Hundreds of haredim arrived Thursday night at a police checkpoint at the entrance to Ashdod, ready to protest the arrest of a haredi draft evader.
The group had arrived at the checkpoint following an alert issued through the "Color Black" system, which is used to report the arrest of yeshiva students for draft evasion.
The protesters who arrived at the site clashed with police, and public disturbances persisted for an extended period. However, it later emerged that the detainees were neither yeshiva students nor members of the haredi community.
According to reports on the Haredim Ashdod website, the individuals were secular youths who were arrested during a routine license check. During the check, it was discovered that they were classified as draft evaders, and the military police were called to the scene for further handling.
Authorities are now investigating suspicions that external actors submitted a false report to the "Color Black" system, claiming that the detainees were yeshiva students, which triggered the mass mobilization and subsequent events on the ground.
The incident raises questions about the monitoring and verification mechanisms of the alert system, following the dissemination of a mass alert based, apparently, on inaccurate information.