the claim that the arrest of a deserter in Bat Yam was not carried out due to a protest is incorrect. At one address in Bat Yam, a deserter was not located for an extended period, so the investigation team left the location in accordance with the commander's decision on the ground."
Reading between the lines, the statement appears to refer to haredi deserters. Kikar HaShabbat has confirmed that several yeshiva students were indeed arrested overnight.
According to information received, all arrest attempts that reached the point of contact with a suspect ended in arrest, including several bnei yeshiva.
In recent days, against the backdrop of the approaching elections, the IDF has resumed initiated arrests of yeshiva-student deserters whose legal status with the army has lapsed.
With Israel standing some three weeks before elections, it is hard to ignore the impression that the IDF is trying to please certain elements interested in harming the Torah world, all while tensions in Israel are at their peak.
