IDF Central Command Commander's Order Leads to Charges Against Settler

Police prosecutors in the Judea and Samaria district filed an indictment and a request for pre-trial detention against Tal Yinon Dardik on Friday, just hours after his arrest in northern Israel. The indictment alleges Dardik violated a legal order by failing to report and sign at the police station in Modi'in Illit, as mandated by an administrative order issued by Central Command General Avi Blott. The indictment does not accuse him of entering the West Bank. Dardik's attorney, Nati Rom, criticized the swiftness of the indictment and the nature of the administrative order, calling it a "draconian order without trial" that forces his client to report to a city with which he has no connection. Dardik himself pleaded not guilty, stating he was arrested for violating an order he could not fulfill. He claimed that General Blott and Shin Bet head David Zini are persecuting settlers, and that the administrative order, which restricts his movement and requires him to report twice daily to a police station in an unfamiliar city, constitutes "abuse" and "persecution."