Overview
- Police implemented a new directive to locate and detain yeshiva students listed as draft evaders, and some detainees have been handed over to Military Police custody.
- Hundreds of ultra‑Orthodox protesters stormed the Beit Shemesh police station on Monday after a yeshiva student was detained, setting fires, clashing with officers, and prompting multiple arrests.
- Demonstrations expanded across Israel with major highways and interchanges blocked, light‑rail routes obstructed, and sustained traffic disruption reported in central, northern and southern regions.
- Security forces used crowd‑control measures including stun grenades and Border Police deployments while firefighters extinguished brush fires near the Beit Shemesh station.
- The confrontations follow decades of limited enforcement for ultra‑Orthodox conscription exemptions and could produce legal challenges, political fallout, and continued large protests if detentions continue.