Israeli Peace Activist Seized and Arrested at Ben-Gurion Airport

Ezra Nawi, an Israeli peace activist, was seized and arrested by police at Ben-Gurion airport on Monday, January 11, just days after he was shown in a television investigatory report broadcast by Channel 2. Nawi, an activist from an Israel-Palestinian peace group named Ta’ayush (Arabic for “Living Together”), was reportedly arrested by police for conspiring to commit a crime.

Ezra Nawi

Ezra Nawi (Photo: Uri Zakheim)

Nawi, a prominent campaigner for Palestinian rights, was shown in the television investigation aired last week by Channel 2 saying that he assists Palestinian authorities in identifying Palestinians who sell land to Jewish settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The audio recording and footage used in the Channel 2 report were gathered by right-wing Israeli activists who had secretly videotaped Nawi without his knowledge.

Channel 2 reported Monday that “during the afternoon police who were reconnoitering the suspect followed him to the airport.” A spokesperson for the Israel Police confirmed they they had arrested a peace activist but declined to give his name, even though it had already been carried in several media reports after being revealed by two lawmakers not bound by gag orders.