Jerusalem Court Reviews Appeal Against Administrative Detention of Settler Tal Yinon Dradik

The Jerusalem District Court is currently hearing an appeal against a military court ruling in the West Bank that invalidated the administrative detention order against Tal Yinon Dradik. Dradik, suspected of serious offenses against Palestinians, is represented by attorney Moshe Polsky from the Honenu organization. The hearing took place on Thursday morning.

Members of Knesset Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit) and Tali Gottlieb (Likud) attended the session to support Dradik and his family. Gottlieb described the hearing as a "rebellion by Central Command Chief Aluf Lot against the Defense Minister." Son Har-Melech emphasized that Dradik's hunger strike, ongoing for over 30 days, has worsened his health and called the fight against administrative detention "the struggle of all of us."

Son Har-Melech criticized the continued use of administrative orders against settlers despite the Defense Minister's directive to cease such detentions. She accused the security establishment, including the Shin Bet and Central Command, of labeling Dradik as dangerous without due process. She argued that in a state of law, dangerous individuals should face criminal trials, not administrative orders without evidence. She also linked Dradik's struggle to opposing policies rooted in the Oslo Accords, which she claims endanger Israeli citizens in the West Bank.

Attorney Moshe Polsky condemned the security forces and prosecution for pursuing an unlawful administrative order. He stated that all parties acknowledge the order is illegal and unenforceable, yet Dradik has been subjected to prolonged legal proceedings while on hunger strike. Polsky described the process as draconian and undemocratic, accusing the military of trying to conceal its failures by holding closed-door hearings and restricting Dradik's defense.

Polsky rejected claims that Dradik poses a security threat, asserting that the real danger in the West Bank comes from Palestinian terrorism. He criticized the narrative blaming settlers for violence as false and diverting attention from combating terror. According to Polsky, enforcement efforts should focus on actual threats rather than settlers living under daily security risks.