Three Israel protest women home

14 July 2011 Last updated at 15:08 GMT Fiona Williams from Swansea was on hunger strike for 48 hours Three of the four Welsh women detained in Israel as part of a so-called "flytilla" protest are back home.

They had been held at a detention centre south of Tel Aviv since arriving at Ben Gurion Airport last Friday.

The remaining protester, Dee Murphy from Swansea, is still in Israel but it is hoped she will return later on Thursday.

Shortly before their release, the Israeli embassy said authorities were looking after those being held.

Other UK protesters were deported but the Welsh women had initially refused, saying they had done nothing wrong.

The activists had planned to attend West Bank events in support of Palestinians but were detained.

Some of the protesters, including Fiona Williams, 46, and Ms Murphy, 56, both from the Swansea Palestine group, went on hunger strike after they say they were prevented from making phone calls.

They accepted food again after 48 hours when they were allowed to call home.

Ms Williams said after returning home: "I'm glad we did what we did.

"I don't feel we got anywhere because they [the Israeli authorities] seem to be a law onto themselves.

"We went to test our right to visit people in Palestine - we were invited as friends - and we weren't able to do that."

Pippa Bartolotti, 57, deputy leader of the Wales Green Party, and Joyce Giblin, a member of the Socialist Labour Party from Newport, were also detained on Friday.

Speaking from the plane at Ben Gurion airport, Ms Bartolotti said she had bruises and had been handcuffed "very roughly" shortly after her arrival.

She said the group had been treated badly and were asked to sign a statement that was written only in Hebrew.

Earlier, Amir Ofek, spokesman for the Israeli embassy in the UK, said of the protest: "The Israeli authorities went beyond basic necessities in ensuring the comfort of those being held, providing regular contact with their families at home, and issuing passengers with any medication that they might need.

"Consular support from the British embassy was immediately requested, in the form of visits from British staff."

He said Israel was a democratic country where heated debates occurred every hour of the day across a range of issues.

"They do not take place however in an airport, one of the most sensitive buildings in the country, where the security threat is real. No other state would tolerate this and neither will we," he added.

The timing of the action, as a flotilla of ships trying to break a blockade on the Gaza Strip was prevented from leaving Greece, led some to call it a "flytilla".

Organisers denied the protest was linked to the attempt to break the blockade.

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Welsh 'flytilla' women detained

9 July 2011 Last updated at 16:10 GMT Fiona Williams flew from Luton Airport to Israel on Friday Four protesters from Wales are among a dozen UK activists detained as part of a so-called "flytilla" protest in Israel, according to organisers.

Fiona Williams, 46, from Mumbles, flew from Luton on Friday with a fellow member of the Swansea Palestine group.

Ms Williams' partner John McLean said the women were detained on leaving the flight at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.

News agencies report that Israel is set to expel 124 activists, mostly European, who were part of the protest.

The "flytilla" - in which protesters say they were planning to make a peaceful visit to families in the West Bank - was taking place as a flotilla of ships was prevented by Greece from sailing to the Gaza Strip in a bid to break the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory.

Mr McLean said this was the first time that Ms Williams, who works for Swansea council, had taken part in such a protest, but added she was a determined supporter of the Palestinian cause.

"Fiona has never been there before so we were all quite surprised she was picked out," he said.

"At 11 o'clock last night we got this news, and they were probably being detained for the weekend and deported at the earliest opportunity.

"They refused to be deported, that's their stance at the moment, because there's no grounds for it."

Mr McLean said Ms Williams had travelled with a fellow member of the Swansea group, who was originally from Ireland, and he had been getting updates from the Irish Embassy.

He said he had not spoken to her directly but understood she was fine.

Paul O'Connor, of the Swansea Palestine group, said he had spoken to the Swansea women on Friday and they were in good spirits.

Some Israeli protesters gathered to welcome the activists who had flown into Ben Gurion Airport

"The latest we have heard from the [Irish] embassy is that they're being held at the airport," he said.

"There's about 30-odd others with them.

"They're going to be held and deported on Sunday night and Monday."

Palestinian civil society organisations who make up Welcome to Palestine expected 600 to 1,000 foreign activists to take up their invitation to head to the West Bank for a week.

They say they have planned a full itinerary of peaceful activities, starting with events in Bethlehem and Ramallah on Saturday for those able to make it there.

Palestinians have no airport of their own and Israel controls the borders of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli officials said on Friday airlines blocked some 200 blacklisted travellers from flying to Tel Aviv.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered authorities to "act with determination, while trying to avoid unnecessary friction" with anyone taking part in a provocation, a statement from his office said.

The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which is coordinating the British part of the protest, said there 12 detainees from the UK.

'Watching developments'

These included three others from Wales, who it named as Ms Williams's Swansea colleague Dee Murphy, 56, founder member of Swansea Palestine Community Link; Pippa Bartolotti, 57, deputy leader of the Wales Green Party, and Joyce Giblin, from Newport.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We have received reports of a number of British nationals being detained today at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.

"We have a consular team at the airport and are seeking consular access to them to ensure that we can provide appropriate assistance."

The spokeswoman said travel advice had been updated and it continued to make clear that travellers to Israel should ensure they are aware of relevant immigration requirements.

"We are watching developments closely," she added.

"We have put in place contingency plans and will deploy consular staff as required to ensure that we can provide appropriate support to British nationals."

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