Israel Matzav

Harvard students turned back after entering closed military zone

A report in the Harvard student newspaper complains that a bus containing 55 Harvard 'students' was turned back after attempting to enter a closed military zone in the village of Walajeh just outside the Gush Etzion tunnels (Hat Tip: Mike P). The driver and the guide - both of whom undoubtedly know better - were detained by police.

Shireen Al-Araj, the students’ guide and a coordinator of al-Walaja’s local Popular Committee Against the Wall, was arrested by police and released after the incident, according to a trip participant, an organizer, and a photographer who witnessed the arrest.

No charges were levied against anyone involved in the Harvard trip.

The students’ bus was boarded by armed Israeli military personnel and the riders were told that the road they were traveling on was a military zone, according to one of the trip’s organizers.

The organizer, a Palestinian teaching fellow at Harvard, is not traveling on the trip and asked to remain anonymous to avoid trouble with authorities when he returns home to Palestine.

When he returns home to where? Where is that country? We've become so immune to the Left's message that most of us don't even jump on that sort of thing anymore.

The organizer also complained about the Israeli security officers’ behavior during the incident.

“There was very little communication from the security officials, and [the students] didn’t know where they were going,” he said. “The students and organizers were peaceful and cooperative—they didn’t break any laws, but they were treated in this way.”

Excuse me, but they did break the law. Entering or staying in a closed military zone without permission from the IDF or the police is illegal and you can be arrested for it. In fact, the IDF frequently declares Jewish 'outposts' to be closed military zones in order to keep supporters from massing in them. So that cuts both ways.

An English website of the Palestinian News Network reported about an hour after the incident that the 55 students had been arrested. In fact, the students were redirected to a nearby Israeli checkpoint with at least two armored vehicles escorting them but were not charged.

However, rumors circulated online that trip participants were under arrest. Upon learning about those rumors, one participant told The Crimson by text message, “This isn’t true. Our tour guide got arrested and our bus was redirected after it was boarded by Israeli soldiers.”

I'm shocked - just shocked - to hear that the Palestinian News Network lied.

“I think this is the first time that Shireen and the group were taken by the Israeli army,” said Anne Paq, a friend of Al-Araj and a French photographer living in Palestine who published photographs of the incident on Activestills.org. “[Al-Araj] is very active in trying to raise awareness of al-Walaja village, so I’m not surprised that they are trying to put pressure on her, to intimidate her—to prevent internationals from coming to the village.”

Al-Araj was escorted to Bethlehem by her lawyer and two Israeli officers for several hours of interrogation, according to the Palestinian trip organizer.

Her lawyer? Her lawyer just happened to be on the bus? I thought only the Donald Trumps of the world could keep their lawyers at their sides.

“They said that she would be fined 5000 shekels [about $1325.52] if she does it again—but we are not sure what they mean by ‘do it again,’” Paq said, adding that she did not think Al-Araj did anything illegal to warrant interrogation. “For me, it’s a sign that the Israeli authorities are trying to prevent people from coming, from knowing what is happening [in al-Walaja].”

'Again' means entering a closed military zone. This is such a load of you-know-what. What's 'going on' in Walaja is quite out in the open. I've driven through there (fearing for my life) myself.

So why are areas declared 'closed military zones'?

The picture at the top of this post is typical of what used to happen in 2003 when the army hesitated to declare closed military zones in the area - full story here. That's maybe a kilometer away from the edge of Walaja.

By the way, I have not heard anything about this in Israeli media.

Labels: IDF, moonbats, security fence

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:27 AM