Israeli court rules to free Australian

THE Israeli Supreme Court last night ordered the release of an Australian woman who was arrested at gunpoint in Ramallah on Sunday because her visa had expired.

Bridgette Chappell, 22, who is originally from Canberra, was ordered to pay $924 bail and promise not to travel to the West Bank.

A tribunal will be convened later this week to decide whether Ms Chappell's visa can be extended.

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Under the 1993 Oslo accords, Israeli troops are banned from entering Ramallah without the prior knowledge and permission of the Palestinian Authority.

Ms Chappell said that about 3am on Sunday, about 20 Israeli soldiers armed with M16 rifles stormed her apartment in Ramallah and demanded to see her travel documents.

Ms Chappell, who admits that her visa had expired, and a Spanish student named Jove Marti were then arrested and taken to the Givon detention centre from where they were told they would soon be deported.

But lawyers acting for Ms Chappell, Omer Shatz and Ifta Cohen, filed an urgent petition with the Israeli Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case yesterday.

In court the prosecution admitted the IDF had made a mistake by arresting the couple in Ramallah, but said the two women posed a security threat because of their role in inciting protests against the state of Israel.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/israeli-court-rules-to-free-australian-20100208-nngt.html

threat to Israel these days