Woman deported by Israel says 'governments are completely ignoring' the West Bank
Vivienne Clarke
A Swedish woman who was arrested along with Irish national Deirdre ‘D’ Murphy (71) by Israeli military on Saturday has spoken of the escalating violence happening all over the West Bank.
Susanne Björk told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that “our governments” were completely ignoring the situation “not just in Gaza, but also in the West Bank.
“It’s people like D and myself who come out there just to try and document what's happening and provide some solidarity with the Palestinian people and families.”
Both of the women volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and were ordered to leave the village of Khallet al-Dabaa in Masafer Yatta in the southern part of the occupied West Bank on Saturday.
A spokesperson for ISM said they were complying with the order when they were arrested by Israeli settlers, who were wearing military uniform as they are reservists, who then called police and detained Ms Murphy and Ms Björk.
The two activists were ordered to appear at a deportation hearing at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Sunday where they were issued with deportation orders. Ms Björk was deported on Monday but Ms Murphy is fighting the deportation order and is currently still in a detention centre at Ben Gurion Airport.
Ms Björk said she and other volunteers went to the region “because the situation is so horrible. This village, all over the West Bank, obviously the situation, is horrendous. People are absolutely terrified and the escalation of violence and settler violence and demolitions happening all over the West Bank is just horrendous and no one's reporting on this. I mean our governments are completely ignoring the situation not just in Gaza, but also in the West Bank. It's people like Dee and myself who are highlighting the situation.”
This was the first time that Ms Björk had been arrested, but it was not the first time she had experienced such intimidation.
“Usually that would have meant a ban from a certain area, perhaps, that you were not allowed to enter that area. But my lawyer said that this is a new policy that they've implemented in the last few months, where they arrest people and deport people straight away and send them to immigration hearing at Ben Gurion. And this is, I think, quite a new policy.
“They're just trying to get rid of anyone who tried to document the reality of the occupation and the war crimes taking place.”
When asked if she would return, Ms Björk said she would if she could, but it seemed unlikely because she did not receive any of the documentation she was promised at the police hearing.
“They were supposed to provide us with an English transcript of the interview. I never received that. I also didn't receive any protocol from the immigration hearing.”
