Administrative Detention Case: Settler Remains Jailed

A legal standoff unfolded Tuesday at Jerusalem Magistrate's Court as Tal Yinon Dardik remained in custody despite a military appeals court canceling the administrative detention order against him and prosecutors consenting to his release.

Defense attorneys Nati Rom and Daniel Shimshilshvili argued before Judge Amir Shaked that the continued detention is unlawful following the military court's decision. The prosecution from the Jerusalem District confirmed its agreement to release Dardik after the military appeals court canceled the administrative order originally issued against him. An appeal of that cancellation by Central Command chief Avi Bluth was subsequently rejected by the Jerusalem District Court.

Miriam Dardik (Yinon's wife) (Photo: Honenu)

Before the hearing, Dardik stated: "I stand by my innocence and stand by my demand to be allowed to return to maintain my farm." Judge Shaked is expected to rule in the coming hours.

The circumstances leading to Dardik's detention are complex. Central Command chief Avi Bluth initially issued an administrative order placing Dardik under house arrest at his mother-in-law's residence. When she refused to host him, the Jerusalem District Court ruled the order unenforceable. Bluth then modified the order to ban Dardik from Judea and Samaria except for the city of Modi'in Illit. However, the military appeals court ultimately canceled this revised order as well, and Bluth's subsequent appeal to the Jerusalem District Court was denied. Despite these rulings, Dardik has remained in detention.

Nati Rom and Daniel Shimshilshvili (Photo: Honenu)

"It's unclear why Tal Yinon wasn't released yesterday"

Following the hearing, attorney Nati Rom said: "We came out of a hearing with tremendous judicial criticism. It's unclear why Tal Yinon wasn't released yesterday. The state requested his release, a judge ordered his release, and they simply ignored the judicial decision. Right now he's detained after 38 days continuing his hunger strike and in poor physical condition."

Rom added: "There is no justification for his detention, certainly not a criminal justification. This is a contamination of the criminal process and we very much hope and expect that the court will order his immediate release in the coming hours."

Attorney Daniel Shimshilshvili said: "In the hearing, the court essentially asked the state's representative a simple question that she couldn't answer—why they insist on continuing Tal Yinon's detention when just from a quick glance you can understand how bad his medical condition is."

He continued: "We believe that every minute Tal Yinon is in custody after the clear decisions by the appeals committee and the district court, which determined that his obligation to be at his mother-in-law's house when she objects to it is illegal, then the detention here is also illegal. We expect the court to state its position decisively, and this was even hinted at very clearly during the hearing."

Miriam Dardik, Tal Yinon's wife, also addressed her husband's detention after the hearing: "My husband has already been detained for over a month. We were now in court and there's no proof and no evidence. They don't even talk about it or address the fact that a person is detained for so long with nothing."

Background: The tension between Defense Minister Israel Katz and Blot

The Dardik case has unfolded against the backdrop of sharp tensions between Defense Minister Israel Katz and Central Command chief Avi Bluth. Katz announced in a live broadcast that Bluth would be replaced by Major General Dudu Bar Kalifa, citing in part his handling of the Dardik matter.

Dardik is suspected of involvement in nationalist crimes—acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians—but no indictment has been filed against him. His continued detention despite the administrative order's cancellation and the prosecution's consent to his release raises questions about the legal basis for holding him.