JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the release on bail of two pro-Palestinian activists who were arrested in Ramallah.
Israeli soldiers reportedly entered the city, which is under Palestinian control, on Sunday and arrested the two women, members of the International Solidarity Movement, for staying in the area with invalid visas. The women — a Spaniard and an Australian — were turned over to the Interior Ministry’s Oz unit in charge of deporting illegal immigrants to Israel.
On Monday, the court ordered their release on a much-lowered bail, saying the two should not have been transferred to the Oz unit. The women were ordered not to return to the West Bank and can file an appeal over the deportation orders.
The activists reportedly have demonstrated in protests against the West Bank security fence.
They were "involved in illegal activity, including riots and jeopardizing IDF soldiers and public property," an Israel Defense Forces spokesman told Ynet.
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