Haifa District Court Upholds Administrative Detention Order Against Palestinian Political Leader Raja Eghbariah
On Thursday, 3 July 2025, the Haifa District Court upheld an administrative detention order issued against Raja Eghbariah, a 73-year-old Palestinian political leader of the Abnaa al-Balad secular nationalist movement.
Eghbariah has been held in administrative detention without charge since 9 April 2025, when Israeli police and Shabak (GSS) forces raided his home in Umm al-Fahem, seized personal belongings, and arrested him on suspicion of alleged “contact with a foreign agent”. On 14 April, Israel’s Minister of Defense issued a four-month administrative detention order against him, despite the authorities’ own admission that no grounds exist for a criminal indictment. The detention order relies entirely on secret evidence that neither Eghbariah nor his legal team—comprising Adalah staff attorneys and private lawyers—were permitted to review.
During the court hearing, the State Attorney’s Office informed the court that it did not intend to seek an extension of the detention order after it expires on 8 August 2025. The legal team argued that this declaration further confirmed that Eghbariah poses no threat.
Eghbaria’s legal team, led by Adalah General Director Attorney Dr. Hassan Jabareen and Attorney Hadeel Abu Salih, alongside private attorneys Ahmad Khalifa and Bader Eghbariah, maintained that the administrative detention of a longstanding political leader—especially at his advanced age and without legal basis or concrete evidence—constitutes a grave violation of the right to freedom of expression and an attack on the legitimate political activity of Palestinians in Israel. The defense also presented evidence documenting serious violations against Eghbariah during his detention.
Dr. Hassan Jabareen, Adalah’s General Director, stated:
“The court’s decision to uphold the administrative detention order against Raja Eghbariah lays bare, once again, the true objective of this draconian tool: to silence Palestinians without charge or trial. Israel’s widespread use of administrative detention against Palestinians flagrantly violates international law and basic human rights norms. Now, at 73, Eghbariah remains imprisoned under this arbitrary and cruel system, facing ill-treatment—another stark reminder that administrative detention is a tool of political persecution."
Press releases:
Israeli court releases Arab political leader from detention, accepting Adalah's legal defense
Israeli prosecutor reveals: Requests for jail without bail until end of trial for Facebook - Adalah
