Shin Bet Director (Israel Security Agency) David Zini's recommendation to use electronic ankle cuffs to keep certain Jewish extremists out of the West Bank had somewhat stalled since he presented it to the security cabinet in mid-November, but was finally approved late Monday night.
Earlier, The Jerusalem Post had learned that despite the extended delay, the concept was definitely still on the table.
Further, the Post has learned that the Attorney-General's Office has already approved the tool, though it is not expected to be deployed in the near term.
Zini made the recommendation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the cabinet in mid-November after an incident in which around 100 Jewish “anarchists” – as they were labeled by IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth – attacked a Palestinian village and the areas around Beit Lid.
Ninety-four of the Jewish attackers, who set fire to Palestinian vehicles and trucks, as well as a factory and agricultural land near the Palestinian city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, and injured four Palestinians, got away scot-free from the start.
Attack was condemned by Zamir, Rubio, and Netanyahu
Only one of the attackers out of only six of those detained remained in police custody by the next day after the mass attack.
This attack, and the condemnations of it not only by Zamir but also by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seemed to finally rally Netanyahu, who made a rare condemnation of the Jewish violence at a cabinet meeting days after the incident.
With Netanyahu seeking options to roll back the wave of Jewish extremist violence against Palestinians, but knowing that the prime minister supported suspending administrative detention of Jews in January 2025, Zini suggested the ankle cuffs as a compromise.
On one hand, electronic ankle cuffs would make it easier to enforce restraining orders meant to keep certain extremist Jews out of the West Bank, given that, to date, it has been nearly impossible to enforce these orders.
On the other hand, ankle cuffs are still far less draconian than administrative detention.
It was unclear exactly why Netanyahu and the cabinet have slow-walked the recommendation to date, given that new legislation or regulations can be pushed through on an accelerated basis in crisis moments.
Even when the recommendation was leaked, Zini had said that new legislation would need to be passed, which could require Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara to weigh in.
Although this is also occurring during a time period when she and the government have not been getting along, the Post has learned that Baharav-Miara has already approved the concept, and it is not the reason that the new law enforcement tool is being slow-walked.
In addition, the Post understands that there can be delays due to operational considerations of how to roll out and coordinate the use of such ankle cuffs in the field.
Complex political considerations could also be involved.
Hours after the Post made inquiries to the Shin Bet about why the issue was delayed, the IDF and the Shin Bet announced that following the directive of the political echelon, and after joint planning meetings by the IDF’s operations and legal departments, the Shin Bet, Israel Police, the Justice Ministry, and Bluth signed an order allowing the use of technological devices to monitor compliance with the restraining orders in the West Bank.
The order enables the installation of a technological monitoring device on individuals subject to an order restraining them from traveling into the West Bank, and monitoring violations of the restraining orders. Violating the instructions relating to the ankle cuffs or restraining orders can lead to a separate criminal prosecution.
At the same time, Netanyahu seems to have given greater backing to the West Bank police units to finally crack down more on Jewish extremists.
The Shin Bet and the IDF had both refused to publicly comment on the issue earlier, and the PMO did not respond to an inquiry on the issue.