Military police arrested dozens of Chabad-Lubavitch yeshiva students on Tuesday morning as they arrived in Israel from New York.
The 19-year-olds, who spent the past year studying in the United States, had not resolved their status with the military authorities before leaving Israel or during their stay abroad under the previous regulations.
Upon arriving at the Ben Gurion Airport terminal, they found themselves the targets of a Military Police enforcement operation.
According to reports from the scene, the large number of students who arrived together posed logistical difficulties for the Military Police in dealing with the volume of detainees.
Due to this, the authorities initially considered releasing the students, but in the end, they were instructed to take the detainees to military detention facilities.
Chabad stated: "Dozens of Chabad yeshiva students, who returned this morning from studying at the Chabad World Headquarters-770 in New York, were detained at the border crossings due to their personal status in the IDF. Of the 80 students on the flight that landed in Ben Gurion Airport, 25 were detained."
"Following the letters regarding the draft decree issued by the Chabad Rabbinical Court, the members of the court are in direct contact with the various parties, through a special representative appointed for this purpose, and were even preparing for the arrival of the flight this morning, both in direct contact with the families and in contact with all relevant parties. The members of the Chabad Rabbinical Court have been working in recent days and are still working at this time so that the students will receive humane treatment, and after their status with the military authorities is resolved, they will be released as soon as possible to their homes and families."
The IDF stated in response: "The individuals subject to military service who passed through the border crossing at Ben Gurion Airport are required to enlist and will face legal proceedings in accordance with the law."
In recent months, Ben Gurion Airport has become a major location where military police have detained young Haredi men returning to Israel from trips abroad, vacations, or missions after they failed to resolve their military status or respond to draft summonses. This policy has recently led to various confrontations, public protests, and difficulties at border control.