Defense Minister Israel Katz Removes Central Command Chief Amid Administrative Detention Controversy

Tel Yinon Dradik, detained under an administrative order signed by Central Command Chief Avi Blot, has been on a hunger strike for nearly a month, according to his wife Miriam Dradik. She publicly appealed to West Bank local leaders to pressure both Blot and Defense Minister Israel Katz to stop using such administrative orders against settlers. Despite claims of a continuous hunger strike, Israel Prison Service (IPS) officials report that Dradik occasionally consumes food provided in his cell, including recently eating fish and challah bread and drinking wine. He was hospitalized last week at Mount Scopus Hospital after feeling unwell, received fluids and minerals, and was returned to detention.

The case has sparked political turmoil, with Defense Minister Katz announcing the dismissal of Central Command Chief Avi Blot live on Channel 14's "The Patriots" program. Katz visited Dradik's cell about ten days ago following a petition signed by right-wing Knesset members calling for Dradik's release. Additionally, Dradik's brother works as a parliamentary advisor to Knesset member Amit Halevi. The administrative detention and hunger strike have become a focal point of debate over the use of such orders against Israeli settlers in the West Bank.