Central Command Allows Detainee to Attend Engagement Celebration for Eight Hours

Central Command commander Maj. Gen. Avi Blot approved a limited release for a 22-year-old resident of Givat Tal Talpiyot in Benjamin who is under administrative house arrest, so he can attend his engagement celebration. The man had asked to be allowed out for a full day, but the military approved only eight hours.

According to the ruling, he may leave on June 17 between 4:00 p.m. and midnight, provided he remains with his fiancée and both are reachable by phone throughout the entire period. The engagement took place recently, and the man had planned to build his home in one of the area’s settlements. A day after the engagement, an administrative order was issued requiring him to remain under full house arrest for six months at his mother’s home in a settlement away from the hilltop where he lived.

After the order, he petitioned through attorney Adi Kedar of the Honenu organization for permission to attend the celebration with family and his fiancée for 24 hours. A response letter from the Central Command commander’s office said the request was reviewed, but only partly granted. The man said the distance from his mother’s home to the event site would leave him able to participate in the celebration for about three hours in practice.

Kedar sharply criticized the decision, saying that not only had the general imposed a “draconian order” that prevents his client from preparing for his wedding and building his home, but he was now also trying to dictate how he celebrates his engagement. Kedar added that the pressure on the settler public must stop, and argued that the security establishment should direct its efforts against the “Arab enemy” instead.