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Shin Bet bristles at bill to reduce administrative detention

MK Simcha Rothman said it was a “basic and democratic demand” to ensure that indefinite arrests occur as infrequently as possible.

By World Israel News Staff

The Shin Bet security agency is fuming over a new bill which would scale back its ability to detain Israeli citizens for undefined periods without trial, as the creator of the proposal says the measure will strengthen human rights and democracy.

MK Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionism party, a legal scholar and attorney, has long expressed his concerns regarding administrative detention.

The practice, which allows the Shin Bet internal security agency to imprison those it deems an imminent risk to national security without a trial or a release date for the detainee, was introduced in order to preempt terror attacks.

But Rothman and other critics of the policy claim that the Shin Bet liberally uses administrative detention, beyond its intended purpose as a tool in life-or-death scenarios. They have pointed to cases in which settler youth were allegedly held for extended periods of time, without trial, over suspicions of petty crimes such as graffiti and vandalism.

Rothman’s bill would see the Shin Bet unable to use administrative detention against Israeli citizens, except for in a narrow set of circumstances, including membership in specific terror groups.

“The current bill seeks to strengthen the protection of human rights in Israel by establishing a stricter procedure for issuing administrative arrest warrants against the country’s citizens,” said a spokesman for MK Rothman said in a statement.

Speaking in the Knesset about the bill, Rothman said it was a “basic and democratic demand” to ensure that indefinite arrests occur as infrequently as possible.

Rothman also slammed those “who are trying to portray it as if it is a proposal dealing with Jews or Arabs, when in fact the proposal does not differentiate between Jewish and Arab citizens of the State of Israel and states that the use of this tool will be limited when it comes to citizens of the State of Israel regardless of religion, race or gender.”

The bill does not put any limits on the Shin Bet’s ability to use administrative detention against Gazans or Palestinian Arabs.

According to a report from Hebrew-language news outlet Walla, numerous Shin Bet officials were left incensed by the measure.

Shin Bet head Ronen Bar reportedly sent a dramatic message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claiming that not allowing the Shin Bet free rein to apply the measure to Israeli citizens “will result in an immediate, severe, and serious harm to the security of the country.”

The bill is expected to be voted on by the Knesset in the near future, following an initial approval by the cabinet.