13 July 2011 Last updated at 20:54
Welsh Palestinian activists put on plane home
Four Welsh women among UK activists detained in Israel as part of a so-called "flytilla" protest have been put on a plane home. The four say they were held at Ramla's Givon Prison after landing at Tel Aviv in Israel last Friday.Other UK protesters were deported but the Welsh women refused, saying they had done nothing wrong.Shortly before their release, the Israeli embassy said authorities were looking after those being held.
The activists had planned to attend West Bank events in support of Palestinians but were detained at Ben Gurion Airport.Some of the protesters, including Fiona Williams, 46, and Dee Murphy, 56, both from the Swansea Palestine group, went on hunger strike after they say they were prevented from making phone calls.
They accepted food again after 48 hours when they were allowed to call home.
Pippa Bartolotti, 57, deputy leader of the Wales Green Party, and Joyce Giblin, a member of the Socialist Labour Party from Newport, were also detained on Friday.
Speaking from the plane at Ben Gurion airport, Ms Bartolotti said she had bruises and had been handcuffed "very roughly" shortly after her arrival.
She said the group had been treated badly and were asked to sign a statement that was written only in Hebrew.Earlier, Amir Ofek, spokesman for the Israeli embassy in the UK, said of the protest: "The Israeli authorities went beyond basic necessities in ensuring the comfort of those being held, providing regular contact with their families at home, and issuing passengers with any medication that they might need.
"Consular support from the British embassy was immediately requested, in the form of visits from British staff."He said Israel was a democratic country where heated debates occurred every hour of the day across a range of issues.
"They do not take place however in an airport, one of the most sensitive buildings in the country, where the security threat is real. No other state would tolerate this and neither will we," he added.
The timing of the action, as a flotilla of ships trying to break a blockade on the Gaza Strip was prevented from leaving Greece, led some to call it a "flytilla".
Organisers denied the protest was linked to the attempt to break the blockade.
BBC
http://www.swanseapalestine.org/2011/07/bbc-welsh-palestinian-activists-put-on.html
Swansea Woman Back Home! (Thursday, 14 July 2011)
Fiona Williams is home in Swansea and hasn't slept since 6pm yesterday. She is swamped with media interviews.She will be on ITV Wales tonight and is being photographed for Evening post now.
Photo:Israeli soldier filming the Swansea women at the airport
We expect D Murphy to be arriving Luton at 23.55 on EasyJet flight from Tel Aviv.
http://www.swanseapalestine.org/2011/07/swansea-woman-back-home.html
We expect D Murphy to be arriving Luton at 23.55 on EasyJet flight from Tel Aviv.
Secret camera captures life of Swansea women in Israeli prison(Friday, 15 July 2011)
The secret life of Swansea women behind bars in an Israeli prison. Using a hidden video camera, Swansea women recorded their 6 nights locked up in a high security prison in Israel. Stopped at Tel Aviv airport last Friday the 2 Swansea women alongside 122 other EU nationals were imprisoned despite breaking no laws.
Last year Israeli forces performed a raid on the hospital wing of Ramla prison 25 detainees residing in the hospital wing for treatment of chronic illnesses were searched for mobile phones and other communication devices.One of the patients testified for the ministry, and called the search "barbaric," explaining that most of the belongings of the detainees in the ward were broken.
So getting a hidden camera into the Prison was tough decision but one we felt was worth the risk.
Video footage and video stills are available for broadcast, Please contact paulo@undercurrents.org or 07973 298359
The video clips shows how Fiona Williams, a mum from Wales was forced to scrub the prison floors in exchange for food.
Life inside the hot cells, metal doors slamming and tense interactions with the Israeli guards were all captured. The images will form part of a documentary being produced about the attempt by Welsh women to challenge the Israeli blockade of the West Bank. The documentary will be released later this year.
http://www.swanseapalestine.org/2011/07/secret-camera-captures-life-of-swansea.htmlLast year Israeli forces performed a raid on the hospital wing of Ramla prison 25 detainees residing in the hospital wing for treatment of chronic illnesses were searched for mobile phones and other communication devices.One of the patients testified for the ministry, and called the search "barbaric," explaining that most of the belongings of the detainees in the ward were broken.
So getting a hidden camera into the Prison was tough decision but one we felt was worth the risk.
Video footage and video stills are available for broadcast, Please contact paulo@undercurrents.org or 07973 298359
The video clips shows how Fiona Williams, a mum from Wales was forced to scrub the prison floors in exchange for food.
Life inside the hot cells, metal doors slamming and tense interactions with the Israeli guards were all captured. The images will form part of a documentary being produced about the attempt by Welsh women to challenge the Israeli blockade of the West Bank. The documentary will be released later this year.
Legal challenges start against Israel (Friday, 15 July 2011)
Both the women from Swansea are now back home safely. D Murphy arrived at lunchtime today, tired but still determined. She stayed behind in the prison to support a woman who was taking a legal action to challenge the deportation.
No reason or charges have been given for detaining 124 people for up to 6 days in prison. Now Israel is claiming that the people didn't actually enter Israel as they were all still classed as 'in transit'. The court case could take months to work it's way through the system but the women are determined to see it through.
Photo: In D's passport is stamped ENTRY DENIED.
No reason or charges have been given for detaining 124 people for up to 6 days in prison. Now Israel is claiming that the people didn't actually enter Israel as they were all still classed as 'in transit'. The court case could take months to work it's way through the system but the women are determined to see it through.
Photo: In D's passport is stamped ENTRY DENIED.
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