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Treatment was brutal
• I WAS disappointed that your paper chose to trivialise my son’s and my recent experience in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (People, August 14). In particular, the description of the OPT as “an edgier summer destination” is grossly insulting to the millions of Palestinians who have been living under a brutal and repressive military occupation for 42 years.
In a telephone interview from Ramallah, my son described the eviction of four Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, whose members included an 87-year-old man and a two-day-old baby.
Our treatment at the hands of the Israeli police, though nothing in comparison to Alex Harrison’s recent experiences at the hands of the military while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza (Seized Gaza activist planning return trip, July 10), was quite brutal. My son and I, along with 11 other internationals and Israelis, were staying at the homes of the four families, both to provide moral support and to witness Israeli action.
I was arrested as I stood in the street, at that time well away from the brutal herding of the Al-Ghawi family from their home, during which a child’s leg was broken by police. I witnessed two acts of gratuitous police violence against a young American woman.
Despite repeated requests, I was denied water for two hours. We were taunted by police, threatened with jail if we refused to give our names, and I was denied access to the British Consul in Jerusalem.
I was initially interrogated in a small room with five male police officers. As a 60-year-old pensioner, I hardly think I posed that much of a threat as to warrant so much attention.
When I asked what the charges against me were, the Israeli police offered three versions. I was told not to be “philosophical” when I attempted to obtain clarification. I was told that, under Israeli law, I had no right to legal representation while under interrogation. I was expected to sign a statement in Hebrew, with no translation. I was fingerprinted and photographed.
In court, we saw several young Palestinian men, their hands and feet shackled, who looked as though they had not slept in a very long time. One young man fell over and could not get up because of the shackles on his feet. He was kicked by police officers as he lay on the ground, in full view of everyone.
Israeli “justice” was summary, to say the least. There were no witnesses called or evidence provided. We had no opportunity to refute the charges. All 13 of us, who were in different places, doing different things at the time of our arrests, were charged with the same offence, apparently obstructing police officers in the course of their duty. We were all found guilty, and, as a result, will probably not be allowed to enter Israel again; a harsh punishment for being found standing in a public street.
I would have thought your paper would have found it interesting that three Islington residents who live in such close proximity (although I do not know her, Alex Harrison apparently lives across the road from us) have had first-hand experience of the Israeli occupation and would have taken the opportunity to feature a more serious story. Any readers wishing to know more about the evictions in East Jerusalem should go to www.standupforjerusalem.org
PATRICIA BANKE
Essex Road, N1
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