Israeli Court Orders Release of Settler Accused of Attacking Palestinian

The Jerusalem District Court ordered the immediate release of Tal Yinon Dardik on Tuesday, removing new judicial restrictions on the settler accused of attacking Palestinians in March. Dardik had been held for 38 days under administrative detention orders. Despite the court ruling, restrictions imposed by Major General Avi Bluth, head of the IDF Central Command, remain in effect. Dardik is prohibited from entering the West Bank, with the exception of the settlement of Modi'in Illit, and must report to a local police station twice a day. Dardik is accused of participating in an attack in the Palestinian village of Khirbet Hamsa, where he and other extremists allegedly stripped a Palestinian man, bound his genitals with zip ties, and paraded him through the village. Dardik denies involvement. He was initially placed under house arrest on 9 June near the unauthorized outpost of Havat Trefun, but was moved to a detention cell in early July after repeatedly violating his bail conditions. Administrative detention allows authorities to hold individuals indefinitely without charge, a mechanism used almost exclusively against Palestinians. Defence Minister Israel Katz had previously called for an end to its use against Jewish extremists. Dardik had insisted on serving house arrest at his home in Havat Trefun, located in Area B of the West Bank, but Bluth opposed his return to that location. The Jerusalem District Court upheld a military appeals court ruling on Sunday, rejecting Bluth's attempt to keep Dardik away from the outpost. The court noted that relocating him to his mother-in-law's home in the settlement of Ad was impractical as she refused to host him. However, the court stated that the 9 June administrative house arrest order was 'justified, proportionate and reasonable,' noting that Dardik appears to be a 'danger to the security of the region.' Following the court's decision, Katz ordered officials not to extend the detention and requested the military find an alternative solution to allow his release without posing a security threat. Hebrew media reported that Katz visited Dardik in prison last month. Last week, following right-wing backlash over Bluth's efforts to extend restrictions, Katz promised to dismiss the general, though he later retracted the statement after IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi confirmed Bluth would remain in his post. Critics described Katz's remarks as political interference in military appointments. Settler violence has surged in recent years, with near-daily attacks reported across the West Bank. Few suspects are arrested or charged, leading critics to accuse the government of ignoring or encouraging the violence. Shin Bet data released earlier this year indicated that the number of Palestinian victims of nationalist attacks in the West Bank was three times higher than that of Jewish victims. The IDF recorded 867 incidents of nationalist crime and settler violence in 2025, compared to 682 in 2024.