Key facts
- Israeli settler Tal Yinon Dardik, accused of participating in a brutal assault on Palestinians, has been released from house arrest.
- The attack reportedly involved settlers restraining Palestinians, beating them, and making death threats.
- One Palestinian victim stated he was stripped, tied, and had his genitals bound with a zip-tie.
- The Jerusalem District Court found Dardik's house arrest location unworkable, leading to his release.
- Dardik must now report to a police station twice daily.
An Israeli settler, Tal Yinon Dardik, who allegedly participated in a violent assault on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, has been released from house arrest. The Israeli army confirmed the decision on Monday, stating that the Jerusalem District Court had found the location of his house arrest to be untenable.
Dardik had been staying at his mother-in-law's home, but the court ruled the arrangement unworkable as she did not want him there. Following his release, Dardik is required to report to a police station twice daily.
The March attack on the Palestinian community of Khirbet Humsa reportedly involved settlers restraining residents of all ages, beating them with wooden sticks, and making death threats. One victim, Qusai Abu al-Kebash, stated that settlers stripped him, tied his limbs, fastened a zip-tie around his genitals, and paraded him before his family. An American activist present described being attacked by masked settlers and witnessing the brutal beating of a Palestinian man.
Reports indicate that several other residents, including women and children, were also beaten and subjected to humiliation during the hour-long assault. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz had previously criticized the restrictions imposed on Dardik and had ordered officials not to renew his detention, even visiting him in prison.