6srael Arrests Free Gaza Chairwoman

Source : Bil'in village.org

Huwaida Arraf, Chairwoman and one of the passengers on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza was arrested today by Israeli Border Police at the weekly nonviolent demonstration in Bil’in. Bilin is the West Bank village outside of Ramallah, Palestine.

Huwaida Arraf during Bil’in demonstration, 4/06/2010. Photo: Hamde Abu Rahma

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Since January 2005, the village has been organizing weekly nonviolent protests against the construction of the barrier wall which is in effect strangulating the village from the outside world.

Violent responses to the protesters by Israeli border police have been commonplace. For example, last year, a prominent Palestinian activist, Bassem Abu Rahma was killed by a high velocity teargas canister, the same canister that caused 21-year-old American Emily Henochowicz to lose her eye early this week at a similar nonviolent demonstration.

Huwaida is a Palestinian-American from Michigan, and also a citizen of historic Palestine. She is a human rights activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. In 2007 she received her Juris Doctor from American University in Washington D.C. and from 2007 - 2008 taught Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Al Quds University in Jerusalem.

No additional information on Arraf is available at this time.

Amazing brave woman! As soon as Huwaida was released, she marched on down to the Bil'in wall protest, and got arrested again!