West Bank Settler on Hunger Strike Faints in Jerusalem Detention Cell

Tal Dradik, a resident of the Tarfon Farm settlement in the West Bank and father of four, fainted on Wednesday in his detention cell at the Russian Compound in Jerusalem. Dradik has been on a hunger strike for nine days following his arrest ten days ago for allegedly violating an administrative order. The order, issued by Central Command Chief Aviv Blot, placed Dradik under full house arrest at his mother-in-law's home without informing her, despite her being a deaf widow.

Last week, the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court released Dradik to house arrest, but the Jerusalem District Court overturned that decision, keeping him in detention. Members of the Knesset, several rabbis, and bereaved families have petitioned Defense Minister Israel Katz to release Dradik and halt the issuance of administrative orders against settlers in Judea and Samaria.

Attorney Yehuda Sharqi from the legal aid organization Honenu, who visited Dradik in detention, stated that Dradik remains determined in his just struggle despite the harsh conditions imposed on him. Sharqi condemned the filing of charges for violating an administrative order he described as impossible to comply with, calling the continued detention "a legal abomination." Honenu pledged to continue providing Dradik with legal support throughout his case.