FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2025
Irene Cho and Trudi Frost were arrested on Wednesday, December 12, in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyer while staying with a family threatened with forced displacement. Their staying permits were revoked last night through a summary procedure, with officials refusing to review evidence of the illegality of the arrest. The two have been transferred to the Givon prison near the city of Ramla.
Cho (L) and Frost (R)
The legal team representing New York-based Irene Cho and Boston-based Trudi Frost expect the detention to extend over a prolonged period, as the two refuse to cooperate with their deportation while their lawyers are challenging the legality deportation order itself.
Cho and Frost were arrested at the al-Khalayel area of al-Mughayyer, north-east of Ramallah, while standing in solidarity against the forced displacement of the Abu Hamam family. The arrest took place after Israeli forces claimed to present a month-long military order sealing the area. The area marked as off limits in the map accompanying the order, however, did not include the Abu Hamam residence – making their detention unlawful. In contrast, the closed area does include the outpost form which Israeli settlers regularly set out to terrorize the family. Despite that fact, Israeli forces did not take any steps to enforce the order against the settlers, who continue to harass and assault the family undisturbed, often with the cooperation official Israeli armed forces.
In a statement prior to her arrest, Frost said she was motivated to volunteer with ISM because “the ethnic cleansing happening in Palestine goes against international law and against humanity.” Cho described her admiration for “the long legacy of protective presence and the collective efforts to reduce settler violence.”
Frost and Cho were held illegally yesterday, as their detention prior to being brought before an immigration officer extend for several hours beyond the legal limit of 24 hours. During the hearing, the officer refused to examine at the maps accompanying the order, and which prove their detention was arbitrary and without cause, as well as politically motivated. In further infringement of due process, Israeli authorities prevent the lawyer representing the two from attending the interview for several hours, before conceding it is their legal right to have legal representation. Cho and Frost are expected to face a custody review panel within 72 hours from the decision to deport them.
Following their illegal detention, the two were questioned for obstructing a police officer and of being in violation of lawful direction. They were then transferred to the Neve Tirza maximum security prison before being moved to Ben Gurion for a deportation interview.
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The Abu Hamam family has been the target of ceaseless harassment and assault at the hands of Israeli settlers and armed forces for over a year in an attempt to drive them away from their lands. Over the past week these attempts have escalated drastically, with near daily attacks.
Last Sunday, December 7, 2025, a settler attack on the family took place in coordination with a military raid on the village, which prevented residents and medics to come to the family’s help. The attack resulted in the injuries of the family’s matriarch, 59-year-old Fadda Abu Naim, 13-year-old Riziq Abu Naim, as well as two UK nationals, a Colombian-American and a French national. On the following day, Monday December 8, settlers dismantled Palestinian owned corrugated metal sheds under the protection of the military. On Wednesday, December 10, a military force raided the family’s property, presenting a 24-hour military zone order, and arrested a US and an Australian national. Friday saw the unlawful arrest of Cho and Frost, while several military raids took place on Saturday and Sunday, as the forces looked for solidarity activists. Meanwhile, settlers are allowed to roam the area, attacking and harassing Palestinian communities completely undisturbed.
These attacks by settlers and soldiers are intended to forcibly displace the Abu Hamam family from their land as part of the implementation of the Israeli policy of ethnicly cleansing Palestinians. In this case, displacing the family will also allow Israel to create a line of settlements and settlement outposts all the way from the East Ramallah area to the South Nablus area, and from there to the Jordan Valley.