Irish woman held in Israel did nothing 'to warrant detention'
A Swedish woman who was arrested by Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank along with Irish woman Deirdre "D" Murphy has said that they had not done anything to warrant detention and deportation.
Suzanne Björk was detained by Israel with Ms Murphy and has since been deported to Athens in Greece after agreeing to get on the next available flight from Israel.
Ms Murphy, who is 71 and originally from Co Cork, was volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), an activist group helping Palestinian residents in the occupied West Bank.
ISM said Ms Murphy was arrested in the village of Khalet Al-Daba'a in Masafer Yatta in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.
They were interrogated in a local police station accused of being in a military zone, as parts of Masafer Yatta have been designated by Israeli authorities a closed military zone since the 1980s.
ISM said that 90% of the homes in Khalet Al-Daba'a have been demolished and residents are living in tents and caves.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Björk said that they were originally arrested for being in the wrong place.
"They said we were in an area that we weren't supposed to be, in a firing zone. There was no sign visible that this was a firing zone. There were many other people there, including the settler shepherds and villagers, and other Israelis," she said.
Ms Björk added: "There were many people there, there was no sign, and the night before we had spoken to the police and the Israeli army. They, at no point, said that we weren't supposed to be there, or asked us to leave."
"We complied with all instruction. The charge in the end, they said we didn't leave when asked, we didn't show our ID, and this is completely false, because we did at every point."
Ms Björk said that Ms Murphy was still being detained because she had decided to contest her charges, rather than agree to leave.
"D is still detained. After we had done the immigration hearing, we had separate hearings, but I was told that my visa had been cancelled. I was now in Israel illegally and I was detained," she said.
"Legally, there's a three-day turnaround for them to deport you, but I had signed a paper to say I was willing to take the first flight out.
"I was put on a plane to Athens. D, however, decided to fight this deportation, because we had done nothing wrong. These are completely false accusations," Ms Björk said.
"And so, she has remained in detention, waiting to see a judge, which I don't know when that may be," she added.
Ms Björk denied claims that their behaviour while in detention was threatening.
Ms Murphy was in a detention centre at Ben Gurion Airport. However, ISM said she will be transported to another facility to await a court hearing.
"The immigration officer brought up charges, saying that we were threatening and humiliating soldiers and police," Ms Björk said.
"D is a 71-year-old woman, I am a 48-year-old woman. We're not really threatening. We definitely wouldn't be threatening heavily armed men," she said.
"They offered for us to leave voluntarily. We didn't think that seemed correct, because there would be no paperwork of this incident and we hadn't actually done anything wrong. We had just been in an area that we weren't supposed to be in, and that wasn't clear," Ms Björk added.
Ms Murphy's son, Dale Ryan, who is also based in Swansea, told RTÉ News yesterday that his mother has been there for five weeks but has been volunteering in the West Bank for 20 years and considers many families in the area as friends.
"She has been in good shape for her age, but I am worried about her health as conditions are difficult," he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said yesterday it is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.
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