Supporters at the Petah Tikva courthouse; Photo credit: Honenu
Thursday, October 15, 2026, 21:29 On Sunday morning, the Shabak (GSS) and the Yehuda and Shomron District Police detained two security personnel from the Shomron for questioning by the Shabak. One of the detainees was released on Tuesday to house arrest, and the other was released today (Thursday) following a hearing at the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court. The police appealed the decision.
District Court Judge Amit Michles accepted the appeal this evening, reversing the lower court’s ruling and ordering the security officer to remain in detention for another five days. The detainee, whose identity remains under a gag order, is scheduled to be transferred to an Israel Prison Service facility on Sunday. Until then, he will continue to be held in solitary confinement at a Shabak facility.
Senior officers and high-ranking security personnel appeared in court to testify and offer guarantees on his behalf.
In his ruling, Judge Michles urged law enforcement authorities to consider transferring the detainee to a regular prison facility earlier if there is no operational necessity to keep him in the custody of the Shabak, and to examine the possibility of an earlier release. At present, however, both the police and the Shabak are continuing to hold him at a Shabak facility under harsh conditions.
Honenu Attorney Nati Rom, who is representing the detainee, strongly criticized the decision. “When a person like this is thrown into the Shabak dungeons like a terrorist, the blood boils,” he said. “I deeply regret the District Court’s ruling. Unfortunately, the police, the prosecution, and the Shabak did everything they could to overturn the lower court’s decision, and the appeal was accepted after a misleading picture was presented to the court. The detainee has been moved to an even smaller cell and is being held under very harsh conditions.”