Israel arrests Arab woman as she returns from Hajj

Israeli occupation police have arrested Arab Israeli Dr Samah Al-Rifi at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, as she was returning home from Hajj, Arab48.com reported yesterday.

No reason was given for Al-Rifi’s arrest, but officials in Jaffa, which she is from, said they are exerting efforts to find out the reason for her arrest.

Arab48.com reported sources inside Israel saying that Al-Rifi was investigated by the Israeli security services Shin Bet and was prevented from contacted her lawyer.

Haj Abu-Ghazi Ashqar, an Arab official in Jaffa, said: “This detention is a violation of all redlines. Away from all justifications, we will do our best to release her. How can a wife and a mother be arrested and her little children prevented from seeing her after a long journey?”

“This is an inhumane act and we will deal with this issue as an act that contradicts all conventions and laws. We will move believing that she has to be released. The Israeli establishment has to know that [Arabs] in Jaffa are not dead and it has to immediately release her.”