- IDF withdraws from Modi’in Illit amid defiance from haredi Jews.
- Opposition from Peleg Yerushalmi results in IDF withdrawal.
The IDF withdrew from the Orthodox West Bank city of Modi’in Illit after encountering defiance from Haredi Jews in the city, as reported by Army Radio on Tuesday morning.
The presence of Israeli forces in the settlement city had been maintained since the October 7th. However, since their deployment to the city, Israeli forces have faced verbal and physical resistance from local residents belonging to the Peleg Yerushalmi sect.
The Peleg Yerushlami, also known as the Jerusalem Faction community, opposes Zionism and rejects any collaboration with the State of Israel and its institutions. They hold the belief that the establishment of the State of Israel constitutes a rebellion against the nations of the world and, more significantly, a rebellion against God. According to their beliefs, any political organisation for the Jewish people is forbidden until the arrival of the Messiah.
Moreover, members of the yeshiva are instructed not to present themselves at the IDF recruitment bureau. This has resulted in arrests within the sect for those deemed to be avoiding conscription.
Pictured: A haredi protester was apprehended by the police in Jerusalem last week. (Credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Several instances including the throwing of objects at IDF soldiers and the attacking of military vehicles by unidentified individuals from the sect have been documented. According to reports from soldiers on the ground, the local community subjected IDF fighters to relentless verbal abuse during some of these incidents. Consequently, Israeli forces opted to abstain from conducting patrols in the city and refrained from operations in specific neighbourhoods.
“We are there to protect these citizens,” one IDF soldier told Army Radio. “We cannot provide a quick response if, God forbid, there is a terror attack. We wanted to operate as usual and not surrender to them,” the soldier added.
Military sources, as reported by Army Radio, indicate that local rabbis played a leading role in orchestrating the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the city. They exerted pressure to ensure that there would be no military presence in the city on Shabbat. Residents of the city conveyed to Army Radio that, “most haredim in the city openly and fully support Israeli forces operating in the area…we are less secure because of a small minority that commits blasphemy.”
The IDF spokesperson responded to Army Radio’s report, asserting that nothing is obstructing the IDF’s operations in the city.
