ACTION ALERT!
Palestinian Youth Arrested in Nonviolent Demonstration against the
Wall in Beit Surik
Thursday March 3, 2005
Today in the village of Beit Surik in northwest Jerusalem, Israeli
undercover agents beat and arrested five Palestinian youth during a
nonviolent demonstration against the Wall. The youth were taken from
Beit Surik to Givat Zeev early Thursday afternoon. One of the five
youth was released. The other four are being held in Kfar Etzion
juvenile prison and have a trial scheduled for Sunday at Ofer military
court.
Ahmad Suleiman Sheikh 14 years old
Muntaser Najib Al Jamal 12 years old
Mustafa Mohammed Khaled 13years old
Amjad Ghazi Ahmad Sheikh 14years old
This is the fourth consecutive day that Israeli `special forces’
disguised as Palestinians have infiltrated the demonstrations against
the Wall in Beit Surik. Yesterday two Palestinians were arrested and
later released. On Monday, Israeli undercover agents arrested six
Palestinians including the mayor of Beit Surik, Mohammed Kandil, while
he and other Palestinians from the village tried to prevent the
destruction of their lands.
Mohammed Kandil has been held in Israeli police custody since his
arrest. He had a hearing in Ofer military court today to determine the
conditions for his release until his hearing which will begin on
Sunday. Mohammed has been accused of assaulting a police officer. The
judge agreed to release Kandil to house arrest on 12,000NIS cash bail
until his hearing. The prosecution has 24 hours to appeal the judge’s
decision. Kandil’s son Mustafa Mohammed Khaled is one of the youth
being held in Kfar Etzion.
PLEASE CALL KFAR ETZION AND THE DISTRICT COORDINATION OFFICE (DCO) AND
DEMAND THAT THE FOUR YOUTH ARRESTED FROM BEIT SURIK TODAY BE RELEASED!
Speak out against the criminalization of nonviolent resistance and the
violence used against unarmed civilians!