Local security coordinators from across Israel arrived in a convoy at the entrance to the Kirya Base in Tel Aviv, the IDF and Defense Ministry central headquarters, on Sunday to protest the arrest and detention conditions of a security official in Samaria. The security official in question is suspected, together with another individual who was already released from detention, of involvement in a violent incident against a Palestinian Arab last month in the village of Aqraba in Samaria.
Protesters demanded that the Defense Minister intervene on the official's behalf. According to the Honenu legal advocacy organization, the Shin Bet is holding the official in solitary confinement under difficult conditions.
Sunday's demonstration comes after 100 security coordinators from across the country signed an urgent letter to the Defense Minister protesting the conditions in which they claim their colleague is being held.
“We find it difficult to accept the fact that a man who dedicates his life to protecting residents and safeguarding the communities is being detained and treated like the worst of terrorists, while his dignity and status as a civilian security official are being harmed," they wrote.
The community security coordinators also addressed the claim that the security official was held in a cell measuring approximately two meters by two meters by two meters. “These conditions raise serious questions regarding the proportionality of the treatment he has received and the justification for holding him in this manner," they wrote.
The signatories demanded that law enforcement authorities protect the detainee’s rights and dignity. “We expect law enforcement authorities to act responsibly, fairly, and proportionately, while safeguarding the dignity and rights of a detainee, particularly when the individual in question works to protect public safety," they wrote.
They argued that the affair goes beyond the personal case of the security official and concerns the status of all community security coordinators and civilian security personnel. “The detention of our colleague is not merely his private matter. It concerns the status of community security coordinators and civilian security personnel, who bear heavy responsibility and work every day to protect residents. A red line has been crossed. We will not stand by, and we will not remain silent."