UN-Truth

This news was not reported on Palestinian Television today.

(On the 9pm Palestinian Television news, there was a brief video clip, without much detail, of Israeli forces in jeeps in Ramallah, but no mention of the detention of the international activist, or her imminent deportation …)

This news was received by an email entitled: “Israel stages night-time Ramallah raid to arrest an international solidarity activist“. According to the email, “The raid was conducted to apprehend Eva Nováková, a Czech citizen, who has been the International Solidarity Movement’s media coordinator for the past few weeks … Israeli soldiers raided the Ramallah home of Eva Nováková tonight at 3 am near the Manara square. [n.b. One of the things about this is that there are always, but always, Palestinian security forces stationed around Manara square... except possibly during an Israeli raid...]

The email continued: “The operation to apprehend Nováková, the ISM’s media coordinator in past few weeks, was carried out by a force of both soldiers and members of the ‘Oz’ immigration police unit. During the raid, the army occupied a number of rooftops at a location adjacent to the Palestinian Police Ramallah headquarters. She is currently being held in Givon detention center awaiting deportation to the Czech Republic … Nováková’s Attoreny Omer Shatz stated: ‘The Israeli immigration police work under the authority of the Israeli ministry of the interior, and as such have no jurisdiction in the Occupied Palestinian territories. This arrest is part of the continued and illegal use of the immigration police against activists, for political purposes’. This raid follows an extensive arrest wave targeting grassroots activists and organizers throughout the West Bank. Such raids have been conducted in the villages of Bil’in – where 32 residents have been arrested in the past six month, Ni’ilin – where 94 residents have been arrested in the past 18 months, [and in] the cities of Nablus and Ramallah and East Jerusalem”.

This email notes that Stop the Wall activist Jamal Juma, a resident of East Jerusalem, is “among those arrested in this recent campaign”. Juma was arrested at his home in the very early morning hours of 17 December. According to the email, Juma, as well as his colleague in the Stop the Wall campaign, Mohammed Othman (of Jayyous), and Wael al-Faqeeh (of Nablus) are “currently being held on secret evidence and with no charges brought against them”.

In recent weeks and months — and particularly since the evictions of two extended Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem at the beginning of August — there has been a growing cooperation between Palestinian activists, International (mainly European) members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), and Israeli activists (particularly the Tel Aviv-based group known as Anarchists Against the Wall, among others). The older and more established Israeli peace groups have not participated in such joint actions, especially not in East Jerusalem or the West Bank …

Come to think of it, I am not sure that Palestinian Television has reported very much about on the arrest (in East Jerusalem) and the continued detention (in Ofer Prison, in the West Bank, run by the Israeli military, and under the orders of a military not a civilian court) of Jamal Juma, who lives in East Jerusalem with a “blue” ID (permanent Israeli residency).

Amnesty International issued a statement on 8 January saying that “The Israeli authorities must immediately release, or bring before a fair trial, three Palestinian human rights activists detained in Israel following their protests against the construction of the West Bank fence/wall … In a letter sent to Ehud Barak, Israeli Defence and Deputy Prime Minister on Thursday, Amnesty International expressed concern that Jamal Juma’, Abdallah Abu Rahma and Mohammed Othman were prisoners of conscience, held for legitimately voicing their opposition to the fence/wall”

The statement from Amnesty International added that “Jamal Juma’ is being held under military law, which allows him to be tried without charge or trial for interrogation for up to 90 days. As someone who holds a Jerusalem ID card, according to Israeli law his case should be handled under the country’s civil, not military, legal system. Since his arrest he has only been permitted limited access to his lawyer. Abdallah Abu Rahma, head of the ‘Popular Committee Against the Wall’ in the village of Bil’in, was arrested on 10 December 2009. He has been charged with three offences: incitement, stone-throwing, and possession of arms. Amnesty International understands the possession of arms charge relates to Abdallah Abu Rahma collecting used M16 bullets, and empty sound and gas grenades, employed by Israeli forces to disperse demonstrators against the wall, and exhibiting them in Bil’in museum to raise awareness of Israeli practices against protestors. Mohammed Othman, a volunteer with the ‘Stop the Wall’ campaign, has been detained continuously since 22 September 2009. He was arrested on his return from Norway, after meeting activist groups there campaigning against the fence/wall and is being held without charge or trial in Israeli administrative detention”.

Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, said, according to the statement, that “These men have all been involved in campaigning against the building of this construction, much of it on the land of the occupied West Bank, and we fear that this is the real reason for their imprisonment … If this is the case they must be released immediately and unconditionally … “These three men are all well known for their defence of the human rights of Palestinians. In the unlikely event that there are genuine grounds to prosecute these men, they should be charged with recognizable criminal offences and brought promptly to trial in full conformity with international fair trial standards”.

UPDATE: According to Ma’an News Agency, which also reported the story just now, ISM activist Eva Nováková was “detained from her Manara square residence at 3am Monday and carried out by soldiers, witnesses said and Israel’s army confirmed … An Israeli military spokesman said forces carried out an operation to apprehend an individual who was illegally residing in Ramallah. He said the detainee was transferred to civilian police custody … According to Nováková’s lawyer, Omer Shatz, Israel’s ‘Oz’ immigration task force also took part in the operation. Israeli security sources denied that the special police task force was involved … Agence France-Presse reported that the activist was already en route [n.b. - this probably should read "was already being transported"] to Ben Gurion International Airport”. The Ma’an article wondered “if the Israeli government considers Ramallah off-limits to foreigners”. This Ma’an story is posted here.

Indeed, this pre-dawn IDF operation is a surprising new development — which may involve overstaying of an Israeli-issued visa. But, in the past, activists (or anyone else) who overstayed their Israeli-issued visas would be detained while leaving the country (and would face sanctions such as a ten-year prohibition on re-entry).

If the Israeli immigration task force participation is eventually confirmed, it would probably be the first Israeli immigration raid carried out in the very heart of downtown Ramallah, where there is always the presence of at least some Palestinian Authority security forces, and not more than two short city blocks or so away from the downtown headquarters of the Palestinian police …

UPDATE TWO: Overnight Monday to Tuesday, “IDF troops arrested 12 Palestinian suspects during operations in the West Bank overnight Monday –The detainees were transferred for interrogation”, according to a report published in the Jerusalem Post here.

CONTINUING UPDATE TWO: Ma’an News Agency reported on Tuesday morning that “Nováková was scheduled to be deported to Prague at 6am on Tuesday from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, where she was taken late Monday night. Supporters were seeking an emergency injunction against the deportation, scheduled just one day after her arrest”. This news is reported here.

UPDATE THREE: Israeli activist Jonathan Pollack later sent an email message reporting that Eva Nováková “was deported from the Ben Gurion airport at 6am this morning”. He also noted that the Israeli night raid “into Area A over an expired visa is extremely unusual”.

CONTINUING UPDATE THREE: In the same email, Pollack stated that at around 3:00 am this morning, “a military force of 15 armored jeeps and about a hundred Israeli soldiers invaded the village of Ni’ilin and surrounded the home of Ibrahim Amirah, the coordinator of Ni’lin’s Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements. After forcefully entering his home, soldiers extracted Amirah from his bed, searched the house and arrested him … Protests have been held in the village since May 2008. Additionally, the Army raided the homes of Hassan Mousa and Zaidoun Srour. Hassan Mousa, a high school teacher in the village and a member of the Popular Committee, was released after being initially detained. Srour, a well known activist in the village, was detained alongside Amirah. A simultaneous raid was also carried in the village of Bil’in tonight, where soldiers arrested 21 year old Yassin Yassin”…

Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Human Rights, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians