Settler Tal Yinon Dardik released from house arrest, barred from West Bank

IDF Central Command chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth on Monday replaced the full house arrest imposed on settler Tal Yinon Dardik with a ban from nearly all of the West Bank, following a Jerusalem District Court ruling that struck down where Dardik had been required to serve the house arrest but upheld the security justification for restricting him.Under the revised conditions, Dardik will be barred from the West Bank except for Modi'in Illit, where he will be required to report to a police station twice a day, the military said.The order's original expiration date will remain unchanged.The military said the change followed Sunday's District Court decision, which upheld the security establishment's assessment that Dardik posed a significant danger and found that imposing administrative restrictions on him was justified, proportionate and reasonable.The court nevertheless canceled the specific requirement that Dardik remain at his mother-in-law's home, giving Bluth time to set replacement conditions.The military also said Dardik had previously agreed during the proceedings to being kept out of the West Bank. It added that authorities would consider easing the restrictions if he agreed to electronic monitoring.Separately, Honenu, the legal aid organization representing Dardik, said later Monday that Judea and Samaria District police prosecutors had filed a response with the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court and, according to the organization, agreed that Dardik should be released from detention in the criminal case against him.District Court rules house arrest order justifiedHonenu claimed prosecutors nevertheless sought additional restrictive conditions that Dardik's attorneys oppose. Attorney Nati Rom subsequently filed an urgent request with the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court asking Judge Amir Shaked to hold a hearing later Monday and order Dardik's immediate release.Rom said the defense was seeking a hearing within hours because of Dardik's continued detention and hunger strike.“Since the appeal… was rejected, even according to the state there is no justification for keeping him in detention,” Rom said, citing Dardik's physical condition and hunger strike.Honenu said Dardik was on the 36th day of a hunger strike.Dardik was charged with six counts of violating a lawful order after he failed to report to his mother-in-law's home as required by the original restrictions.Sunday's District Court ruling stressed that his continued detention in that criminal proceeding was a separate question from the validity and terms of the administrative order and must be decided by the court handling the criminal case.Dardik is suspected of involvement in attacks against Palestinians and other nationalist-motivated offenses, including an alleged attack in March. With insufficient evidence at the time to indict him over the suspected nationalist offenses, Bluth issued an administrative restriction order on June 9 following a recommendation from the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).The order required Dardik to remain under full house arrest for six months at his mother-in-law's home in the West Bank settlement of Adei Ad. Dardik argued that the condition was impossible to comply with because his mother-in-law refused to allow him to stay there.A military appeals committee ruled on July 26 that intelligence presented by the security services supported the assessment that Dardik posed a security risk and justified substantial restrictions against him.It nevertheless struck down the provision requiring him to remain at his mother-in-law's home, finding that the military commander could not compel a third party to house him against that person's wishes.Committee decision appealed, determining new restrictionsBluth appealed the committee's decision, arguing that it should have imposed replacement conditions itself rather than returning the matter to him. The District Court rejected that appeal on Sunday, leaving Bluth free to determine new restrictions.Honenu on Monday accused Bluth of acting contrary to Defense Minister Israel Katz's position, describing the revised restrictions as a new administrative order.Katz said in late July that Dardik's existing order should not be renewed and that no new administrative order should be issued against him, directing the security establishment instead to address the case through other means.The military, however, characterized Monday's decision as an update to the conditions of the existing order, rather than the issuance of a new one, and emphasized that its original expiration date had not been extended.Honenu called on Katz to intervene, accusing Bluth of continuing to use administrative restrictions against settlers despite the defense minister's policy.The dispute over Dardik has become part of a broader confrontation between Katz and Bluth over the use of administrative measures against Jewish suspects accused of nationalist violence in the West Bank.Katz has publicly criticized the handling of Dardik's case and visited him in detention last month. He also threatened last week to replace Bluth over the decision to appeal the military committee's ruling, before later backing away from the threat.