Israeli Settler on Hunger Strike Hospitalized Amid Administrative Detention Dispute

Tal Yinon Dradik, a resident of the illegal West Bank outpost of Kfar Tapuach in the Jordan Valley, was hospitalized on Monday after a deterioration in his health during a hunger strike he began about three weeks ago. Dradik was placed under administrative detention less than a month ago after refusing to comply with a military order restricting his movement to the Adi Ad settlement, issued by Central Command Chief Aviv Kochavi. The order followed intelligence suggesting Dradik intended to harm Palestinians in the area.

Dradik is suspected of involvement in a March raid on the Palestinian village of Humsa in the Jordan Valley, where Palestinians reported severe attacks by settlers, including physical assaults and sexual violence against residents, including children. Several suspects, including Dradik, were arrested but later released under conditions while the investigation continues in the Judea and Samaria district. Recently, the prosecution returned the case to the police for further investigation.

Senior Shin Bet officials have met with West Bank security leaders to try to end Dradik's hunger strike. His lawyer, Nati Rom from the Honenu organization, visited him in Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital and described Dradik as very weak with a low pulse. Rom urged the Central Command Chief and Defense Minister Israel Katz to release Dradik, calling the situation dangerous. Katz had visited Dradik in prison over the weekend before his hospitalization.