INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT July 9, 2003 FOUR INTERNATIONALS ARRESTED AT PEACE CAMP [ARRABONY, Jenin Region]

Four international volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement were arrested today while maintaining a presence at the peace camp set up by Arrabony villagers and the ISM to protest the confiscation of Palestinian
land for the Apartheid Wall. The four arrested are:

Tobias Karlsson from Sweden
Tariq Loubani from Canada
Bill Capowski from New York, USA
Fredrick Lind from Denmark

Full details are not yet known and none of the peace activists are answering their phones, however we just received the following text message: "at Salem abused and beaten". This seems to indicate that the four are being held at the Salem Military Base, north of Jenin.

Since the peace camp was set up on Monday, July 7, 2003, activists have faced threats and harassment from the Israeli Military, from heavily armed security guards working for the Israeli company building that section of the Wall, and from Israeli settlers.
Activists have been threatened with violence, removal, and arrest.
The response of international activists was that they were there at the request of the people of the village, and didn't recognize Israeli military authority over the area. On Monday, soldiers came to the area of the camp to photograph international activists and local villagers and yesterday armed guards threatened to destroy the camp.

Despite the harassment there has been steady and enthusiastic support from the people of the village of Arrabony. Men, women, and children have been a twenty-four-hour presence at the camp, and are coming every day in greater numbers. Activities at the camp have included games and sports, music, and more.

For the past year the Israeli government has been building a massive wall that it claims is for purposes of "security". The wall, however, is being built inside of the West Bank, destroying and confiscating from Palestinians their most fertile agricultural grounds and de facto annexing into Israeli illegal settlements and valuable underground water aquifers. Tens of thousands of Palestinian fruit and olive trees have already been destroyed and farmers are being prevented from working on land that they've lived off of for decades. The Palestinian people have been marching and
protesting this land confiscation and destruction of livelihood but have been met with violence from the Israeli authorities and silence from the international community.

The Arrabony peace camp is one of 4 similar protest camps in the West Bank.

Update on Arrests of Internationals in Jenin

A hearing will be held at 6:00 PM in Rishon Lezion district court to demand the release of the internationals arrested in Jenin on Tuesday:

Tobias Karlsson, Stockholm SWEDEN
Fredrick Lind, VanLose, DENMARK
Bill Capowski, NY and PA (State College), USA
Tariq Loubani, CANADA

A deportation hearing was held today but their attorney was denied access to the court. The hearing this evening is to demand their release from illegal detention and the holding of hearings without legal representation.

Please help us protest the planned deportation of these
international peace activists. Call, email, and fax the Minister of Interior at:

Minister of Interior Abraham Poraz
Tel: +972-2-6701402 or +972-2-629-4701
Fax: +972-2-566-6376 or +972-2-629-4750

Minister Mr. Avraham Poraz sar@m...
Director Mr. Mordechay Mordechay mankal@m...
Spokeswoman Ms. Tova Ellinson dover@m...
Public Relations Ms. Nechama Pluga-Zecharia pniot@m..

www.palsolidarity.org

PERCHE' SONO STATI ARRESTATI??

CE LO POTETE FAR SAPERE????

che stavano facendo al momento dell' arresto??

e cmq e' da verificare la notizia stessa,ormai non mi fido piu' degli ism!

poverini sti "pacifisti" in fondo non facevano niente di male...non e' il caso di arrabbiarsi con loro se bruciano un po di bandiere; non fa niente se cercano di aiutare alcuni kamikaze ad entare in qualche citta israeliana..in fondo vogliono solo fare dei fuochi d'artificio; non fa niente se nascondono alcuni terroristi fra di loro; non fa niente se tirano pietre contro gli israeliani....
sono solo dei poveri "pacifisti"

UPDATE ON INTERNATIONALS ARRESTED
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palsolidarity/message/630

The four international peace activists arrested yesterday:

Tobias Karlsson, Stockholm SWEDEN
Fredrick Lind, VanLose, DENMARK
Bill Capowski, NY and PA (State College), USA
Tariq Loubani, CANADA

were all transferred to the Ariel settlement police station last night, put under arrest, and according to a phone text message received from the group at 7:00pm “NN ALL IN ROOM 1X2 M 4 OF US”

The lawyer for the four, Yoni Leherman, will visit them this morning, but has already been told that THE four will be issued deportation orders from the Ministry of Interior this AM.

Please help us protest the planned deportation of these international peace activists. Call, email, and fax the Minister of Interior at:

Minister of Interior Abraham Poraz
Tel: +972-2-6701402 or +972-2-629-4701
Fax: +972-2-566-6376 or +972-2-629-4750

Minister Mr. Avraham Poraz sar@moin.gov.il
Director Mr. Mordechay Mordechay mankal@moin.gov.il
Spokeswoman Ms. Tova Ellinson dover@moin.gov.il
Public Relations Ms. Nechama Pluga-Zecharia pniot@moin.gov.il

SOME TALKING POINTS: (Please also use your own):

- The international peace activists were in a Palestinian village (Arrabony) at the request of the local villagers. They were engaged in and supporting nonviolent expression of protest over the illegal confiscation of Palestinian land.


- The peace activists were repeatedly harassed and threatened with physical violence and arrest by Israeli soldiers, armed guards and settlers, and at all times remained nonviolent.

- Why is the Ministry of Interior and the government of
Israel preventing all access to Palestinian areas and acting to arrest and deport human rights defenders and peace workers who would witness and report on Israeli violations of human rights and international law?

For more information, please contact:
ISM Office: +972-2-277-4602
Huwaida: +972-67-473-308
Jordan: +972-66-312-547

www.palsolidarity.org