Report: Katz met suspect detained over brutal settler attack on West Bank village

Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly met with Tal Yinon Dardik, a suspected violent settler, in his jail cell on Friday. Dardik is accused of participating in a brutal attack in March on the Palestinian village of Khirbet Humsa, where a victim was allegedly stripped and paraded. Dardik, who denies involvement, has been on a hunger strike for 20 days in protest of his detention after refusing administrative house arrest. Katz offered house arrest at a friend's home, but Dardik insisted on returning to his farming outpost in Area B of the West Bank. Associates of Katz stated the visit was to ensure Dardik's well-being, noting the unusual nature of a defense minister meeting a nationalistic crime suspect. Dardik's family maintains his innocence, stating he has "no connection" to the incident and is "engaged in settling the land and raising sheep."