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Photos: Published by Haaretz
Saharonim detention facility in southern Israel. Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitz

A demonstration in Nablus for Palestinian prisoners held in administrative detention in Israel. Credit: JAAFAR ASHTIYEH - AFP

Chairman of the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Simcha Rothman, on Monday. Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
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The proposed law says that administrative detention, or detention without trial, would only be allowed if the person belongs to a 'terror group' that aims to destroy the state or harm its citizens. Between Oct. 7 and May 1, 10 Jews were put into administrative detention compared to 2,733 Arabs

by Noa Shpigel for Haaretz
Jun 30, 2024

Israel's Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved a bill on Sunday that would effectively bar administrative detention, or detention without trial, for Jews, leaving it permissible only for Arabs.

The bill states that administrative detention would be allowed only if there are "reasonable grounds for assuming" that the person belongs to a terrorist organization "whose goal is to undermine the existence of the state or commit terror against its citizens."

This would make it very hard to issue administrative detention orders against West Bank settlers who attack Palestinians, since they are not considered an immediate threat to Israel or its citizens.

According to the current version of the Emergency Defense Regulations, which this law would amend, people can be put in administrative detention even if they don't belong to a terrorist organization, as long as there are reasonable grounds to assume that they endanger "national security or the public's safety."

The bill would also create a fast-track process for adding new organizations to the official list of terrorist organizations should administrative detention orders be sought for members of an organization that isn't yet on the list.

The bill, sponsored by MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), will now go to the Knesset for its first of four required votes. It will then return to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation before being sent back to the Knesset for committee hearings and the remaining votes.

"Israel is fighting for its life and its citizens' lives against evil terrorist organizations that seek to destroy it," the bill's explanatory notes said. "Therefore, the defense establishment needs powers that will sometimes enable it to use 'unconventional weapons' like administrative detention or restrictive orders." The latter are orders that restrict a person's freedom in some fashion short of detention – for instance, an order barring someone from entering the West Bank.

MK Gideon Sa'ar (New Hope - United Right) wrote on X in response to the approval that "the promotion of MK Rothman's bill to limit administrative detentions proves that the coalition is consciously working to favor the interests of extreme fringe elements over the public good. The Shin Bet warns of a security risk to Israeli citizens in such a difficult security period. Unfathomable and unforgivable.

Even without this law, the vast majority of administrative detainees are Palestinians suspected of terrorism. According to Prison Service data, 10 Jews were put into administrative detention between October 7 and the beginning of May, compared to 2,733 Arabs.

In the West Bank, where the vast majority of administrative detentions occur, the current rules allow the territory's senior military commander to order anyone put in administrative detention for up to six months if the commander has "reasonable grounds to assume" that his detention is "necessary" for security reasons.

Unlike ordinary arrests, in which suspects must be brought before a judge within 24 hours, an administrative detainee must be brought before a military judge within 12 hours. The judge can then either approve the detention, free the detainee or shorten the period of detention, after which the detainee can appeal the decision to the Military Court of Appeals.