Defense Minister Israel Katz boasted about signing administrative detention orders against Arabs in the West Bank, while refusing to sign orders against Jewish citizens.
During a Tuesday Likud primaries conference in Ariel, Katz said that he did not believe that settlers commit terrorism in the West Bank.
“Not once did I sign for them [the settlers]. But who do I sign orders for? A lot. A lot. I sign for cases of Palestinian terrorism – suspects brought by the Shin Bet when it isn’t yet possible to put them on trial. We hold them under administrative detention orders,” Katz said.
שר הביטחון ישראל כ״ץ אומר לפני זמן קצר בכנס פריימריז של הליכוד באריאל, כי הוא חותם על צווי מעצר מנהליים לאזרחים ערבים-ישראלים מהפזורה הבדואית בנגב ומהגליל, אך מנגד – מסרב לחתום על צווים לאזרחים יהודים-ישראלים מיהודה ושומרון.
לדברי כ״ץ, פעולות המתיישבים הקיצונים ביו״ש אינן פעולות… pic.twitter.com/WAlNj9rOe1— דורון קדוש | Doron Kadosh (@Doron_Kadosh) July 28, 2026
“Why didn’t I sign for the settlers? Because that is not terrorism. Only someone who acts against the security of the state, someone who acts to harm [the state],” he said.
“On my own initiative, as soon as I realized what was happening, I canceled all administrative detention orders against settlers in Judea and Samaria.”
“Every incident of violence in Judea and Samaria was processed as terrorist activity. Therefore, they could hold people without a trial, without charges, without evidence, and without rights – handling and interrogating them just like terrorists, said the defense minister,” he said.
“I called the former head of the Shin Bet and notified him: ‘It is canceled. There will be no more of this.’ And that is exactly what happened.”
Defense Minister holds sole authority to sign administrative detention orders
Under Israeli law, the defense minister holds the sole authority to sign administrative detention orders, allowing individuals to be detained indefinitely without formal charges or trial.
Katz made a decision in January 2025 to end administrative detention for Jews, while continuing it for over 3,200 Palestinians.
Notably, there were never many Jews in administrative detention, and they were generally only held for three to six months at a time.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.
