Honenu Attorney David HaLevi; Photo credit: Honenu
Tuesday, April 2, 2024, 10:44 As the war in the Gaza Strip rages, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant continues his harassment of Yehuda and Shomron residents. On the morning of Tuesday, April 2, a Yehuda and Shomron resident who has been held for four months under administrative detention was expected to be released. Instead, he received notification that Minister Gallant signed a two-month remand extension. He had not been granted a trial or the opportunity to defend himself, as is the case with all recipients of administrative orders. The resident received the notification after he had packed all of his belongings in preparation of his release, and his family was waiting outside of the prison gates. The resident is in his 20s and works in construction in the Binyamin region.
Honenu Attorney David HaLevi, who is representing the resident, sharply criticized the extension and said, “It is difficult to escape the impression that the inexplicable decision by Defense Minister Gallant to keep my client under administrative detention is a vengeful reaction to the criticism that we voiced over discriminatory treatment by the GSS as dozens of Palestinian terrorists are being released from administrative detention in a gesture of good will during the month of Ramadan. The needless suffering caused to my client by this arbitrary and outrageous decision is regrettable.”
Honenu Director Shmuel (Zangi) Meidad added, “A state that, on one hand is fighting a war with an enemy, and on the other hand persecutes its own citizens, heroic Yehuda and Shomron residents, by using laws first legislated by the British authorities during its Mandate of Palestine that were meant to suppress the Jewish struggle for freedom will never achieve security for Israel. Unfortunately, Minister Gallant is implementing a bad policy, discriminating against the best of our citizens with no justification, without granting a fair trial, or exhibiting good governance. Law-abiding citizens are paying the price for the failure to defend Israel.”