Israel police place Palestinian activist under house arrest, impose travel ban

A Palestinian activist from ‘Ara was given a six-day house arrest order by Israeli police on Monday, after her home was raided and searched.

Maya Yones, a well-known political activist, was also banned from entering the West Bank or leaving the country.

Israeli authorities justified the measures on the basis that she is suspected of “incitement” and contacts with enemies of the state.

Photographs from her home after the Israeli police raid showed a significant amount of damage to her property and belongings.

Yones, for her part, has accused the Israeli authorities of targeting her for nothing more than sharing Palestinian and Arab news links on her personal Facebook page, and called her arrest and house arrest an attack on legitimate political expression and activism.

Read: Israel’s online incitement of violence against the Palestinians

Nadim Nashif, co-founder of 7amleh – The Arab Centre for Social Media Advancement, told MEMO that “the arrest and interrogation of Maya Yones is not an unconnected event, but rather happens against the backdrop of the oppression of the Palestinian people.”

“Her case in particular highlights the Israeli attempts to silence Palestinian activists and critical voices of the occupation – while at the same allowing online incitement by Israelis against Palestinians on a huge scale.”

According to reports, Yones, in addition to her activism against Israeli state repression, is also a sharp critic of the Palestinian Authority’s “security coordination” with the Israeli military, and of the punitive measures imposed on the Gaza Strip.