US: Administrative detention was one of the few tools Israel used to curb settler violence
State Department condemns Katz’s decision to end practice only against Israeli extremists, says it will continue taking its own actions, while admitting that steps are reversible
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
The US on Monday condemned Defense Minister Israel Katz’s decision to stop using administrative detention — used to hold suspects without formally charging them — against Israeli extremists in the West Bank, arguing that the practice was one of the few used by Jerusalem to crack down on settler violence.
Asked about the decision during a press briefing, Miller said it amounted to “a rolling back of one of the limited tools that was effectively being used by the Israeli government to rein in this illegal activity.”
The remark appeared to be a knock on efforts by the Israel Police, who have only made a handful of arrests related to the phenomenon over the past year, even though documented settler attacks on Palestinians have been taking place regularly in the West Bank. The practice of administrative detention is employed by the Shin Bet, but requires the defense minister’s authorization.
Miller said that the Biden administration is “incredibly concerned” about the increasing violence by settlers in the West Bank, including assaults on Palestinian civilians, forced displacement of Palestinian communities, and the willful destruction of homes and farms.
“We have called on the government of Israel repeatedly to take further actions to deter extremist settler violence and to hold those engaging accountable. As you have seen with the actions that we have taken over the past year, we are also committed to continuing to take our own actions,” he said, referring to the sanctions that the US has levied against roughly two dozen individuals and entities since the start of the year. Miller acknowledged that those sanctions can be reversed by the next administration.
Katz announced the decision on Friday, leading to accusations of discrimination, given that the practice of holding suspects without charge or trial will continue against thousands of Palestinians and a handful of Arab Israelis as well. Only seven settlers were under administrative detention when Katz made the announcement.
Administrative detention allows an individual to be held without charge for up to six months at a time. The detention can be renewed indefinitely while allowing military prosecutors to keep suspects from being able to see the evidence against them. It is used in cases where security forces argue an individual represents a clear danger despite insufficient evidence to indict.
Channel 12 news reported Friday that the Shin Bet has warned Israel’s political echelon that Katz’s decision risks harming efforts to combat violent settlers.
The network said it would make it more difficult for Israel to urge European countries not to abide by international tribunals, given that it further establishes separate treatment for Jews and Arabs under Israel’s rule in the West Bank.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raised the Biden administration’s alarm over the decision during a call with Katz on Saturday, a US official told The Times of Israel.
Katz’s decision to end the practice of detention without trial against Jews only, while maintaining the practice en masse against Palestinians, as well as against a handful of Arab Israelis, raises significant concerns about discrimination, the US official said.
“In a reality where the Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria is subject to serious Palestinian terror threats and unjustified international sanctions are taken against the settlers, it is not appropriate for the State of Israel to take such a severe measure against the people of the settlements,” Katz said in a statement announcing the move, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name.
In the hours that followed, there were several attacks reportedly perpetrated by settler extremists. Dozens of settlers hurled stones at Israeli troops and Border Police officers near the West Bank settlement of Itamar on Saturday, and dozens of Jewish extremists visiting Hebron for an annual pilgrimage tried to attack the head of IDF Central Command Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth on Friday.
