Defense Minister Israel Katz’s decision to end the use of administrative detention against Israeli settlers who are suspected of carrying out violence in the West Bank was welcomed Friday by right-wing politicians as the end of a draconian and unjust practice against “law-abiding” citizens, as opposition lawmakers decried it as dangerous and “approval for Jewish terror.”
Katz’s announcement means Israel will now be using the controversial policy of administrative detention, the holding of suspects without charge or trial, only against Palestinian terror suspects.
While the practice is primarily deployed against Palestinians, it is also used against some extremist Jewish Israelis, which has drawn increasing criticism of the ruling Likud party by far-right coalition members.
The measure sees individuals held without charge for up to six months at a time. The detentions can be renewed indefinitely while allowing military prosecutors to keep suspects from being able to see the evidence against them.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a former settler activist who was convicted of terror-related offenses, called the move “important and huge news… This is a correction of many years of mistreatment, and justice for those who love the land.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settlement advocate, said Katz “eliminated long-standing discrimination against settlers in Judea and Samaria and put an end to the injustice in which the settlers were second-class citizens and draconian and undemocratic measures were applied against them that trampled on their rights, measures that are not applied against any other population in the State of Israel except terrorists and dangerous enemies.” He was referring to the West Bank by its biblical name.
Minister Israel Katz at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on November 10, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Smotrich clarified that if the “unacceptable phenomenon” of settler violence occurs, it “should be handled by the police and the legal system in accordance with the procedures and rules of evidence of criminal law, just as they would be with any other citizen or population.”
Likud MK Avichai Boaron said the move “reflects a supportive and warm approach toward the settlement movement and the settlers in Judea and Samaria. There is no doubt that this is a first sign heralding a new attitude, whose ultimate outcome will be full sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”
MK Simcha Rothman, the chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, welcomed the announcement as a “moral, just and correct decision.”
A bill sponsored by Rothman — which would forbid the use of administrative detention or administrative restraining orders against Israeli citizens, unless they are members of a certain list of terror groups — is currently making its way through the Knesset.
“The bill I submitted was intended to clarify exactly the basic values of the State of Israel and the necessary distinction between an enemy and a supporter,” he tweeted.
“In light of Minister Katz’s clear and welcome announcement, we will examine in the Constitution Committee how the implementation of the directive of the political echelon is carried out in the field and we will adjust the wording of the bill that is already on the committee’s table.”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin congratulated Katz on his decision, calling the move an “end to discrimination.”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin speaks during a Knesset plenum session on November 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldbergl/Flash90)
Levin added that the “pioneer settlers in Judea and Samaria are overwhelmingly law-abiding. Cases of illegal violence should be handled as is customary with respect to any Israeli citizen and in accordance with the law, as is customary everywhere in the country.”
Housing Minister and United Torah Judaism party chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf called the move a “worthy and necessary decision.”
“The settlers in Judea and Samaria are lovers of the people and the land, who strengthen the Jewish attachment to the homeland with devotion,” Goldknopf added. “It is the duty of the State of Israel to assist them in every way and not to apply measures against them that are reserved for the fight against Palestinian terrorism.”
Not all Israeli politicians supported the move, with MK Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff and current centrist opposition lawmaker, calling it “a grave and dangerous mistake.”
“This is another step toward a severe escalation in Judea and Samaria, for which we will all pay the price,” Eisenkot warned.
“The goal of such orders is not law-abiding Jewish citizens but extremist terror elements who tarnish and endanger us as a society,” he said. “This step joins other deliberate measures that harm the IDF’s ability to fulfill its role as the sovereign authority responsible for the safety and security of residents.”
MK Ahmad Tibi attends a meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, October 15, 2024 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
MK Ahmad Tibi, of the Arab-Jewish Hadash-Ta’al party, lambasted the move, saying: “This is effectively the defense minister’s certification of approval for Jewish terror — a government of terror supporters. Administrative detention applies only to Palestinians. This is yet more proof of the regime of Jewish supremacy. Later, they’ll cry about ‘antisemitism’ in The Hague.”
“In short, administrative detention does not apply to those whose veins flow with blue-and-white blood, members of the ‘supreme Jewish race,’” Tibi said.
The left-wing Yesh Din human rights nonprofit said that “administrative detention is a draconian and anti-democratic measure that should be stopped against Palestinians and Israelis alike.”
“Instead, law enforcement agencies should conduct effective investigations and bring to justice when there is sufficient evidence to do so. Let us recall that thousands of Palestinians are being held in administrative detention under administrative detention orders that Minister Katz has not revoked,” the group added.
