Israeli Settler Begins Hunger Strike After Controversial House Arrest Order

Tal Dradik, a resident of the Benjamin region and father of four, was arrested after defying a military administrative order requiring him to remain under house arrest at his mother-in-law's home. The order, issued by the Central Command chief, mandated a six-month full house arrest at his deaf mother-in-law's residence, a condition Dradik claims is impossible to fulfill. Dradik was detained by the Judea and Samaria District police a week after the birth of his son. The police filed charges against him for violating a legal order after he refused to comply with the directive.

Dradik, represented by attorneys Adi Kedar and Moshe Polsky from the legal organization Honenu, filed an appeal against the order, arguing it was issued without proper authority or factual verification. They highlighted that the Central Command chief lacks the jurisdiction to impose house arrest at a third party's home and that Dradik's mother-in-law, who communicates solely through lip-reading, did not consent to his stay. The court extended Dradik's detention by two days during the hearing.

In protest against what he describes as persecution by the military authorities, Dradik announced he has begun a hunger strike. His legal team condemned the order as an abuse of legal provisions aimed at harassing settlers, emphasizing the lack of due process and disregard for the practical impossibility of the order's conditions.