A court filing says the army generally did not carry out planned arrests recently, citing border enforcement and holiday preparations, and says the operations are to resume in October.
The Israeli military acknowledged in a legal update that it had generally refrained from proactive arrests of deserters and draft evaders in recent weeks. The army attributed the pause to concentrating resources at border crossings and adjustments for the holiday period, according to a document submitted to the High Court through Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s office.
The filing contrasts with earlier public responses from the military, which had described reports of a halt to planned arrests as inaccurate and said military police were carrying out enforcement operations with police support. It says proactive arrests are expected to resume during October.
Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon criticised the pause, saying a prolonged absence of proactive enforcement, including arrests, did not meet security needs. He cited the military leadership’s position that expanding the regular army is a strategic requirement.
The document says 212 deserters and draft evaders were arrested during September as part of enforcement focused on border crossings. Authorities estimated that 163 of them were Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox. All 212 were brought before military proceedings, most of them disciplinary.
Of the 188 people detained at Ben Gurion Airport, 64 were caught only when returning to Israel, the filing says. The figures raised concern about gaps in enforcing restrictions on leaving the country. The Population and Immigration Authority said identified gaps had been closed quickly and cases involving suspected criminal border crossings had been referred to police or the military.