Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 8:54 Yesterday (Tuesday), Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signed a six-month administrative detention order against Elyakim Harel, a 19-year-old Binyamin resident who was detained by the Yehuda and Shomron Police two days ago. Since Minister Gallant took office two years ago, he has issued 30 administrative orders to Jews, more than any other defense minister. Honenu Attorney Daniel Shimshilashvilli is representing the detainee.
Rabbi Harel levels criticism at Minister Gallant (Hebrew); Video credit: free use
The detainee’s father, Rabbi Araleh (Aharon) Harel reacted to the detention and leveled criticism at Minister Gallant. Rabbi Harel said, “As a father, I am concerned for my elder son, a combat soldier who is currently fighting in Lebanon, and my sons-in-law who are fighting in the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Now I am forced to deal with the detention of my younger son Elyakim, who has been placed in administrative detention for six months through no fault of his own. We do not why and on what grounds he was detained. I naively thought that we lived in a state of law in which a citizen who commits a crime is served with an indictment. If the police have evidence, they should file an indictment and tell us what he is accused of. Instead of that, they took a 19-year-old youth, who does not have a criminal record, and without any explanation placed him under politically-motivated administrative detention. There is absolutely no logic to it, and it causes us a lot of grief. We request that the public pray for his well-being.”
Attorney Shimshilashvilli also issued a statement: “A disproportionate number of Yehuda and Shomron residents are falling in battle, and Minister Gallant is sending their brothers to administrative detention. Some decision makers, the same authorities who were not removed from their positions despite their failure to defend Israel on October 7, have not yet changed their mindset which has been shown to be so wrong.”
Referencing a letter that Defense Minister Gallant sent to Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding the multi-fronted war that Israel is fighting against terror organizations, Attorney Shimshilashvilli criticized the army’s priorities: “By throwing another youth into a dungeon behind bars, without presenting any evidence and without granting a trial, Minister Gallant has proven that in the war against Jewish residents of Yehuda and Shomron he is determined to defeat the supposed ‘enemy’ by any means, however unethical.”