The IDF asked Israel Police to allocate forces for proactive arrests of ultra-Orthodox (haredi) draft dodgers as early as June, ultra-Orthodox media outlet Kol Barama reported on Monday.
According to Kol Barama, the forces would lead operations to locate draft dodgers to hand over to the IDF, whereas in the past, the police would hand over draft dodgers who were found during routine activity and not sought out.
“We received instructions to arrest every draft dodger located in the central region and transfer him to the Military Police as part of the operations, without exception,” a police source told Kol Barama.
The request is currently being examined by the police’s operations department, according to KAN, and further discussions are expected regarding the type of forces needed to take part in such an operation.
KAN noted that in the past, Police Commissioner Danny Levy refused to grant the IDF police support of this kind.
Overnight, between Sunday and Monday, dozens of haredi protesters attempted to storm the Oz military police station in Jerusalem after a suspected IDF deserter was arrested.
Levy’s change of heart may have come following a recent High Court decision criticizing the Israel Police’s lack of action regarding draft dodgers.
The protesters gathered outside the station, the police stated, causing chaos and damaging the tires of three police cars.
Officers from the station, as well as members of the police's Special Patrol Unit and Border Police officers, prevented the protesters from entering and dispersed them "through the usage of force and by means of dispersal of demonstrations."
Haredi MKs instructed to end cooperation with coalition over draft law
Lawmakers from the haredi party United Torah Judaism were instructed by spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando on Sunday evening to stop cooperating with the coalition’s efforts to advance the controversial haredi draft bill, once again setting back progress on the legislation.
The progress on the contentious haredi draft legislation has become intertwined with the push for the haredi parties - Shas and United Torah Judaism - to dissolve the Knesset and move up the election date slightly from October 27 to September to better fit scheduling amid the High Holy Days.
Lawmakers in the Degel Hatorah faction within United Torah Judaism were told not to push for the coalition’s haredi draft legislation, Lando’s spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
Lando’s decision came amid doubts about whether the bill can pass, as multiple coalition lawmakers have spoken out against the legislation and vowed not to vote for it. They have warned that it would not solve the IDF’s manpower crisis and could severely harm Israel’s security.
Keshet Neev and Tzvi Jasper contributed to this report.