Israel to Apply Electronic Tags to Limit Movement in West Bank

JAKARTA - The Israeli military earlier this week said it would introduce a new technological system to enforce movement restrictions in the occupied West Bank, both for Israelis and Palestinians, in a move that Israeli media said was aimed at controlling the increasing settler violence.

The decision allows security forces "to install technological monitoring devices on individuals subject to administrative orders restricting their movement within (the West Bank)," the army said in a statement, AFP reported (6/1).

The system will allow for monitoring "violations of these restriction orders," the statement added.

The move was adopted following a request from the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, David Zini, in response to increased violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, Israel's Channel 12 reported.

The monitoring device used will be an electronic bracelet, according to the Israeli broadcaster.

Responding to AFP's question, the military said the measure would apply to both Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel has occupied Palestinian territory since 1967, with more than 500,000 Israelis living there today, along with some three million Palestinians.

The Israeli military said removing any monitoring device "is a violation, which may result in criminal proceedings."

Honenu, an Israeli legal aid organization that helps prisoners from the right-wing settler community, condemned the decision and said it would appeal.

In a post on X, they quoted one of their lawyers as saying that it was a "undemocratic step reminiscent of the behavior of oppressive regimes."

The administrative detention order prohibits the suspect living in the West Bank from going to certain areas or communicating with certain people.

The harsher measure, known as administrative detention, allows Israeli security forces to hold suspects in the West Bank, both Israelis and Palestinians, for up to six months without charge.

After taking office in November 2024, Israeli Defense Minister Katz removed the use of the measure against Israeli citizens, but it is still in effect against Palestinians.

Since the start of the war in Gaza after Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023, violence has also increased in the West Bank.

Despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas going into effect in October, violence has not stopped.

Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the territory, including many militants as well as dozens of civilians, according to AFP's calculations based on figures from the Palestinian health ministry.

On the other hand, according to official Israeli figures, at least 44 Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, were also killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations in the same period in the West Bank.