Israel Arrests Two Australian Charity Officials

MEDIA RELEASE
8 July 2002

ISRAEL ARRESTS TWO AUSTRALIAN CHARITY OFFICIALS

ATTN: Chiefs of Staff, Current Affairs & Ethnic Editors

The Head of the General Palestinian Delegation to Australia, Mr Ali Kazak, today condemned the arbitrary arrest yesterday noon (Sunday) of two officials from the Australian charity Moslem Aid Australia (MAA) who were arrested on arrival to Tel Aviv airport by Israeli authorities.

They were detained, questioned, refused entry and told they would be deported.

The officials are Mr Suleiman Domingo, MAA Treasurer, and Mr Mohamad Mayat, MAA Project Officer

MAA provides humanitarian assistance to numerous needy people around the world, including in Palestine where MAA has adopted around 100 Palestinian orphan children from the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip and also equipped a computer studio in the Afaq Jadeeda (New Horizon) Refugee Youth Centre in Nuseirat camp, Gaza.

The MAA delegation was on a humanitarian mission to see what further assistance could be provided to Palestinian refugees, to meet with the adopted orphans and to explore ways of further assisting the refugee youth centre.

Mr Kazak said Israel is attempting to prevent any humanitarian assistance to reach the Palestinian people as part of its current war to force the Palestinians to surrender to its occupation. Recently Israel deliberately opened fire on international peace activists injuring a number of them including an Australian woman and a few weeks ago deported another Australian peace activist to Ireland.

Mr Kazak called on the Australian government to intervene forthwith, condemn Israel’s arbitrary arrest of two Australians who were going to the occupied territories (which Israel has no jurisdiction over) to provide humanitarian assistance, and demand Israel’s immediate release of the two officials so they can embark on their humanitarian mission.

Moslem Aid Australia’s telephone number is 02 9740 4088

© Scoop Media