Bay Area QUIT Activist Held in West Bank

Date: Thursday Jan. 1, 2004 3:10 pm
Subject: Media Alerts – Deportation orders issued against 4 peace activists, including Swedish MP

Israeli interior ministry issued a deportation order against 4 peace activists. The two Swedes, members of ISM, MP Gustav Fridolin and Freidrek are currently held in Ariel settlement police station. IWPS activists Kate and Kim are held in an interior ministry detention center in Khadera.

Back ground information:
villagers from Budrus, and their Israeli and International supporters, made a peaceful march onto Budrus lands that are set to be destroyed for the construction of the IsraeliApartheid Wall. Protesters were met by the Israeli army who physically assaulted the men, women and children present and opened fire on the crowd with over 100 rubber bullets aimed at people's heads. Tear gas was also fired. There are many injuries and approximately 10 people have been taken to the hospital. At least 4 Israelis and 6 internationals have been detained and have been threatened with arrest. Gustav Fridolin, a Swedish member of parliament is among the group of detained protesters. Israeli protester Nimrod Kerreet has been badly beaten.

Curfew was then imposed on the village, but protesters decided to continue their peace presence on their land and were met with continued violence. If this phase of the Wall construction is allowed to continue, Budrus will be largely surrounded by it and rendered an enclave without the necessary services for survival. The villagers have been peacefully resisting the advance of the wall on their land for over one month and plan to continue their non- violent civil disobedience campaign against it.

Among the protesters were Israelis from the Anarchists Against Walls group that participated in the non-violent demonstration at Masha on December 26. It was during this demonstration that Israeli activist Gil Na'amati (22), was shot with two live bullets in both legs and badly injured. An American member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) was also injured by a bullet. Internationals present today were from the ISM and International Women's Peace Service (IWPS).

Currently, the village of Budrus is under curfew and the Israeli army has occupied at least one home. Gustav Fridolin along with one other Swedish activist and two American activists are being detained at the Bet Arye police station.

For more information call

Ghassan Andoni 054369975

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From: "International Solidarity Movement" <ism- alerts [at] palsolidarity.org>
Date: Thursday Jan. 1, 2004 18:10 pm
Subject: Media Alerts – updates on detained peace activists and the village of Budrus

For the forth day in a row, villagers, joined by international and Israeli peace activists demonstrated against the Construction of the separation Wall on Palestinian land in the village of Budrus. The Army violently interrupted the peaceful demonstration, showering protesters with tear gas and firing at them rounds of rubber coated metal bullets. As a result 15 villagers and two international ISM peace activists were wounded. The wounded international peace activists are Henrick from Sweden and Saga from Iceland.

As the villagers and international and Israeli supporters walked back to the village, Israeli border police followed them and ordered people to go into their homes, firing Sound grenades and rubber bullets.

Soldiers broke through few homes and arrested Abdul-Rahman Awad, 17, Abdul-Rahim Awad, 16, Hamza Omar Awad, 20, and Mustafa Sami Awad, 20. all were arrested from inside the same home.

For more information call
Ghassan Andoni 054369975
For more updates on the Budrus situation call
Gape:055725958
Aied: 067924952

Update on detained peace activists:

Lawyer Gabi Lasky and Yohana Herman managed to set a freeze on the deportation order issued earlier against 3 of the four detained peace activists. The judge rejected the lawyers request to bail the activist until the court hearing, which is expected on Sunday.

Two of the activists, Gustav Fridolin, memeber of the Swedish Parliament, and Frederic Batzler (Sweden) are being held at the Ariel Police Station. The other two American citizens, Katheryn Raphael and Kimberley Anne Gray are being held at the Khadera Police Station.

The judge canceled the deportation order of MP Gustav Fridolin, who is expected to leave the country in two days.

For more info, see
http://www.palsolidarity.org and http://stopthewall.org/