70-year-old Irish woman arrested by Israelis in West Bank
A 70-year-old Irish woman has been arrested in the occupied West Bank and is detained in Israel, fighting a deportation order.
Deirdre 'D' Murphy is volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), an activist group helping Palestinian residents in the occupied West Bank.
ISM said Ms Murphy, who is originally from Cork, was arrested in the village of Khalet AlDaba'a in Masafer Yatta in the southern part of the occupied West Bank. West Bank. Pic: Nedal Eshtayah/Anadolu via Getty Images)
She and another volunteer, Susanne Björk, 48, were ordered to leave the village by the Israeli military on Saturday.
She said as they were complying with the order they were arrested by Israeli settlers, who were wearing military uniform as they are reservists, who then called police and detained Ms Murphy and Ms Björk.
They were interrogated in a police station, accused of being in a military zone, as parts of Masafer Yatta have been designated a closed military zone since the 1980s. Irish Woman Deirdre 'D' Murphy. Pic: File
ISM's website quoted Ms Murphy as saying: 'When most governments all around the world are ignoring the genocide in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank, ordinary people like me are answering the Palestinians' call to come and be a witness to these events being carried out by the Zionist Israeli entity. It's not about politics, it's about justice and freedom for all people.'
Her son, Dale Ryan, said: 'I am writing this as my mother is being detained by the Israeli authorities. As far as I can see her only crime was observing crimes against Palestinian people.
'D has always had a strong sense of justice, and I know she could not sit at home while she knew her friends in Masafer Yatta and all of Palestine were suffering unnecessarily.
'I am very proud of my mother for sticking up for the basic human rights of her friends and trying to raise awareness of the injustices the Palestinian people are experiencing.
'Of course, I want her home safe with her family who love her, but I know a piece of her heart is in Palestine and she needs to be there, doing what she can.'
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it 'is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance', it said it does not comment on 'the details of individual cases'.
It comes as Micheál Martin and Simon Harris both said in the Dáil last week that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Mr Martin said: 'The focus must be relentlessly on the policies of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli Government, which is made up of extreme far-right elements, who are committing genocide in Gaza right now.'
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