I arrived in Ramallah to have a short break and so much has happened in my absence. Yesterday four comrades were arrested in Masafer Yatta. They were held and interrogated for a day in the Qiryat Arba station after soldiers called the police and claimed the activists were disturbing a military training.
Donate to sustain the work, here!
People with minor charges are often given the option to sign conditions of release like paying bail but this time the four were not given this option and were told they would be held overnight.
Thankfully, the two US citizens were released at the last minute with a 2-week ban from the area. However, their passports and phones are still being held by the police because the investigation is ongoing. One of activists is an 18 year old girl who is starting her freshman year of college in New York in the fall. The other is a 27 year old man who is a U.S. military veteran and served in Afghanistan. As far as I know, the two Israeli activists have not been released yet.
Ever since the Knesset had a hearing about “anarchist interference” in the West Bank and ISM and other activist groups in the area were labeled terrorist organizations, solidarity workers here have faced additional harassment from soldiers and settlers. They are trying to intimidate us into leaving but instead these injustice only strengthen our commitment to ending apartheid and resisting the occupation.
Here is an article about a family I have stayed with. The ISM volunteer stopping the settler on the horse happens to be from Portland, Oregon!
