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Israel arrests two foreign tourists in West Bank
Sierra Leone News.Net
Sunday 7th February, 2010
The Israeli army swept into Ramallah in the West Bank Sunday in a pre-dawn raid to arrest two women who had overstayed their visas.
The women were seized from a Ramallah home where they were staying, after soldiers broke down the door. The two had taken part in protests against the Israeli barrier which has been constructed throughout the West Bank.
One of the women is from Australia, and the other from Spain.
They were named as Bridgette Chappell, of Australia and Ariadna Jove Marti of Spain.
Twenty soldiers armed with M16 rifles took part in the raid. They confiscated cameras, a computer, pro-Palestinian banners and ISM registration forms, according to Ryan Olander, of the United States who was also staying at the home.
A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said the two women were "staying in Israel illegally, their visas had expired."
They were taken to the Givon detention centre where they were told they would be deported. They claim they were not provided with any meals. Intervening to prevent their deportation, lawyers acting for the two filed an urgent petition with the Israel Supreme Court, and later Monday the women were released on bail.
A central issue was that the Israeli army, under the Oslo 1993 accords, cannot enter Ramallah without informing, and gaining the consent of, the Palestinian Authority. In court on Monday lawyers for the army admitted the error.
Chappell, 22, who has been studying at Birzeit University in Ramallah for the last 5 months, told the court her arrest had nothing to do with her visa expiring. "This is about shutting down international protests against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land," she said.
Weekly protests against the Israeli barrier are promoted as non-violent but clashes frequently erupt with Palestinian youths throwing stones, and the army firing rubber bullets and tear gas.
A new immigration police task force known as the Oz Unit took part in the raid, the third such raid targeting foreigners in the past two weeks.  Email this story to a friend
Comments on this story
Tikun
02-08-10, 09:02 AM |
Israeli army in 3am raid to arrest two foreigners who overstayed visas
And now they’ll go home and tell everyone how horrible and repressive Israel is for enforcing its laws. These kids should try protesting in Burma or Venezuela or some truly repressive country. Let them have the experience of what they are whining about is really like.
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secret slave
02-08-10, 10:22 AM |
Fruits of gender in accountings
salaam,
Fig = tiller = male = Israel
Olive = garden = female = Palestine,
So which fruit standing upon TRUTH in the claims presented wisdom is not what one desires it to be but what is founded in accuracy of accountings !
feeamanellaah
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secret slave
02-08-10, 10:24 AM |
Anti wisdom matter is not Wisdom in matter
salaam = peace,
feeamanellaah
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Sir Ron
02-08-10, 12:17 PM |
Ewww figs & olives, is an olive really a fruit? I’m partial to oranges & bananas myself. The truth is, obey the law of the land. Only two illegal’s, how about trying to remove millions from ur country...now that’s a mess.
dog = cat = up = down = right = left
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ohevil52@aol.com
02-08-10, 06:27 PM |
international youths
international troublemakers should stick to their own
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Unregistered1
02-08-10, 08:01 PM |
Tikun
If to enforce your law you break the law then it is not enforcement but harassment by force. They are being repressed by a truely repressive Country already Israel, they’ve learned from the worst-the SS/Third Riech and are applying that which they use to condemn. I blame the Country and its leaders but not the Jewish people for these actions, the situation is impossible to resolve for all!
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Army and Navy
02-08-10, 08:37 PM |
equal
I like your thinking Sir Ron.
Secret Slave is everything equal?
I think Israel can and will always protect its self. I support a people that love life and not a people that love to die and kill others because they can not or will not produce a viable society, (Palestinian).
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