ISM: Czech activist not to appeal Israeli expulsion decision

Prague/Ramallah/Jerusalem, March 21 (CTK) - Neither the Czech nor his German and Danish fellow activists arrested at a protest meeting in Hebron, the West Bank area, will appeal Israel's decision on their deportation, Pavlina Musilova, from International Solidarity Movement (ISM), told CTK Thursday.

After consulting the ISM, the three volunteers plan to leave Israel as quickly as possible, Musilova said.

Reporting on the case, the ISM originally said the three activists will be deported from Israel based on a court verdict, but it eventually released a denial of the information.

The ISM has been supporting non-violent actions of resistance against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories since 2001.

The Czech protester and his two European colleagues have been taken to the Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv.

Musilova said they could appeal the expulsion verdict and wait at the airport's immigration department until their case is closed. Nevertheless, they prefer leaving Israel, she said, adding that the date or time of their departure is not known for now.

The Israeli authorities most often use the services of the national air carrier El Al, whose nearest flight is to land in Prague at 21:15 CET tonight, Musilova said.

The three were among the six persons whom the Israeli soldiers arrested at a protest meeting in Hebron staged on the occasion of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit. The participants turned up wearing masks of Martin Luther King and Obama in order to remind the latter of King's struggle against discrimination in the USA and criticise what they called the USA's pro-Israel bias, unjust to Palestinians.

Musilova said the Czech activist had stayed on the West Bank for a week. Along with other ISM volunteers he attended regular meetings pointing to the situation of Palestinians living under the Israeli occupation.

By their presence the activists express solidarity with the Palestinians. In the case of Czech activists, they use three-month tourist visas they can extend on the West Bank, Musilova said.

Czech consul Simona Vesela told CTK that the Czech embassy has been in contact with the detained Czech activist but does not know the time of his departure.

In similar cases, Israeli authorities act promptly, within 48 hours, Vesela said previously.