Israel denies American teaching volunteers entry to West Bank
July 16, 2014
A group of American volunteers sponsored by the American Federation of Ramallah were denied entry into Palestine by Israeli border officers at the King Hussein Bridge on July 8. Tour leader Terry Ahwal detailed to Al-Monitor the humiliating six-hour experience that 15 Arab-Americans, ages 17 to 28, faced by Israeli officials. The visit, part of Project Hope, a project bringing volunteers to Palestine, was coordinated with the US State Department and the White House, according to Ahwal. She said that the US missions in Amman, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were aware of the visit.
Ahwal said that even though she was allowed entry without a problem in June to attend the federation’s conference in Ramallah, this time the Israelis at the bridge acted differently. “As soon as we came up to passport control, I knew something bad was up,” she told Al-Monitor in Amman.
Israeli officials interrogated the entire group, trying to find any discrepancies in their narratives. In the end, Ahwal was told that she was denied entry for five years, and that the group will not be allowed in because they “lied.”
One of the issues brought up was the areas that the group intended to visit. Ahwal said that she and her peers were unable to provide any paper itinerary since they all had the details of the trip electronically and couldn’t retrieve this while waiting at the border entry where Internet was inaccessible. Ahwal said that Jennifer Paterson, 17, from San Diego was asked to name the holy places that she was planning to visit. When she was unable to detail them, the Israelis accused her and other group members of giving false information about the real intention of their visit.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/07/israel-border-entry-denied-arab-americans-jordan.html#ixzz37jHcslkz
= new reply since forum marked as read
