Tal Yinon Dardik Rejects All Detention Alternatives, Continues Hunger Strike

Tal Yinon Dardik, who is currently on a hunger strike following his detention, has refused all alternatives to his detention proposed by the IDF after intervention by Defense Minister Israel Katz. The military offered Dardik the option to be released to house arrest either at his parents' home in Maale Adumim or to rent a legal apartment in the West Bank for himself and his family. However, Dardik rejected these offers outright, insisting that he will only accept house arrest at his own home, located in an unauthorized outpost in Area B. He has stated that he will continue his hunger strike until this demand is met.

Security officials clarified that Dardik is not being held because he was denied house arrest, but because he refuses to provide a legal address for house arrest as mandated by the district court. They emphasized that once he provides a lawful address, he will be released from prison to house arrest. The refusal to allow him to stay at his home in Area B follows a recent cabinet decision prohibiting the establishment of illegal outposts in Area B, aimed at reducing tensions with the United States and supporting settlement expansion in Area C.

According to security sources, Dardik is implicated in a violent incident in the Homsa area of the Jordan Valley in March, where Jewish assailants attacked Palestinians, including women and children, using clubs, binding some victims, committing an indecent act against one, and causing injuries requiring medical treatment. Dardik, a resident of Havat Terfoun and father of four, was arrested about two weeks ago for allegedly violating an administrative order that required him to remain under house arrest at his mother-in-law's home, without her consent or prior notification.

Following his arrest, Dardik began a hunger strike and later a thirst strike. The legal aid organization Honenu reports he suffers from repeated fainting, severe weight loss, critical vital signs, and a body temperature dropping to 34 degrees Celsius. Sources close to Defense Minister Katz noted that the minister has no authority over this case, as he ceased signing administrative detention orders upon taking office. The current proceedings are handled by the prosecution and fall under the Central Command's jurisdiction.

These sources also highlighted Katz's role in advancing settlement activity over the past year and a half, including establishing 104 new settlements in the West Bank, legalizing 160 farms, canceling administrative detention orders, and combating terror bases in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur al-Shams. They described Katz as "the greatest friend of the settlement movement."