Rights9/25/2026

IDF Halts Proactive Arrests of Yeshiva Students Evading Military Service

Since last month, the IDF has no longer conducted proactive operations to arrest yeshiva students who have been declared deserters. According to Haaretz, the decision is connected to an initiative by the Military Police, and no new arrests of this kind are planned in the near future.

Key facts

•Publication date: September 25, 2026
•The decision on the operations is made by the IDF
•The executing authority is the police
•The operations were halted at the initiative of the Military Police
•The legal case number is not specified
•The applicable law is not specified in the source

How the Arrests Were Carried Out

The decision to conduct such operations is made by the military, while the police serve as the executing authority. Proactive arrests required the allocation of considerable police forces. Even before the operations were halted, they were carried out infrequently and resulted in the arrests of only a few individuals.

Why the Operations Were Halted

As Haaretz reports, based on police sources, the operations were halted at the initiative of the Military Police. The specific legal grounds for the decision and its official status are not stated in the source. After the operations were halted, the Haredi protests against the IDF also ceased.

What Is Known About the Continued Use of Enforcement Measures

According to several police sources, proactive arrests are not expected to resume in the near future. However, the source reports only the cessation of specially organized operations and does not claim that the status of those declared deserters has changed or that other means of arrest have been abolished. The material provided contains no judgment, case number, or information about 16 detainees.

What this means for you

For yeshiva students who have been declared deserters, this means that operations specially organized to locate and arrest them have been halted for the time being. However, the report does not indicate that the obligation to report for military service, deserter status, or the possibility of arrest under other circumstances has been abolished.

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