Last week, the Israeli military took into custody eight Jewish suspects involved in the Feb. 26 riot in the Palestinian West Bank town of Huwara. A court ordered them released, reportedly due to lack of evidence, but Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, using an authority frequently used against Palestinians, ordered two of the suspects kept in administrative detention. Yesterday, reports emerged in Israel that Gallant refused a phone call from National Security Minister (and Temple Mount crazy) Itamar Ben Gvir regarding the two suspects. Ben Gvir phoned Gallant on March 3 to seek clarifications regarding the two suspects, according to a report by the Kan public broadcaster, reported the Times of Israel.
A spokesperson for Gallant confirmed the Kan report and said it had not been leaked by the defense minister. Ben Gvir responded to Kan with a rant against opposition leader Yair Lapid, whom he accused of “harming the police and now sparking anarchist revolts.” The administrative detention orders against the pair are currently valid for four months, until July 1. Ben Gvir’s accusation of “harming the police” could refer to his attempt to take control of border police units in the West Bank from the Defense Ministry, a move that the Defense Ministry has been resisting, but this is not clarified by the Times of Israel. Lapid’s role in this is also not clarified.
