May 9, 2003

Rapprochement Center / ISM Offices Raided

[Bethlehem, West Bank] Last evening George and I were teaching a computer class at the Rapprochement Center. Today all the computers are gone.

I called Fida at the Center this morning to tell her that I would be in a little later than usual. I figured that I had helped teach two evening classes (English and Website Design) for them this week, so I was taking the morning off. I suppose I picked a good time for me to be away. It was a terrible day for the center.

On my way there, Cathy called to ask what was going on. I had no idea what she was talking about. She told me that she heard the offices were being raided and that people were being arrested.

AP Photo: Soldiers outside the Center

Fida is a sweetie. Here she is at George S's wedding on Saturday. You gotta feel bad when a nice young lady like her gets taken by Israeli forces. She returned back to the Center late in the afternoon, and I saw her smiling, so I hope she was OK.

The monitors remain, but the CPUs and disks are gone.

Read the story from Haaretz on my Newsgroup

Here's the ISM Press Release:

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
Friday, May 9, 2003
For Immediate Release

ISRAELI FORCES RAID ISM OFFICE

[Beit Sahour, Occupied Palestine] Israeli forces raided the ISM office this morning, confiscating equipment and material and snatching three women. At 12:30pm on Friday, May 9, approximately 20 military vehicles, army jeeps and a large armored personnel carrier (intended for many arrests) surrounded the ISM media office in Beit Sahour. Dozens of soldiers, border police and civilian police officers raided the ISM office, confiscating all computers, not only in the ISM office but in the nearby office of the Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement. Files, CD, and photos were all pillaged, while soldiers broke equipment and damaged office space. Israeli forces kidnapped Palestinian volunteer, Fida, American volunteer, Flo, and a worker with Human Rights Watch visiting the office. At the time of this writing, Fida has been released, and the internationals seem to have been moved to the office of the Israeli Ministry of Interior, most probably for deportation.

The Israeli government has declared an open war on international peace and human rights workers. Israeli forces are doing everything in their power to specifically prevent the nonviolent resistance to their military rule. The stepped-up harassment of internationals and journalists in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is nothing short of a further attempt to shield from the international community the brutality of daily Israeli military actions against the Palestinian people.

The ISM, however, has no plans to leave the Palestinian areas nor to reduce our actions or our efforts. We need your help. Please protest:

In the US: Contact your congressperson, the State Department and the White House using this link.
http://www.cflweb.org/congress_merge_.htm or http://www.congress.gov
Also call the State Department and demand action. STATE DEPARTMENT 1-202-647-5150

For UK, Please call THE FOREIGN OFFICE 020 7008 1500, Also Contact
your MP and Prime Minister

For Israel Contact Israeli Minister of Interior, Tel: +972-2-629-4701; Fax: +972-2-629-4750
Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom Fax: +972-2-5303704 e-mail: sar@mofa.gov.ilIsraeli
Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz Fax: +972-3-6916940, 6976990 e-mail: sar@mod.gov.il
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon fax: (+972-2) 566-4838 or 651-3955 or 651-2631

For Canada: Minister of Foreign Affairs Bill Graham, House of Commons, Ottawa ON K1A 0A6; Fax 613-996-3443

Everyone, Contact the Israeli embassy in your country

See our website: www.palsolidarity.org for more ways to help or get involved.

For more information, please call: +972-2-277-4602