As extremism rises, Israel shifts its approach
Administrative detention can be used to jail Jews, not just Palestinians.
JERUSALEM — Israel has long used the murky tool of administrative detention to place Palestinians in jail for extended periods without charging them. This week, for the first time in years, the practice was extended to Jewish suspects.
The unusual measure followed the arson attack last week that killed a Palestinian toddler and gravely injured his family as they slept in their home in the West Bank village of Duma.
The attack enraged Palestinians and sent shock waves through Israeli society, which was horrified by the near certainty that right-wing Jewish extremists were behind the attack.
“No one is above the law,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “Anyone who violates it, who carries out hate crimes, terrorism, will face the full severity of the law, including administrative detention if needed.”
Amid increased tension, a Palestinian drove his car into soldiers in the West Bank on Thursday, injuring three; he was shot by Israeli troops, the military said.
In the last decade, hundreds of attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank have been attributed to Jewish extremists, typically residents of Jewish outposts that are outlawed under both Israeli and international law. The attacks have ranged from vandalism of property to the burning of mosques and homes.
But few suspects have been arrested, and fewer charged and convicted in the attacks that mostly resulted in property damage and aggravation for Palestinians.
Increasingly, such attacks have spilled over into Israel, where Christian and Muslim sites have been targeted, as well as communities and institutions advocating coexistence between Arabs and Jews. One such attack in June caused serious damage to a landmark church, revered by Christians as the site where Jesus is said to have fed multitudes with fish and bread.
Often the attacks followed government actions against Jewish settlements in the West Bank, such as removal of an illegal outpost. Graffiti left after some attacks dubbed these “pricetag” attacks, a name that stuck in the public discourse.
The legal system and law enforcement agencies have grappled with loosely organized violent Jewish extremists as attacks became bolder over the years.
After an attack by Jewish extremists against Israel’s military, Netanyahu’s previous government pledged tougher measures against home-grown militants but rejected a bill seeking to define the attacks as terrorism.
More than a dozen mosques and Palestinian homes in the West Bank have been hit by arson attacks in recent years, but it wasn’t until the tragic outcome of Friday’s attack that authorities started using legal measures such as administrative detention, which allows a suspect to be held for up to six months without trial, charges or seeing any evidence. The terms can be extended, sometimes for years.
Israeli officials say the practice is intended to prevent attacks and is not punitive. It is typically based on intelligence rather than evidence, a practice rights groups have worked to end.
The West Bank attack fatally burned an 18-monthold Palestinian boy, Ali Dawabshe. His parents were in critical condition Thursday, and hospital officials said his 4-year-old brother was showing improvement but faced a painful recovery.
The attack came only 12 hours after Yishai Schlissel, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, was arrested on suspicion of attacking revelers at a gay pride parade in Jerusalem, injuring six people, among them a 16-year-old girl who died of her wounds Sunday.
Although different, the fatal attacks prompted a crackdown on religiously and politically motivated Jewish extremists, although none have been accused of complicity in the violence.
First to be arrested was Meir Ettinger, 23, the grandson of the late Meir Kahane, an assassinated ultranationalist rabbi from the United States whose antiArab Kach movement was outlawed in Israel.
Ettinger is considered a right-wing radical who advocates replacing Israel’s secular government with one that rules by Jewish law. Although suspected in previous attacks, he has never been indicted.
A court rejected an appeal from Ettinger and ruled that he will remain in custody until at least Sunday, when he may be put under administrative detention.