Defense Minister Israel Katz boasted on Tuesday of having ceased signing off on administrative detention orders against Jewish suspects, while significantly increasing the draconian tool — which allows for a suspect to be held without charge — against Arab suspects.

The same day, Katz also touted Israel’s destruction of historic villages in southern Lebanon amid its war against Hezbollah, as he appeared to boost his right-wing talking points ahead of the upcoming national election on October 27.

“I cancelled on my own initiative all administrative detention orders against settlers in the West Bank,” Katz said during a Likud campaign event in the Ariel settlement.

He said there were more than 20 such orders on the books when he entered his post as defense minister in late 2024.

Katz acknowledged the severity of an administrative detention order, saying that it allows Israeli authorities to detain people, “without a trial, without representation, without information and without [granting them any] rights.”

“I called the head of the Shin Bet at the time and informed him that this [policy] was canceled,” he said to applause from the crowd. “But which administrative detention orders do I sign — and many of them? I sign [administrative detention orders for] incidents of Palestinian terror.”

He added that he also has approved the use of administrative detentions against Arab Israeli citizens, including Bedouins from the Negev, allegedly involved in the smuggling of drones, and residents of the Galilee who are allegedly tied to terror........

© The Times of Israel