Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed that an expulsion order issued against Israeli farmer Tal Yinon Dardik not be renewed, after the military appeals committee for Judea and Samaria accepted the appeal filed against the order.
The decision was made following defects found in the issuance of the expulsion order, which was issued by the commander of the Central Command, Avi Bluth, in accordance with the recommendation of the ISA.
In a statement from the defense minister’s office, it was reported that Katz ordered that no new order be issued against Dardik, but rather “to address the problem in other ways." The directive was issued as part of a security discussion the minister held with senior security officials of the defense establishment.
Attorney Moshe Polsky from the Honenu legal aid organization, which represents Dardik, announced in response that he is currently arguing before the military appeals committee and the prosecution for his rapid release from detention.
Honenu welcomed the minister’s decision: “The defense minister took the right step and adopted the position of the military appeals committee, which accepted our position, as we cried from day one - that Maj. Gen. Bluth issued an administrative order that is impossible and unlawful. We call on him to fight our enemies instead of us."
According to the defense establishment, Dardik is allegedly involved in an incident of violence in Humsah in the Jordan Valley in March. According to the police, during the incident Palestinian Arabs were attacked, including women and children, using clubs; some were bound; a sexual act was carried out on one of the injured; and four people required medical treatment.
Security officials emphasized throughout the past week that Dardik refuses to offer a legal alternative to the house arrest set by the district court. According to them, once he provides a legal address for house arrest, he will be released from prison to house arrest.
Earlier this week, the military appeals committee accepted the appeal filed by Dardik against the conditions of the administrative order imposed on him by the commander of the Central Command. The committee determined that the commander of the command did not have the authority to order Dardik to be held under house arrest at his mother-in-law’s home, and instructed the IDF to find a suitable alternative place of detention for him.
In its ruling, the committee judge determined that it must also examine the possibility of renting an apartment for Dardik at the state’s expense in order to carry out the administrative order. It was further decided that the Israel Prison Service would continue to monitor Dardik’s medical condition, which, according to his attorneys, has included a hunger strike since his detention nearly three weeks ago.