Defense Minister Yoav Gallant continues the persecution of settlers in Judea and Samaria, many of whom are currently fighting in Gaza. A short time ago (Wednesday) Minister Gallant signed an administrative arrest warrant for 4 months against Tal Yinon Dardik, a farmer who lives on a farm near the settlement of Kochav Hashachar in Binyamin.
Dardik, father of children, farmer and farm owner was arrested two days ago on suspicion of assaulting an Arab, and the warrant was issued against him hours before a hearing was expected to take place in his case in court. Apparently due to fear that the court would order his release, Minister Gallant signed an administrative arrest warrant against him without suspicion and without trial.
Attorney David Halevi, who represents the settler on behalf of the Honenu organization, criticized the issuing of the order and said: "It is very unfortunate that the Minister of Defense, Mr. Gallant, chose to detain my client in administrative detention for extraneous and arbitrary considerations, and apparently due to the pressure exerted on the State of Israel. Just yesterday we heard in the media about a decision by the United States government to ban the entry of settlers and here today this decision is being made by the Minister of Defense. I will point out that this unfortunate decision came after the court clearly hinted that the evidence against my client is problematic."
I will also note that yesterday it was decided to make an identification order and my client asked to consult with a lawyer regarding his rights. Instead of exhausting the investigation procedure, and perhaps out of fear that the investigation will not yield the desired results, the minister hastened to issue the aforementioned order, severely infringing the right of the petitioner for freedom. We will use all the legal means available to us in order to attack the aforementioned order, which is unjustified in any respect."
Officials in the settlement criticized the issuance of the order and said: "Gallant joined the BDS organizations, and the anti-Israeli organizations abroad that slander the settlers every day and pressure the administration in the US to threaten Israel. Instead of standing against anti-Semitism - Gallant aligns with it and receives from it instructions. It's a shame we didn't learn anything from 7.10."
This is the third arrest warrant against settlers since the start of the 'Swords of Iron' war. About two weeks ago, an administrative arrest warrant was issued against a young Jewish man, about 22 years old, a shepherd, resident of Binyamin. The order orders the arrest of the settler for a period of 5 months. The order was given to the settler shortly before a hearing that was expected to take place in his case in court, but apparently out of fear that he would be released in court, he was given an administrative arrest warrant instead of the hearing. In addition, another warrant was issued about three weeks ago against a resident of Yitzhar, Ariel Danino, married and father of children, a settlement and advocacy activist in Judea and Samaria.