1. Jewish American peace activist fights deportation
2. A new tactic for the Border Police? By Amira Hass
3. Who will protect the children of Tuba and Qawawis?. By OPERATION DOVE
******************* Jewish American Peace Activist Fights Deportation March 6, 2005
Israeli authorities attempted to deport long-time peace activist K. Flo Razowsky soon after she arrived at Ben Gurion
airport yesterday. Before and as she was being put on the plane Saturday morning at 5:00 AM, Ms. Razowsky informed the
airport police and then the flight crew that she was being deported against her will and based on false accusations, and
that she would not comply with what was necessary for the plane to take off. After a discussion amongst themselves, the
airport police then eventually agreed to take her off the plane. Ms. Razowski was put in handcuffs and shackles and
taken from the plane back to the immigration detention center at Ben Gurion Airport. The lawyers representing Ms.
Razowski, Yoni Lerman and Leah Tsemel, have negotiated a deal with the Ministry of Interior whereby the Ministry will
not attempt to deport her until this afternoon. By that time her lawyers hope to reach an agreement with the Ministry
that will allow Flo to enter the country, or they will file an appeal demanding that she be allowed to enter the
country. Together with Flo in detention are two Swedish filmmakers who have also been denied entry.
****************** 2. A new tactic for the Border Police? By Amira Hass, Ha'aretz Daily http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/548240.html
Are the Border Police employing a new tactic to prevent Israelis from participating in demonstrations against the
separation fence that take place on the Palestinian side of the barrier? This was the question on the mind of anti-fence
protesters in Beit Surik, west of Jerusalem, last week.
On three of the five protest days last week, undercover border policemen - identified as such only after they fired
their pistols or arrested a number of minors - suddenly popped up among the demonstrators. Their comrades, uniformed
border policemen deployed on the ridge, even threw stones at the demonstrators, a number of astonished protesters
reported.
Israelis and activists from the International Solidarity Movement participated in the demonstrations in Beit Surik.
Veteran demonstrators have nothing to worry about; but, said one of the protesters, someone who is not a familiar face
could from now on be suspected of being an undercover border policeman. As a result, a number of the familiar Israeli
faces have confirmed that they will participate in the demonstration planned for today.
The demonstrations last week did, nevertheless, revive the cooperation with residents of neighboring Mevasseret Zion.
The campaign by residents of the Israeli community against harming the agricultural lands of their Palestinian neighbors
contributed to the June 2004 High Court of Justice ruling with regard to the route of the fence in Beit Surik. But now
the High Court has approved a new route, which, say Beit Surik residents, also affects their agricultural fields. As a
result, they have renewed their protests. The arrest last Monday of the head of the Beit Surik Local Council, Mohammed
Kandil, under claims that he struck a policeman during the demonstration, came as a shock to those in Mevasseret Zion
who know him.
Two such individuals - the deputy head of the Mevasseret Zion Local Council and a Likud member, Arieh Shamam, and
Mevasseret resident Shai Dror - submitted affidavits to the military court with character references in favor of Kandil.
Shamam declared that Kandil contributes to the good neighborly relations between the two communities, while Dror told
the court that Kandil had ensured that the joint activities against the route of the fence last year had not
deteriorated into violent protests.
According to Kandil's lawyer, Bilal Mahfouz, his client hadn't realized he had been arrested at first. Mahfouz said that
Kandil had tried on Monday to explain to the policemen that the construction work was being carried out on agricultural
land, contrary to the High Court decision, and believed at first that he had been asked to accompany the forces to speak
to the contractor. Later that evening, he found himself in detention at the Binyamin police station, accused of
stricking a policeman - a charge he adamantly denies. The military court will hold a hearing today on a defense request
for Kandil's release.
Mahfouz will be forced today to rush between the military court in Ofer and the detention center in Gush Etzion, where
three minors from Beit Surik are being held under suspicion of throwing stones. In the wake of their interrogation,
which, they said, had included numerous threats, the three signed a document, the contents of which they were unaware.
Mahfouz plans on filing a complaint. According to the minors and eyewitnesses, the three were severely beaten by the
undercover border policemen while being taken to the detention center. A spokesman for the Border Police denied all
knowledge of the beating claims, or the charges that border policemen had thrown stones at the demonstrators.
*********************
3. Who will protect the children of Tuba and Qawawis?. By OPERATION DOVE
Today the children of Tuba, a little community on the south Hebron hills, waited in vain the coming of the IDF military
escort. The Israeli army did not carry out the commitment it pledged last October to accompany the children returning
from school. The Knesset had indeed established a law whereby the IDF had to escort the children after the repeated
aggressions against them and against international volunteers - aggression by settlers from Maon settlement. But today
the DCO (District Coordination office) claimed that they did not to have the necessary military means to uphold this
commitment.
At the same time 5 km south, a group of national-religious settlers invaded Qawawis, a little village of Palestinian
shepherds. From the neighboring settlement outposts, 20 settlers occupied one of the caves where Palestinians live,
threatening with death one of the four international volunteers present.
The soldiers whom were there at the time did nothing but socialize with the settlers without intervening.
Later the settlers left Qawawis and the place was declared military closed zone. All the Palestinians inhabitants were
forced to leave the village except the landowners, five people who filed a petition to the Israeli high Court in which
the court officially recognized their right to live there.
But the threats continued in past few days with their sheep killed as intimidation. Today's events show that their
safety is not guaranteed.