"Israel" arrests women



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Etaf Elayan, aged 35, from Dokha village near Bethlehem (West Bank), is one of the Palestinian political prisoners who were released early this year in accordance with "Israel's" undertaking in Oslo Agreements . After her release from jail she began studying at Bethlehem University . On October 20, 1997, she was taken off a public bus travelling between two cities in the Palestinian Autonomous Areas by an "Israeli" soldier and was taken to the Russian Compound detention center in Alquds "Jerusalem" . There she was served with an administrative detention order .
Administrative detention is imposed on the basis of the recommendations of the Shin-Bet, the contents of which is permanently secret .
Etaf and her lawyers are unable to address such accusations . The authorities have not presented any evidence showing that Etaf Elayan has committed any illegal activity since she was released from prison earlier this year, and since she was arrested she has not been interrogated or questioned at all - as might be expected if the "Israeli" authorities suspected her of conducting illegal activity .
This fact strengthens the suspicion that her arrest was an attempt on the part of the authorities to undo its decision to release her and to punish her once again for the same offences for which she was pardoned - a blatant violation of Oslo Agreements, in which it was stated that all Palestinian women prisoners would be released .
The detention of Etaf Aliyan and her lengthy hunger strike {stopped today after 40 days of hunger strike protest}have resounded in the Palestinian territories . A group of women who were formerly imprisoned, who were joined by male released prisoners, held a three-day hunger strike near the ICRC offices in Hebron . Other groups are holding hunger strikes in support of Etaf at Bethlehem University, where she studied up to her arrest, and several Palestinian prisoners who are incarcerated in "Israeli" prisons are also holding a solidarity hunger strike, among them Hafez Kundus, Etaf's husband .In Noth America,U.S.A and Europe there were a three days solidarity humger strike, organized by Awlad Albalad in association with Ebal for cultural and Arabic Affairs .
Administrative detention is detention without trial, and can be renewed indefinitely . Although the order may be appealed before a military judge, at no stage in the proceedings are the allegations revealed to the detainee or to her/his lawyer . In some cases administrative detention lasts for years, with the detainee's suffering compounded by devastating emotional stress due to not having a set date for release (the case of Ahmad Qatamesh and Khalid Dalaishi is a good example) .
We in Awlad Albalad consider the "Israeli" government to be directly responsible for the fate of Etaf Elayan, whose health is deteriorating rapidly in prison, and demanding the immediate release without any conditions to Mrs. Etaf Alayan and all other administrative detainees .
Voice your concern by writing to the following addresses,demanding the immediate release to Mrs. Etaf Elayan :
Please contact the following :

Or email the following addresses :
Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu
The Office of the Prime Minister
The Israeli Government Press Office
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Israel Mission to the UN 

MK Alex Lubotzky        MK Avi Yecheskel 

MK Beni Begin         MK Benyamin Ben-Eliezer 

MK Ehud Barak          MK Eli Goldschmidt 

MK Haim Ramon          MK Ran Cohen 

MK Refael Edri          MK Shimon Peres 

MK Shmaryahu Ben-Zur  MK Uzi Landau 

MK Zvi Weinberg     

Shmuel Siso at New York Consulate

Human Rights organizations :

Amnesty International     Leban 

Arabic Human Rights Organization   

Activist Meng Cheng     

Horreia  

Human Rights Agency

HRW

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