Has Israel returned to days of Jewish Underground?
Ex-Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter tells Al-Monitor that despite the tragic consequences of the attack in Douma, this current manifestation of Jewish terrorism is not as well armed or well organized as that of the 1980s at the time of the Jewish Underground.
Avi Dichter, Likud Knesset member and former director of the Shin Bet, thought the proper response was obvious. After the July 31 Molotov cocktail attack in the Palestinian village of Douma that killed a toddler and severely burned other family members — an apparent escalation in Jewish terrorist activity — the state would have to employ administrative detention to combat the phenomenon; that is, detention without indictment or trial of Jewish terror suspects.
In fact, on Aug. 4, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon signed an administrative detention order against Mordechai Meyer, an 18-year-old right-wing activist from the Ma’aleh Adumim settlement, because of his alleged involvement in violent activity and recent terrorist attacks. The order, recommended by Shin Bet, is considered an unusual and extreme response, allowing an individual to be imprisoned for a period of six months without trial.
