Posted by Jeff from bgp01107368bgs.wbrmfd01.mi.comcast.net (68.42.59.180) on Sunday, June 23, 2002 at 9:35PM :
Just something that I found on the net:
** One would think that the Israelis would not violate the human rights of US citizens. After all... who gives them billions each year in aid?
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American Passports: Not Good Enough For Israel
Below please find 14 reported cases of US citizens of Palestinian origin who were visiting Israel
and/or the Palestinian Occupied Territories. These cases demonstrate
the denial of US citizens of Palestinian origin the use of their
American passports while departing the State of Israel, while other
examples illustrate detentions and the use of torture by Israeli
security officials of US citizens. All of the cases have been monitored
by Partners For Peace and ADC. Many of the US citizens have been forced
to remain in Israel against their will.
1. JAMIL SARSOUR - Born January 7, 1951 in Palestine. He was detained
October 23, 1998 at the Tel Aviv Airport. He was 47 years old. The
Israeli authorities never notified his family of his detention, nor did
they inform the American Consulate. When his family finally learned of
his detention, they notified the American Consulate. No family member
was allowed to see him for 101 days (during which time he was
tortured). His attorney was allowed to see him after approximately 60
days and was not allowed to meet with him in private. He was accused
of transferring money to "illegal organizations." Mr. Sarsour continued
to deny these allegations. In addition to being interrogated by the
Israeli Shin Bet, he was interrogated by an FBI agent, CIA agent, a
District Attorney from Milwaukee, a District Attorney from Chicago, and
a person working on anti-terrorism issues in Washington. No concern has
yet been expressed about his mistreatment and detention.
Status: Imprisoned at Ashkelon Prison
Home State: Wisconsin
2. AMJAD AHMAD FARAH KUR'AN - Born November 11, 1977 in Youngstown,
Ohio. He was detained at a checkpoint between Ramallah and Birzeit on
June 2, 1998 when he was 20 years old. He was only a few months short
of receiving his Bachelor's degree from Birzeit University. During his
detention, he was tortured with "the chair," and deprived of sleep and
adequate food, in addition to being held in filthy conditions. He
alleges that Israeli officials threw hot water on him, pulled his hair,
and threatened to pull out his fingernails. He claims that he
confessed to allegations under severe torture because "he could not
stand it anymore." He lost 15 pounds in one month. He has been moved
from one prison to another, making it difficult for his family to know
where he is located at any given time. Family visitation is rarely
allowed. The detainees at Megiddo Prison depend upon their families for
food to supplement the meager allowances provided by the Israeli
security guards.
Status: Imprisoned at Megiddo Prison
Home State: Ohio
3. LUAY QASAM ABDEL JABER - Born August 26, 1979 in Chicago,
Illinois. Mr. Jaber was detained at the Tel Aviv airport while
departing Israel to return to the United States on May 15, 1999. He was
19 years old at that time and was an electrical engineering student
attending Birzeit University. He was arrested and accused of belonging
to an Islamic organization at Birzeit University in 1996 even though he
was not enrolled as a student at the University at that time. He was
released from prison on July 14, 1999 after his family paid a bond of
10,000 shekels, yet he is still not allowed to leave Israel. His
senator was alerted to Mr. Jaber's case and although the case is still
pending, the Department of State informed the senator that the case was
closed. Mr. Jaber's court dates have been continuously postponed and he
has not yet been tried. He is not allowed to leave the State of
Israel.
Status: Released from prison, charges pending with no trial, not
allowed to return to the US.
Home State: Illinois
4. HANNA ABU KHDEIR - Born January 5, 1971 in Jerusalem. Ms. Khdeir
is currently 30 years old. She immigrated to Baltimore, Maryland in 1988
and became a naturalized citizen in 1990. She attended high school and
college in the US. The "Shabak" secret police arrested her in her
mother's home at midnight on March 12, 2001. After her arrest, she was
taken to the Moscobiya (Russian Compound prison) where she was placed in
a cell, two meters long and one and one-half meters wide with a hole in
the floor for a toilet. During her interrogation, Ms. Abu Khdeir was
cuffed to a chair and subjected to sleep deprivation. According to Ms.
Khdeir the cell "was full of small bugs, two dirty blankets, a bucket of
water, and one cup to drink from and wash." Her interrogation lasted
for three and one-half days continuously without any sleep. She lost 8
kilograms (17.6 pounds) in 10 days and developed a terrible rash. The
Israeli government did not inform the US Consulate of her arrest. Her
attorney, Leah Tsemel, was refused permission to see her for several
days. The American consular representative visited her after Leah
Tsemel made a formal request to the Consul.
Status: No charges, still held under the following conditions: not
allowed to leave the country, US passport remains confiscated, must
report to police headquarters twice a week, and must appear for
questioning when summoned.
Home State: Maryland
5. ABBAS FAWAZ NA'ORA - Born February 24, 1981 to an American citizen
in Jerusalem. He was detained at a military checkpoint on February 28,
1998 while riding a school bus (he was sixteen years old). His family
was never notified by the Israeli authorities of his detention. When
the family sought the help of the American Consulate General they were
told there was nothing the Consulate could do. Under torture (including
being kicked in the genitals) he signed a document in Hebrew (which he
cannot read) and was sent to Megiddo Prison near Haifa. He was
sentenced to 30 months in jail on charges of belonging to Hamas. The
sentence was based solely on his signed "confession." His sentence
ended in September 2000. It was reported that he was placed in solitary
confinement in the "coffin" without cause.
Status: Was imprisoned in Megiddo Prison - current status unknown
Home State: Georgia
6. STEVE ADAMS (born Mohamad Blata) - Mr. Adams, a naturalized
American citizen, was born in Egyptian administered Gaza. He is
currently 39 years old. He received his college education in Ohio. He
is also married to a native-born American citizen and has five
American-born children. Mr. Adams was detained on December 27, 2000
when attempting to board a plane at the Gaza Airport bound for Dubai,
where he is employed as an engineer. After his arrest, he was taken to
Ashkelon Prison where he was interrogated and tortured. After being
held for more than one month, he was taken to the Erez border crossing
on February 1, 2001 and ejected into Gaza. He was never charged with a
crime by Israeli officials. US officials did nothing to assist him.
Status: Released February 1, 2001 with no charges
Home State: Ohio
7. ANWAR HAMDAN - Born January 27, 1960 in the United States. Mr.
Hamdan is married and is the father of five children. His wife is a
naturalized American citizen. Since 1993, he has continuously
experienced harassment and even detention for as long as 9 months. He
travels frequently to Israel en route to the West Bank to care for
family business in the West Bank. He was detained on June 4, 1999 when
he arrived at Tel Aviv Airport with his four-year-old son. He was then
39 years old. US officials did nothing to assist him.
Status: Released without charges
Home State: Louisiana
8. YOUSUF MAREI - Born June 15, 1955 in Maithaloom near Jenin, West
Bank. He is a naturalized American citizen and was 44 years old at the
time of his detention. He was detained on April 26, 1999 at the
Jordanian border while crossing to the West Bank to visit his aging
parents. His wife was with him at the time. The American Consul
visited him on approximately the second day of his detention and at the
request of Marei asked that he be provided with clean clothes and a
shower. The US Consul however stated that there was nothing else he
could do. He was held in filthy cells, isolated, interrogated, and
tortured but refused to sign a confession. On June 2, 1999, he was
ejected from Israel without being allowed to visit his 90-year-old
parents.
Status: Released without charges after 40 days of torture
Home State: Illinois
9. ANWAR MOHAMED - Born October 1, 1971 to American citizens in Silwad,
West Bank. Mr. Mohamed owns and manages a restaurant in Miami Beach.
He was detained on October 28, 1998 at the Jordanian border after he
visited an aunt and cousins in Silwad and was en route to Amman to visit
his sister. His location remained hidden from his family for five
days and no notification was given to the US government by the Israeli
authorities of his whereabouts. He was severely tortured for 40 days
but steadfastly refused to sign a confession. He was released December
7, 1998 and was allegedly told, "You are free to go. Don't cause us any
trouble." He lost 40 pounds during his incarceration. He was also
required by the Israeli government to obtain a Palestinian passport in
order to leave the country. Israel refused to recognize his American
passport. The American Consulate General did nothing to challenge this
action. Mr. Mohamed had never had an Israeli nor Palestinian
identification and did not want to obtain a Palestinian passport.
Status: Released December 7, 1998 - no charges were filed.
Home State: Florida
10. HASHEM MUFLEH -- Born July 17, 1980 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He is a third generation American. He was detained August 18, 1998 at
Tel Aviv Airport and tortured for 10 days. He was also threatened with
rape and sodomy. Mr. Mufleh was sentenced by a military judge to three
years in prison without evidence or witnesses on charges of belonging to
an illegal organization, distributing religious literature at his
school, and throwing stones during the Intifada. US Consular officials
did nothing to assist him.
Status: Released in July 1999
Home State: New Mexico
11. KATERINA ARAMAN - Born in Birzeit in 1960 and emigrated to the
United States in 1977, Ms. Araman has been living in the United States
continuously since then. She obtained her US citizenship in 1988. She
is married to the Head of Security Services at Notre Dame University who
is also an American citizen. They have three American-born children.
She went to Birzeit in January 2001 to attend her mother's funeral,
taking her four-year-old daughter with her. She entered Israel on her
American passport and, as usual, obtained a "slip visa." When she was
ready to leave the country, the slip visa was seized by Israeli
officials and she was told that she must get a Palestinian passport and
an Israeli exit visa. Thereafter, Israeli officials repeatedly delayed
issuing an exit visa. The violence in the area made it a very
frightening situation for Katerina. After considerable American media
exposure about her situation, the exit visa was finally issued. US
Consulate officials cited Israeli law and did nothing when Katerina
contacted them for assistance.
Status: Exit visa issued March 1, 2001
Home State: Indiana
12. MOHAMMED SARSOUR - Born January 22, 1960. He is a US citizen.
Mr. Sarsour was detained by Israeli Army personnel at the Allenby Bridge
crossing point between the West Bank and Jordan on December 22, 1999
when traveling with his two young daughters (ages 12 and 13). They were
en route to a family wedding in Amman, Jordan. His daughters were also
interrogated and intimidated by eight heavily armed soldiers after
waiting for about four hours. The girls were eventually taken to see
their father and Mr. Sarsour broke down and begged the soldiers not to
hurt them. The soldiers took 370 shekels from him, gave the money to
the two children, and told them to go home. The girls were released at
2:00 a.m. They found an Israeli taxi driver who accepted their money
and took them to Ramallah. The US Consulate did nothing to assist
either Mr. Sarsour or his daughters.
Status: Released in February 2000
Home State: Wisconsin
13. BISHAR SAIDI - Born December 25, 1966 in Sorzol, Lebanon. He is a
naturalized American citizen and an electrical engineer. He was
detained on the eve of December 25, 1997 while attending a Christmas
dinner in the Galilee, Israel. The family immediately notified the
American Embassy, but the Consul was denied access to visitation for
some time. Mr. Bishar was accused of conducting intelligence
activities. He was told that his pregnant wife was being interrogated
and that her baby would be aborted if he did not confess. He was
tortured in particularly odious ways, including being denied the use of
a toilet for about five days. The American Consul saw him at this time
and left because he could not stand the odor. He was denied both
medication and a Bible. His lawyer re
-- Jeff
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