Detainee on Hunger Strike Attacked, Stabbed in Prison

Tal Yinon Dardik, an administrative detainee who had been on a hunger strike protesting his detention, was reportedly attacked and stabbed in the face by four Palestinian security prisoners at Nitzan Prison during the recent Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Dardik informed his family that he insisted on going to the prison courtyard despite other Jewish inmates avoiding it due to the presence of Arab security prisoners. Shortly after entering the courtyard, he claims, he was assaulted by the four inmates.

Dardik's family stated that the incident raises serious questions about the safety of Jewish inmates in Israeli prisons, particularly when interacting with security prisoners. They are demanding an investigation into how the encounter was permitted and what measures were taken to protect inmates.

Dardik was initially detained for violating an administrative order issued by the Central Command. His family maintains that the order's conditions were impossible for him to meet, leading to his hunger strike. Following the alleged assault, his family is seeking answers regarding the circumstances of the attack and the perpetrators.

In a statement, Dardik's family described the attack as severe, with him bleeding heavily from a deep cut above his eye. They characterized the assault as an act of violence against a "pioneer" and accused the defense minister and Shin Bet chief of discriminating against settlers in Judea and Samaria by using administrative tools against them.

The Israel Prison Service (IPS) confirmed that guards intervened when they observed inmates attacking another inmate in the courtyard. No weapons were found during searches of the individuals or the area. The IPS stated that preliminary findings suggest the assaulted inmate, who was in a religious wing for the holiday, provoked other inmates in the courtyard. The two alleged attackers were detained by the IPS investigation unit for further questioning.