Israel is stepping up the detention and deportation of pro-Palestinian foreign peace activists and will try to block new âhuman shieldsâ from entering the country, Israeli security sources said on Friday. âThese foreigners, for all their good intentions, end up being used as cover for terrorism,â one source said. âAn added concern now is that terrorists could try to enter Israel under the guise of `peace activist.â"
| Taking the "useful" out, so now they're just idiots... |
In the first sign of the new crackdown, a member of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM) was detained by Israeli troops in the southern Gaza refugee camp Rafah on Thursday.
| "Hi! We're from the IDF. Get the hell out." |
Military sources said the woman activist was sleeping in a house suspected of concealing one of the tunnels used by militants to smuggle arms from nearby Egypt, and her case was being handled by the Foreign Ministry. The ISM positions foreign activists as âhuman shieldsâ around the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army is confronting a 31-month-old Palestinian uprising for statehood. Pursuing their arrest on a large scale in Palestinian areas would require special incursions by the Israeli forces. |