Australian woman detained by Israeli police

ELEANOR HALL: The lawyer for an Australian woman who was arrested in
the West Bank says her detention is part of a campaign by the Israeli
Government to silence pro-Palestinian foreigners.

Israeli soldiers arrested 22-year-old Bridgette Chappell in a pre-dawn raid and
she is now being held in an immigration jail in Israel. The Government
says she overstayed her visa.

Middle East correspondent Anne Barker reports.

ANNE BARKER: Bridgette Chappell was apparently in the West Bank studying
Arabic and politics at Birzeit University. But she was also active in
the International Solidarity Movement - or ISM - a pro-Palestinian
organisation committed to resisting Israel's occupation of the West
Bank.

She was sharing an ISM apartment with two other activists - a Spanish woman and an American man, Ryan Olander. He says about 12
soldiers broke down the door in the dead of night and burst in with M16
rifles.

RYAN OLANDER: At about three o'clock this morning we were woken by sounds of someone, ah, fumbling with the door. It sounded
pretty violent and about five minutes after that they had used a
crowbar to break the lock. There was about 12 Israeli military
soldiers, armed with M16s, flashlights and a camera.

ANNE BARKER: Israel says Bridgette Chappell was arrested because she'd
overstayed her visa. Her Israeli lawyer Omer Shatz says he's been
denied access to speak to her - and fears she may be deported before he
can bring her case to court.

OMER SHATZ: Usually what they do is they try to deport her within 24 hours, using techniques of
intimidation and threatening, saying that if you won't sign a paper
that's saying she is willing to leave now, or within a few hours, you
will be staying there for months, and they know that they don't want to
be in jail for a long period of time.

ANNE BARKER: Israeli authorities also say both women were known to be involved in illegal
riots and interfering with Israeli military activity.

But Palestinian authorities say Israel has no jurisdiction over Ramallah,
and therefore had no right to raid the apartment. Indeed, at the time
of her arrest the Australian woman wasn't in Israel at all.

And Omer Shatz says if she overstayed her visa it's only because Israeli
forces captured her and took her to Israel to accuse her of breaching
her visa.

OMER SHATZ: The Minister of Interior has no authority outside Israel and if she was brought into Israel for example by the
army, she didn't commit any offence because they put her inside Israel,
so they turned her into an illegal stay, alright?

ANNE BARKER: The International Solidarity Movement says the women's arrests are
really aimed at stifling protests against Israel's occupation of the
West Bank.

It's common for Palestinian activists to face arrest or detention for their roles in anti-Israel activities. But Mr
Shatz says in recent months Israeli authorities have begun using these
new tactics against foreigners also taking part.

OMER SHATZ: Foreigners like Bridgette, they take part sometimes in nonviolent
demos, and the worst crime is that they also report to their homeland -
Australia, Europe, United States.

ANNE BARKER: Israel has confirmed the two women are now in an immigration jail, but refuses to say any more.

Omer Shatz has lodged a petition in the Israeli Supreme Court against
Bridgette Chappell's arrest on the grounds it was illegal. He's hoping
judges will decide the case in a few days - if, of course, she's not
deported first.

This is Anne Barker in Jerusalem for The World Today.
www.abc.net.au/

Views: 59

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

Comment by fireguy on February 9, 2010 at 1:56am
Freaking enemy-combatant-sympathizer-terrorist-antiglobalgovernment -patriot-gunowning-zealot-bigoted-intolerant-peaceactivist-globalwarmingdenying-911truther-birther-scum.

Probably waterboading them right now. But that's ok cause the US does it so it is not torture, right????

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Sandy posted a video

Civalyze meme

meme ad for a fake drug that would do away with black fatiguecivilyze you're not racist your just exhausted
17 hours ago
Burbia posted a blog post

Is the Timing of Alex Jones and Charlie Sheen Connected?

Alex Jones is sperging out.Charlie Sheen is coming out of the closet.Is this why Alex Jones is…See More
Saturday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Buying the Last haunted House on the Left (A partial autobiography)

Note to the reader, there are events here that are true and some that are fictional.Chapter IIt was…See More
Friday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

In Memory of Those Who Served

 Bullets flew and ricochetedI was on that hill todayMy Company commander got blown awayI was on…See More
Thursday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Sep 2
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"cheeki kea I was wrong Emperor Penguins are big and powerful but still alive but this,  A size…"
Sep 2
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"Cheeki kea here's another that they say there have been modern sightings of!  The name of…"
Sep 2
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"cheeki kea, did you ever hear of the giant Imperial Penguins? They were about 6 feet tall and could…"
Sep 2
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"cheeki kea I do not think these giant two legged birds would need to have a bad attitude as long as…"
Sep 2
Olivia Brooks updated their profile
Sep 2
John Miller was featured
Sep 2
tjdavis's 2 blog posts were featured
Sep 2
Zfort Group's blog post was featured
Sep 2
Doc Vega's 6 blog posts were featured
Sep 2
Burbia commented on tjdavis's video
Thumbnail

“What’s His Motive?” - Inside The Mind of George Soros

"Trump calls for George Soros and son to face federal…"
Sep 1
Burbia commented on tjdavis's photo
Sep 1
Profile IconSeeta Sathe and Olivia Brooks joined 12160 Social Network
Sep 1
tjdavis posted a video

Mossad, Terrifying CIA Technology, Blackwater & The Most Secret CIA Unit | John Kiriakou

John Kiriakou served 15 years in the CIA as a Case Officer (Spy) and as CIA's Head of Counterterrorism Operations in Pakistan where he lead the raid that cap...
Sep 1
tjdavis posted a photo
Sep 1
tjdavis posted a video

A Critique of the Tavistock Institute - The Mother Of All Conspiracy Theories

An examination of the Tavistock Institute, a theory which seeks to explain how Western societies have been brainwashed by a cabal of social scientists and th...
Aug 31

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted