Two security personnel from Samaria arrested: barred from meeting with lawyer

Two security personnel from Samaria were arrested early this morning by police and Shin Bet, and were barred from meeting with a lawyer. Details of the arrest and the identities of the detainees are under a gag order. Honenu organization filed an urgent appeal to cancel the order. Police stated that this is a joint investigation with the Shin Bet on suspicion of extreme violence in the Aqraba area.

Two security personnel from Samaria were arrested early Sunday morning by police and Shin Bet forces, as part of a joint investigation by the inter-organizational headquarters of the Judea and Samaria District and the Shin Bet, concerning extreme violence in the Aqraba area about a month ago. An unusual order was imposed on the detainees preventing them from meeting with a lawyer. The details of the arrest and the identities of the detainees are under a gag order. According to one of the families involved, it is a bereaved family. The wife of one of the detainees said that a police force of at least 15 officers, some masked, arrived at their home around 5:00 AM, and that her husband was not given the reason for the arrest. During the operation, his weapon, communication devices, and ATV were confiscated. Honenu organization filed an urgent appeal to the Lod District Court demanding the cancellation of the order preventing the detainees from meeting with their lawyers. A hearing on their case was set for 2:00 PM at the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court. Attorney Nati Rom from Honenu stated that the use of the most draconian tools of the Shin Bet against security personnel during wartime is inconceivable. Settlement sources claimed that the arrest demonstrates that activity against settlers is expanding to include people serving in security roles. Davidi Ben Zion, deputy head of the Samaria Council and candidate for the Amcha Yisrael party, called the arrest a "disgrace."