South Israel Protest After Military Police Arrest of 22-Year-Old Yeshiva Student

Military police arrested Aviel Cohen, 22, a resident of Netivot, on suspicion of draft evasion and failing to report to the enlistment office. The arrest took place at the Gilat gas station complex near Ofakim while Cohen was traveling with his wife.

Soon after, word spread through ultra-Orthodox communities in southern Israel, and dozens of local Haredi protesters arrived at the scene. They blocked the main junction in protest, causing a major disruption at the intersection of Routes 25 and 241.

Cohen's father rushed to his son's yeshiva and gave an emotional account of the arrest. He said, "They pulled him out of the car in the middle of driving, his wife was left on the road," and added, "My son is a yeshiva student who studies day and night. They grabbed him like that, without any shame, for studying Torah. He is a righteous boy. His mother is blind, and suddenly they pulled him out of the car in the middle of driving and took him."

The father also said, "They just threw his young wife there, in the middle of nowhere. She does not even have a driver's license and was left alone, helpless. Is this how they treat a yeshiva student and a young woman?" Cohen was taken directly to the military police detention facility at City of Bahadim. Southern District police said reinforcements were deployed to restore order, clear the roadblocks, and warned drivers to avoid the area and use alternate routes. Police said they allow protest but will act with zero tolerance against blocking roads and disturbing public order.