In an unusual decision, the Central District Court on Thursday accepted an appeal by a left-wing Israeli activist who was arrested in the West Bank’s Khirbet al-Tawil, south of Nablus, on suspicion of entering a closed military zone.

IDF reservist Col. Doron Meinert, an activist with the left-wing “Looking the Occupation in the Eye” organization, was arrested on Tuesday after arriving at the site of a Palestinian water cistern allegedly taken over by settlers.

Footage he filmed at the time shows soldiers standing alongside settlers who had arrived at the site of the cistern used by local Palestinian residents, which was not located within the closed military zone declared by the military.

Despite the footage, the IDF told The Times of Israel that it was unaware of any soldiers who had been present at the site.

Meinert told The Times of Israel on Tuesday that the soldiers called the police, who told him he was inside a closed military zone. When he refused to leave the area, he was arrested.

He maintained at the time that he was not within the area covered by the order, while settlers who were inside the closed military zone were neither removed nor arrested.

At a hearing in a magistrate’s court on Wednesday, a ruling accepting the police’s position barred Meinert from Khirbet........

© The Times of Israel