Israel detains 2 internationals in overnight raid

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli soldiers raided a Ramallah apartment early Sunday morning and detained a Spanish and Australian nationals over expired visas, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said in a statement.

The Israeli army forcefully entered an apartment in the Area A city of Ramallah at 3am and arrested two activists from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) on suspicion of overstaying their visas. The two, Ariadna Jove Marti, a Spanish journalist, and Bridgette Chappell, an Australian student at Birzeit University, were then taken to the Ofer military prison located inside the occupied territories, where they were handed over to the Israeli immigration police unit "Oz," The PSCC said

"The raid and detention of the two is in direct violation of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which clearly forbids any Israeli incursion into Area A for reasons not directly and urgently related to security. Even the conduct of 'hot pursuit' is disallowed in non-security related matters, which overstayed visas are," the statement read.

In January, Czech national Eva Nováková was detained and deported to Prague under similar circumstances.

An Israeli military spokesman told Ma'an that the women were in Israel illegally and the arrests were executed by the army, adding that one woman was in possession of "fake documents" while the other had an expired visa. "Both were involved in illegal riots and in interferring with IDF activity," he said.

According to the spokesman, the two women were transferred to the Ministry of the Interior.

Ryan Olander, an American solidarity activist who was at the scene during the raid, told the PSCC that around ten soldiers forcefully entered the apartment and demanded to see the passports of everyone who was present and informed the two of their detention on the grounds of overstayed visas.

The soldiers confiscated cameras, a computer, pro-Palestinian banners and ISM volunteers' registration forms, Orlander said.

Orlander has been arrested twice by the Oz Immigration Unit but his deportation was stayed after a judge ruled his detention illegal, the PSCC said.