FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Yesterday, when Israeli peace activists Neta Golan and Shelly Nativ appeared before Judge Nitsa Maymon-Saashua in the Kfar Saba court for sentencing, she instead canceled their convictions. The rare step was taken after the recommendation of a probationary officer who was impressed by the “humanitarian motivations” of the two activists.
In April 2001, the two were arrested when they chained themselves to olive trees in the West Bank village of Deir Istiya in an attempt to prevent the destruction of the trees by Israeli bulldozers. They had been found guilty of preventing a police officer from performing his duty and preventing a public worker from performing his duty. Neta Golan is one of the founders of the ISM and was one of the international and Israeli activists who were with Yasser Arafat in his Muqata’a compound during the Israeli military siege in 2002.
Neta Golan said: “although, personally this is a relief, it’s only because of the institutional racism of the Israeli state that we as Israeli Jews have been let off in this way. Palestinians are regularly given extremely harsh treatment by the apartheid Israeli legal systems.”
Since September 2000, the Israeli military has destroyed more than 500,000 olive and fruit trees. The International Solidarity Movement condemns the Israeli legal system for its defense of war crimes committed by the Israeli military and settlers and its criminalization of non-violent protest against the Occupation.
For more information call:
Attorney Gabi Laski, 054 4418988
Or the ISM Media office, 02-2971824