Two security personnel from Samaria were arrested this morning (Sunday) by police and Shin Bet forces; as part of the arrest, an exceptional order was issued barring them from meeting with a lawyer. Details regarding the arrest and the identities of the detainees are subject to a gag order. One of the detainees belongs to a bereaved family. The Honenu organization has filed an urgent appeal demanding the order be lifted.
According to details provided by the families, the arrest took place around 5:00 AM. The wife of one of the detainees recounted that a police force comprising at least 15 officers arrived at their home, with some of the officers wearing masks. She stated that the force did not inform her husband of the reason for his arrest. During the operation, his weapon, communication devices, and a Ranger-type ATV were confiscated.
The two were transferred for Shin Bet interrogation and were prohibited from meeting with a lawyer. A hearing regarding their case was scheduled for 2:00 PM at the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court. Concurrently, Attorney Nati Rom of the Honenu organization filed an urgent appeal with the Lod District Court, demanding the cancellation of the order preventing the detainees from meeting with their lawyers.
Attorney Nati Rom stated: “The use of the Shin Bet’s most draconian tools against the best of our sons during wartime is inconceivable. These are measures intended for terrorists, yet they are being used against security personnel who have dedicated the best years of their lives to defending the state’s security. Denying access to legal counsel is a measure reserved only for extreme, exceptional cases.”
Sources within the Judea and Samaria community argued that the establishment of the inter-agency task force in the Judea and Samaria District—during the tenure of Major General Moshe Pinchi—was intended to expand operations against locals; they had warned at the time that its scope would not be limited to youths identified as ‘hilltop youth’. According to them, the current arrest demonstrates that these operations are expanding to include individuals holding security roles within the community—people who do not necessarily belong to the groups originally targeted by these measures.
Similarly, about a year and a half ago, the civilian security coordinator (Ravshatz) of Malachei HaShalom and another reservist were arrested for Shin Bet interrogation. Both were subsequently released without indictment. Community sources claim that such arrests are facilitated by the “settler violence” campaign, which has drawn condemnation against pioneers—even from within the mainstream community itself. The police issued an update: “As part of a joint investigation by the Judea and Samaria District’s inter-agency task force and the Shin Bet regarding an incident of extreme violence in the Aqraba area about a month ago, two suspects were arrested overnight on suspicion of involvement. The investigation is continuing in cooperation with the Shin Bet and the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division.”
Davidi Ben Zion, Deputy Head of the Samaria Regional Council and a candidate for the Amcha Israel party, responded: “Arresting a civilian security coordinator like a common terrorist is a disgrace. It is absurd that a man entrusted with the security of the residents of the Itamar Ridge is taken in for questioning in the dead of night. Such conduct is reminiscent of other eras in the history of the resettlement enterprise.”