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Photo: AFP
Court cancels restraining order filed by the Shin Bet
After Shin Bet files restraining order against 16-year-old due to him being 'motivated by ideological extremism,' court cancels order.
In a restraining order filed by the Shin Bet, a 16-year-old settler from Samaria was prohibited from contacting no less than 170 people, for the reason that he was "motivated by an environment of ideological extremism."
On Sunday, Military Court accepted an appeal filed by Israeli Zionist legal aid organization Honenu and canceled the restraining order, expressing confusion over the amount of people the teenager was prohibited from contacting.
A settler waves an Israeli flag (Photo: EPA)
Though in the last few years the Shin Bet has used restraining orders as a tool against many "hilltop youths" in the West bank, the young settler's restraining order prohibited him from contacting an unusually large number of people: for comparison, a restraining order filed against the Shin Bet’s top target among the Jewish settlement project, Meir Ettinger, prohibited him from contacting 100 people.
Since the order was issued in November 23, 2016, lawyers from Honenu were fighting for its cancellation. In the court's decision to accept Honenu's appeal, the judge stated that while the young man was indeed influenced by extreme ideologies and was not seemed to be deterred even when heavy limitations were placed upon him, the scope of his limitations were extremely unusual.
The lawyer who represented the young man said stated that "We feel that these orders against residents of the West Bank were issued for no concrete reason, and took advantage of the draconian authorities of GOC and the Shin Bet. This feeling has now gained validity by the court's decision. The court found no justification for the limitations forced on the minor, and even pointed out the negligence and belittling of his most basic rights. We are hopeful that the right conclusions will be internalized and implemented by our security forces."
