Bil’in Popular Committee Against Wall and Settlements
3 February 2010
Mohammed Khatib of the Bil’in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements was released from jail on Wednesday night Feb. 3rd, 2010. The military had taken Khatib from his home in Bilin on January 28th for allegedly not complying with legal conditions from a arrest in 2009. He was released on a bail of 10,000 Israeli shekels, with the condition of not participating in any of the weekly protests. He must appear at the nearest Israeli police station every Friday between 12:00- 5:00pm.
The night of Khatib’s release, the Israeli military conducted their second raid of the month in Bilin Village. Ibrahim Burnat a resident of Bilin and activist against the wall was arrested in his home early Thursday morning, along with local photojournalist Hamde Abu Rahmeh and an international journalist who were documenting the invasion. Abu Rahmeh and the journalist were held at the Binyamin police station for approximately 12 hours until their release. The international journalist from the United States was released with the condition of not being allowed in the West Bank for 15 days with the threat of deportation if the condition was broken. Ibrahim Burnat remains in jail.
“The map of the closed area was unclear, the officer did not give us enough time to look at the map or understand the order. Then, we were not even allowed to leave the area if we wanted to, the military was surrounding the group of people who had come to document the situation. Hamde and I were arrested, cuffed, put in a military jeep, and recklessly driven out of the village and behind the apartheid fence. At this point we were both blindfolded and forced to sit without being allowed to go to the bathroom, drink water or call lawyers until about 5am. ” said the journalist after her release.
In January Jared Malsin a Jewish American journalist for the Palestinain Ma’an News Agency was denied re-entry to Israel and later deported. Days before, Eva Nováková, a Czech citizen, who took on the role of the International Solidarity Movement’s media coordinator was arrested from her home in Ramallah and later deported. In December, high school teacher and media coordinator Abdullah Abu Rahmeh of the he Bilin Popular committee was arrested and remains in jail.