Samaria activist given three more months detention

One day before activist Ariel Danino was scheduled to be released from administrative detention, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has signed a new order extending his detention for another 3 months.

Danino was arrested shortly after the war broke out. He claims that he was arrested for managing a volunteer command center to collect information from the internet about planned terrorism and attempted to reveal the Palestinian Authority’s connections to terrorism.

Danino is a father of four, and a resident of the hilltop community of Kumi Ori near Yitzhar in Samaria. Aviah, his wife, commented: “The misconception still exists. Only a few weeks after the embarrassing exercise that presented settlers as enemies, the security system and political officials still believe that Ariel and his other friends in the settlement who warned against containment are the true enemy.”

“Ariel is a hero and pioneer who experienced first hand the disregard of the system that does everything to silence those warning of and exposing its shortcomings, instead of devoting resources to preventing terrorism. I call on all right-wing ministers and MKs - this crime is being carried out during your tenure, and your silence is a mark of shame for the right-wing government which, during wartime, continues to reach new heights of prosecuting settlers.”

Attorney Adi Kedar of the Honenu legal aid organization commented: “Continuing Danino’s administrative detention rewards terrorism and the Americans, and allows the real terrorism to continue - leaving the Jewish Department of the ISA active, which represents a waste of human resources that are being used to persecute Jews instead of being turned to finding terrorism and meeting the daily challenges of residents of Judea and Samaria. The time has come, especially in light of the ISA’s failures on October 7th, that the ISA be overhauled, and the sooner the better.”

Several Hilltop Youth groups who had planned a joint celebration for his release have since announced that they will instead hold a protest demonstration outside the Defense Minister's house in Moshav Amikam.