On the 16th day of administrative detainee Tal Yinon Dardik’s hunger strike, Defense Minister Israel Katz held a closed discussion on the recent wave of administrative measures against settlers in Judea and Samaria, prompted by multiple appeals.
Katz reaffirmed that canceling administrative detention orders against settlement activists was intended to shift suspected offenses into standard criminal investigation and court processes, thereby removing a stain from an entire public. “This is the correct policy and I stand behind it clearly even today,” he said.
He stressed that there was never any intention for Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth to replace that approach with sweeping use of other administrative powers without trial or proper procedure, except in rare and exceptional cases.
“Recently it seems the balance has been disrupted,” Katz added. He specifically flagged Dardik’s case as one that “deviates from what is reasonable and must be properly addressed by adjusting the order itself.” If Dardik committed offenses, Katz emphasized, he should face ordinary criminal proceedings applied to every Israeli citizen.
Source: Elisha Yered, Activist for the Resettlement of Eretz Yisrael
Posted July 21, 2026
HILLTOP MACCABEES
https://chat.whatsapp.com/GNDLHyNGINA4qECDQ9rZ2D