The Jerusalem District Court Wednesday rejected a request by the Israeli Police, West Bank division, to deport four international peace activists arrested earlier in the day in the West Bank city of Hebron.(mk-l)
The police claim that the four obstructed police and army work in the city.
The four activists were arrested in Tal Romeida neighborhood of Hebron, where they have been staying for the last several months.
The Israeli police claim that the activists participated in protests against the construction of settlements in Hebron area and against the continuous attacks carried out by the settlers against the residents of Hebron and its surrounding villages and towns.
The activists are citizens of Scotland, the United States, Canada, and Sweden.
Also on Wednesday, Meretz member of Knesset Yossi Sarid wrote to the Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, and to Israeli Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi, requesting that the activists not be deported.
Peace activists in Hebron continuously monitor the daily attacks carried out by soldiers and extremist settlers groups against the residents and their lands.
The activists’ lawyer, Gabi Lasky, called the incident an illegal effort by police and the Shin Bet to remove the activists from Hebron.
