OVER 45 HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS DETAINED

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Wednesday August 06, 2003 03:29 by Dalton - Internatinal Women's Peace Service

One detainee from Ireland

Detainees are from: ISRAEL, U.S., U.K., ITALY, SWEDEN, FRANCE, DENMARK, JAPAN, IRELAND, GERMANY AND CANADA .
One Palestinian was charged with assault and a IWPS member is being held as well.

[Occupied West Bank] At approximately 7am this morning, Palestinian, Israeli, and international human rights activists were detained while attempting to block the demolition of part of a Palestinian family's home, near the village of Mas'ha. The building had been slated for demolition by the Israeli Military because it lay in the path of the Apartheid Wall that Israel is building on occupied Palestinian land.



The international activists were from International Women's Peace Service and International Solidarity Movement. Israeli activists from many groups including Gush Shalom, Indymedia and Green Action have been actively supporting the struggle against the Wall construction at Mas'ha for the last four months. Most of you know that a peace camp was established in Mas'ha in April, on land belonging to the village which is being cut off by the Wall. Several days ago, in response to the threat to demolish the house of the Amer family, the camp was moved land adjacent to the family's house. On Monday, SHABAK (Israeli secret police) agents came and arrested the two Israeli activists who were staying in the camp; they were later released.


The peace activists detained this morning were violently thrown on busses by Israeli soldiers and border police. Two internationals were beaten; one, a US citizen from Los Angeles, was repeatedly kicked in the stomach and may have sustained broken ribs. Immediately, a Caterpillar bulldozer moved in to demolish part of the family home (an animal shed attached to the home).

Though it’s difficult to communicate with the detainees and we are unsure of the final numbers, the detainees we know of are from the following countries:



11 US, 1 Canada, 1 Japan, 6 UK, 1 Ireland, 4 Sweden, 1 Denmark, 8 Italy, 2 France, 5 Israel, 3 Palestine


Detainees are being held at Ariel Prison in the illegal settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank. One Palestinian and one Italian have been put under formal arrest. The others, the Israeli Ministry of Interior is currently deciding what they want to do with. One option is for them to deport the internationals.

A hearing is now being held to decide whether to hold the internationals for deportation proceedings.

Please flood the Ministry of Interior with phone calls from around the world, asking that ALL the detainees be released. Let them know that you are watching and protest the Israeli government’s attempts to deport peace activists witnessing and trying to prevent abuses against Palestinian human rights.

You can phone the Ministry of Interior at:
+972 2 670 1648

You can also flood Ariel prison with calls demanding the immediate release of all detainees. The best numbers to call are the officers but if they are unreachable, please call the General Info line.

Ariel Prison General Info:
+972 3 906 5444

Ariel Prison Officer - Ami Baran and Haim Fadlan:
+972 3 906 5406 or +972 3 906 5416


Please read all about it on the new-look IWPS website at
http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org


For more info:

IWPS 972 9 251 6644
Claire 972 55 854 988

ISM media office 972 2 277 4602

Huwaida 067473308