Susan Barclay is Still in Israel

At 5.20 am I got a call from Susan who was on a KLM flight out of Israel. The plane was still on the tarmac and she was refusing to take her seat.

It was the second time the Interior Ministry had tried to fly her out since her removal from the Mikhal Detention Facility.

The plane was scheduled to take off at 5.40 am and Susan was threatening to open the overhead lockers to prevent it taking off. While I listened the police arrived to try and negotiate with her and then take her off when the flight crew declared that they would not depart with her on board.

She told me that she was literally dragged onto the plane but was not hurt. She is now in a police holding centre at Ben Gurion Airport. We have contacted her lawyer who is in touch with her.

At this stage it seems that the Interior Ministry has failed in its attempt to pre-empt the legal process by smuggling her out of the country during the night and that Susan will have her day in court.

Thank-you for your support during the phone-in last night. I had reports of all 75 lines to the Israeli embassy (including cultural and educational numbers) being jammed by Susan's reporters.

It is now 6.20 am.