Layan Nasir, a 23-year-old girl from Birzeit, has been subjected to an “administrative detention” procedure. Without an arrest warrant or charges against her, a military patrol took her away during the night handcuffed and blindfolded. Lutheran pastor of Bethlehem: Israel enjoys “impunity” and claims the “right to destroy the lives of millions of people.”
Jerusalem () – “There is no other reason except the fact that we live under a colonial and colonizing occupation that has enjoyed impunity for too long and feels entitled to destroy the lives of millions of people,” he tells the Reverend Munther Isaac, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bethlehem, in relation to “the administrative detention” ordered by Israel against the young Palestinian Christian Layan Nasir, arrested last week. “It is the same provision – continues the Christian reference – that applies to approximately 4,000 other Palestinians. “The Israelis use that formula to justify the arrest of people who have no charges against them.”
On the night of April 6, in the Palestinian town of Birzeit, a patrol of about fifteen armed Israeli soldiers showed up at the Nasir family home looking for their 23-year-old daughter, without an arrest warrant or charges against her. According to what the family told Guardian, who reported the case, held mother Lulu Aranki and father Sami – a mixed couple of Christians, Catholics and Anglicans – immobilized by pointing guns at their faces. After searching the place for several minutes, the military took Layan blindfolded and handcuffed into administrative detention – the only Christian to date. “Layan's arrest – says Reverend Isaac – reminds us that we are Christians living under Israeli occupation. “Palestinian Christians are not only an integral part of the Palestinian people, but they have suffered as much as the rest of the population.”
There are no charges or accusations against the young woman, but she has been detained “preventively” and the family has not been notified of any accusations. Her story, which may have gone unnoticed like so many other similar Palestinians, had wide resonance thanks to a message published on . “We must exert all possible pressure – affirms the Lutheran pastor – not only to free her, but to all our people from the prison of the occupation, to put an end to the occupation itself and to obtain and guarantee justice for all.”
The Rev. Munther Isaac is pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and the Lutheran Church in Beit Sahour. He is also a professor at Bethlehem Bible College and director of the famous conference “Christ at the Checkpoint” which this year will take place, in its seventh edition, from May 21 to 26 and will focus on the theme “Doing justice, loving mercy: Christian witness in contexts of oppression.” Regarding the situation of Christians in Palestine, he states that it is “critical: we are at the lowest point since 1948”, but at the same time “we do not lose hope and, above all, we believe in the justice of our cause.” “We see – he continues – how they steal our lands and attack our people.” “Israel enjoys impunity and the West doesn't seem to care much about us,” she adds, but “we know our cause is just. We will continue to exist and spread our message – she concludes – not only because it is our duty as Palestinians but also because it is our duty as Christians.
Israel's administrative detention allows a suspect to be held indefinitely, even without specific charges or trial. This measure, which previously applied only to Palestinian militants, is now also used for Israelis, although critics are skeptical about how it is applied. The tool, a source of controversy and protests over human rights violations, is generally used when authorities have information linking a suspect to a crime, but do not have sufficient evidence to support charges in court. Detentions can be renewed unilaterally by a military court every six months and prisoners remain in jail for years. While some Palestinians are detained without known charges, the most common reasons range from calls for online violence to (suspected) terrorist activities.
Layan is one of thousands of Palestinians detained without charge, of whom at least 85 are women, but she is the only one of Christian religion. Critics, activists and human rights NGOs point out that the procedure is part of the apartheid that the Jewish State applies against the Palestinians. “Israel – affirms the Btselem movement – constantly resorts to administrative detention. Over the years it has put thousands of Palestinians behind bars for periods ranging from several months to several years, without charging them, without telling them what they are accused of, and without disclosing the alleged evidence to them or their families. lawyers.”
