Mother Urges Immediate Release of Son on Hunger Strike Amid Life-Threatening Health Decline

Tel-Yinon Dradik, an Israeli settler held under an administrative detention order, has been on hunger strike for 17 days, prompting urgent calls from his mother, Bracha Dradik, for his immediate release due to a severe deterioration in his health. As of Tuesday, his body temperature dropped to 34 degrees Celsius, and he has experienced repeated fainting spells in recent days, placing him in a critical condition. Bracha Dradik warned that her son is in real danger of dying if authorities do not intervene promptly.

Tel-Yinon was placed under administrative house arrest at his mother-in-law's home about a month ago, a situation he challenged because the home is unsuitable for him both practically and religiously. After police brought him before a magistrate court judge, he was ordered released, but the police appealed to the district court, where Judge Hagit Mak-Klemanovitz denied his release. Bracha Dradik criticized the judge, recalling a 2016 case where the same judge released a terrorist who subsequently committed murder, contrasting that with her son's continued detention.

Bracha Dradik also appealed directly to Central Command Chief Major General Avi Blot and Defense Minister Israel Katz, demanding an end to the use of administrative detention against settlers. She emphasized that if her son committed an offense, there should be a criminal process with charges and legal representation, not detention without trial. She accused the authorities of ignoring their promises to abolish administrative detention and called on Katz to act before it is too late.

Tel-Yinon Dradik, a resident of a West Bank outpost and father of four, was detained two and a half weeks ago for allegedly violating his administrative detention order, which confined him to his mother-in-law's home without her consent. Since his arrest, he has refused food in protest, and his health has sharply declined amid what his family describes as systemic neglect of his medical needs.

The case highlights ongoing tensions over administrative detention policies in the West Bank and raises urgent humanitarian concerns about detainees on hunger strikes.