Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly met Friday for around an hour with a suspected violent settler in his jail cell who has been on a hunger strike since his detention.

Tal Yinon Dardik is suspected of a brutal attack in Khirbet Humsa, a Palestinian village in the West Bank, where he, along with other extremist settlers, allegedly stripped a Palestinian victim, zip-tied his genitals, and paraded him around the village in March.

Dardik denies taking part in the incident. After refusing to be placed under administrative house arrest, he was placed in a detention cell, where he has been fasting for 20 days in protest, the Ynet news site reported.

During the meeting, Katz offered to place him under house arrest at a friend’s home, but Dardik refused, associates of his family told the Channel 12 news site.

Dardik, who usually lives on a farming outpost in Area B in the West Bank, where Israelis are barred from entering, has reportedly insisted on remaining there.

Associates of Katz told Hebrew media outlets that he visited the suspect to ensure his life was not at risk. It is highly unusual for a defense minister to meet with someone suspected of a nationalistic crime.

In a statement cited by Channel 12, Dardik’s family insisted that the suspect has “no connection” to the violent incident, that he is “completely innocent, and is engaged in settling the land and raising........

© The Times of Israel