A dramatic incident unfolded Sunday evening in the city of Arad, after a police unit arriving for routine activity was mistakenly identified by local residents as a Military Police force sent to arrest a yeshiva student classified as a military deserter.
Following the mistaken identification, the “Black Alert" system, which warns the haredi public of suspected attempts to arrest yeshiva students, was activated. Within a short time, hundreds of residents and protesters arrived at the scene, where chaos and clashes erupted around the police force.
After a prolonged period of tension, it became clear that the force did not belong to Military Police and that no attempt had been made to arrest a yeshiva student. Once the facts were clarified, tensions subsided and the crowds dispersed.
The “Black Alert" system issued a statement clarifying the sequence of events, saying it carefully examines every report as part of its commitment to protecting yeshiva students.
“During this incident, several indicators and factors raised a reasonable concern that military law enforcement authorities were operating in the area," the statement said. “In accordance with our obligation to act swiftly on behalf of the public, the necessary alert was issued. Once the public arrived at the scene and the full details were clarified, we were relieved to discover that the incident was unrelated to Military Police."
The incident in Arad comes amid a recent wave of arrests of yeshiva students. Last week, two students from the Or Hachaim Yeshiva in Rishon Lezion were arrested and transferred to Military Police custody. Reports also emerged of the arrest of two additional yeshiva students in the Eilat area.