Mother Urges Israeli Defense Minister to Release Hunger-Striking Administrative Detainee Tal-Yinon Dradik

Beracha Dradik, mother of Tal-Yinon Dradik, who is currently held under an administrative detention order and has been on hunger strike for 17 days, has called on Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and the Central Command chief to release her son. She warned that his life is in serious danger due to the prolonged hunger strike and demanded urgent intervention before it is too late. The legal aid organization Honenu has requested his urgent hospitalization to assess his critical health condition.

Tal-Yinon Dradik has reportedly rejected all detention alternatives offered by the Israel Defense Forces following Katz's intervention. These included house arrest at his parents' home in Ma'ale Adumim or renting a legal apartment in the West Bank for him and his family. Dradik insists on house arrest at his own home, located in an unauthorized outpost in Area B, and has vowed to continue his hunger strike unless this demand is met.

Israeli security officials stated that Dradik is detained not because he was denied house arrest but because he refuses to accept a court-approved legal alternative. They emphasized that releasing him to his home in Area B is impossible due to a recent government decision prohibiting unauthorized outposts there, aimed at reducing tensions with the United States and supporting settlement expansion in Area C.

Dradik, a resident of Havat Terufon and father of four, was arrested about two weeks ago for allegedly violating his administrative detention order, which required him to remain under house arrest at his mother-in-law's home without her consent. He began a hunger strike and later a thirst strike after his detention. Honenu reports that he suffers from repeated fainting, severe weight loss, critical vital signs, and a body temperature as low as 34 degrees Celsius.

Security sources clarified that Defense Minister Katz no longer signs administrative detention orders, which are now under the Central Command chief's authority, and that the current case is handled by the prosecution. They highlighted Katz's role in establishing 104 new settlements, regulating 160 farms, canceling administrative detention orders, and combating terror in the West Bank.

Dradik's family strongly disputed the official statements, accusing the Central Command and Katz of lying and refusing to cancel the detention. They claim no genuine housing offer was made and that the proposed alternatives are recycled, impractical, and fail to meet the family's basic needs. They stressed that Dradik manages a farm with 150 sheep, and house arrest or exile from the farm would destroy his livelihood. The family urged Katz to make a courageous decision to fully cancel the administrative detention order and halt the use of other such orders immediately.