Journalist and community activist Kelly Minio-Paluello (23) was arrested brutally by Israeli Border Policemen while filming a peaceful demonstration on Tuesday outside Ramallah, Occupied Palestinian Territories. She is currently being held in Hadera Detention Centre awaiting deportation. Kelly has visited Cambridge several times. Her husband, Cambridge activist Mika Minio-Paluello, remains in Palestine.
On Tuesday December 14, the people of Bil'in accompanied by international and Israeli activists and journalists marched peacefully against the construction of the illegal Israeli Apartheid Wall. The village of Bil~Rin, located west of Ramallah, has been told that three-quarters of its land will be confiscated and handed over to the neighbouring Israeli settlement during wall construction.
The demonstrators marched peacefully through their land, using their presence to obstruct the military surveyors planning the precise route of the Wall. To repress the nonviolent demonstration, 30-40 Border Policemen fired tear gas and plastic-coated metal bullets into the crowd, before baton-charging those remaining.
Kelly Minio-Paluello, who was filming throughout the demonstration, documented several Palestinians being dragged off for individual beatings by groups of baton-wielding soldiers. When the soldiers realized she was filming, Kelly Minio-Paluello was wrestled to the ground and dragged up the hill. Later, a second American was arrested for filming.
Kelly Minio-Paluello said, "I was arrested filming the unprovoked attacks of gangs of heavily-armed soldiers on women and teenagers who dared to say, 'Stop stealing our land!' Israel depends on shooting mothers with tear gas and beating their children with batons to enforce the occupation and subjugate the people of Palestine. It relies on violence to quell civil resistance, yet tries to hide this fact from the world. That is why I am in prison."
Since her arrest, Kelly Minio-Paluello has been stripsearched in an attempt to humiliate her and interrogated in the Ministry of Interior. She is currently being held in Hadera Deportation Centre, where a judge issued Kelly with a deportation order. Minio-Paluello has neither been informed of her charges nor been allowed to represent herself. She has not been told when she will be deported or informed of her rights.
Kelly Minio-Paluello is a journalist and community activist. She entered the country legally in October, has a visa, has never been deported or denied entry. She is working on various media production and training projects as part of the Balatacamp.net collective. See Balatacamp.net/~balata/website/balata.htm for further information.
Contact: ++972 [0]54 6346923 (Kelly in prison)
mika@balatacamp.net (Kelly's husband Mika)
The demonstrators marched peacefully through their land, using their presence to obstruct the military surveyors planning the precise route of the Wall. To repress the nonviolent demonstration, 30-40 Border Policemen fired tear gas and plastic-coated metal bullets into the crowd, before baton-charging those remaining.
Kelly Minio-Paluello, who was filming throughout the demonstration, documented several Palestinians being dragged off for individual beatings by groups of baton-wielding soldiers. When the soldiers realized she was filming, Kelly Minio-Paluello was wrestled to the ground and dragged up the hill. Later, a second American was arrested for filming.
Kelly Minio-Paluello said, "I was arrested filming the unprovoked attacks of gangs of heavily-armed soldiers on women and teenagers who dared to say, 'Stop stealing our land!' Israel depends on shooting mothers with tear gas and beating their children with batons to enforce the occupation and subjugate the people of Palestine. It relies on violence to quell civil resistance, yet tries to hide this fact from the world. That is why I am in prison."
Since her arrest, Kelly Minio-Paluello has been stripsearched in an attempt to humiliate her and interrogated in the Ministry of Interior. She is currently being held in Hadera Deportation Centre, where a judge issued Kelly with a deportation order. Minio-Paluello has neither been informed of her charges nor been allowed to represent herself. She has not been told when she will be deported or informed of her rights.
Kelly Minio-Paluello is a journalist and community activist. She entered the country legally in October, has a visa, has never been deported or denied entry. She is working on various media production and training projects as part of the Balatacamp.net collective. See Balatacamp.net/~balata/website/balata.htm for further information.
Contact: ++972 [0]54 6346923 (Kelly in prison)
mika@balatacamp.net (Kelly's husband Mika) 
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Undercurrents press release about arrest
22.12.2004 14:21
SWANSEA FILM MAKER IMPRISONED
December 22 2004
A film maker from Swansea, Kelly Minio-Paluello (23) faces spending Christmas in an Israeli prison since her arrest eght days ago. The young woman was arrested by Israeli Border Policemen while filming a peaceful demonstration near Ramallah in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Kelly and her husband spent this year raising funds across Swansea to supply Palestinian refugees with a video camera enabling them to tell their own stories.Her latest film was screened in November at the BeyondTV festival in the Patti Pavilion in November.Her talks about her experiences in Palestine raised funds as did a sponsered walk. around Gower.
Speaking today from Tsochar prison, 10 km from the Gaza Strip, Kelly said
"During this week I have been moved 3 times. I have been interrogated by the Ministry of the Interior, Police, Shabak and finally a judge, employed full-time at the deportation prison. Repeatedly I asked for my charges, my rights, and access to a lawyer but each time I was met with a blank stare."
Kellys husband Mika remains in Palestine. Both Kelly and Mika spent this summer being trained by and working with the Swansea based Undercurrents video production charity. On December 14th, eyewitness accounts say that while filming a peaceful demonstration over confiscated land, Israeli troops fired plastic-coated bullets, tear gas,sound bombs and used batons against the demonstrators. Five Palestinians were wounded, and three Internationals and four Israeli campaigners were beaten and arrested.
Speaking from her cell, Kelly added
"The kindness and strength of the women I have met in this prison system continues to amaze me. In a situation of dehumanization where we are called 'Mongolia', 'China', 'USA', 'English' instead of our names, where there are only a female prison is run only by male guards, where those same guards burst into our cells at any hour of day without knocking, where are cells have no doors to the shower or the rooms where we change, each the woman goes out of her way to help the others cope and survive."
Paul O'Connor, from award winning Swansea production company Undercurrents said
"It is imperitive that we learn of the situation from all sides in the Middle East. By arresting independent film makers, Israel is ensuring that only their side of the story is told. Minio-Paluellos arrest is illegal and the people of Swansea should condemn this blatent form of censourship."
END
Notes to Editors
To talk with Kelly call ++972 [0]54 6346923 (Kelly in prison)
Swansea based Undecurrents Paul O'Connor 07973 298359
Paulo
Obstructing the Military !? How about videos?
14.01.2005 00:51
The protestors obstructed the military surveyors.
Once the protestors start interfering with the operations of the government, that may be non-violent, but it's an incitment that triggers an almost inevitable response.
The Israeli government response may have included unnecessary brutality, but it's hard to judge the actual events, because the reporting is blatently biased. E.g. "illegal Israeli Apartheid Wall" is a pretty good indication of the editorial slant.
Bittorrents of videos, if available, would speak more clearly than words here.
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"illegal israeli apartheit wall" - yup, that's it.
15.01.2005 05:22
"Israeli", no doubt about that one.
"Apartheid wall", well it is designed specifically to keep Palestinians out of Israeli society so it's hard to argue that one too.
So I'd hesitate to call it biased reporting. Even calling it a security barrier would be biased, in that it is more of an insecurity barrier.
Vik :v)
Vik