Israel persecutes Palestinian technical students (IWPS Arrest Report No. 19)

From the www.monabaker.com archive (legacy material)

International Women’s Peace Service | IWPS | February 14, 2003

Note: This is an important document because it suggests that the Israelis are now targeting highly successful technical students–not because of their political activity or for ‘security’ reasons, but because they promise self-reliance and development in the Palestinian community. Thanks to Haidar Eid for passing this along.
Date February, 14 , 2003
Muhammad Amin Ahmad Yunis, arrested on Wednesday, 12, 2003. Currently in Qedumim detention camp.
Name:- Muhammad Amin Ahmad Yunis
Date and time of arrest:- February 12, 2003, 2.30 a.m.
Place of arrest:- his house in Saniriya, Qalqiliya district.
Circumstances of arrest: – The night of February, 12, at 2.30 a.m. a group of 16 soldiers in a big lorry and two jeeps commanded by a shebak officer wrapped on the door of Muhammad’s house and demanded everybody to come out. At that time only he and his three brothers were at home and all of them were handcuffed and brought to the checkpoint of Orani, 3 km away at the Green line. There all of them had to wait in the outdoors until 5.40 a.m. without being given any information. Muhammad’s brother Hatem reports that by the time they were released their legs were so frozen and numb they couldn’t feel them anymore. Only then did the soldiers inform them that they wanted to arrest Muhammad and told his three brothers to go home. Muhammad is now being held in administrative detention for 12 days at Qedumim detention camp. Such sententencs are widely known to be extended. Nobody, including his lawyer, has so far received official permission to get in contact with him.
Muhammad is 20 years old and is an extremely successful student at the an-Najjah University. He has been awarded as the best student of electronic engineering in the whole West Bank. His brother Hatem insists that Muhammad has had never been involved in politics as he had been too dedicated to his studies. The Shebak officer, on the night of the arrest, informed Hakim that his brother’s lifestyle and studies were exactly the reason they had arrested him hinting that the Israeli authorities are purposely persecuting Palestinian technical science students as these people are deemed to be particularly “dangerous”. However, on the ground this turns out to be another strategy to destroy the young Palestinian generation and to contribute to the brain drain in the whole society.
The International Women’s Peace Service, Hares, Salfit, Palestine.
Tel:- (09)-2516-644. Mob:-(055)-376-204
Email:- iwps@palnet.com
Operating out of Hares, near Salfit, the International Women’s Peace Service monitors and responds to Human Rights Abuses in the area. Part of our mission is to contact the relevant authorities in the case of any arrests that take place in the Hares area.
We will do our best to furnish you with all the relevant information you might need to begin action. Unfortunately, in some instances, the family of the arrested person will not have a telephone contact – in which case you are welcome to address questions to them through us.
Please also cc. us on any relevant developments so that we can update our records and keep the community informed.