Katz signs controversial detention order against Bedouin man accused of weapons smuggling

Defense Minister Israel Katz has issued an administrative detention order for a Bedouin Israeli suspected of smuggling a vast quantity of weapons into Israel, the police and Shin Bet announce.

The suspect, from the southern village of Bir Hadaj, is described in the agencies’ statement as a “central arms smuggler” and allegedly used drones to spirit the contraband into Israeli territory.

The move marks a rare instance in which authorities employ the controversial policy of holding suspects without charge for long periods against someone suspected of committing criminal, rather than security-related, offenses. The agencies call Katz’s decision “groundbreaking.”

He was placed in administrative detention in the “absence of a criminal alternative” and in light of his “significant involvement” in cross-border arms smuggling.

Earlier this year, Katz ordered that the policy of administrative detention stop being used against Jewish suspects, leading to allegations of state-sanctioned discrimination, since it continues to be used against Palestinians as well as a handful of Arab Israelis.

Police say that a recent uptick of arms smuggling into Israel poses a national security threat, claiming that terror groups are able to exploit the phenomenon to arm potential gunmen.