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French anti-globalisation icon Jose Bove who has reportedly been arrested by the Israeli military at a protest to show solidarity with the Palestinian people in the West Bank city of Ramallah last week.
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French farm union activist Jose Bove and a dozen other peace activists have reportedly been arrested by the Israeli army after meeting with besieged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat this evening.
Bove and the others who were arrested "are currently in the Beit El army base, near Ramallah," in the West Bank, said Georgina Reeves, a British member of the International Solidarity Movement.
The Israeli army had earlier announced it had detained foreigners "who had committed irresponsible acts," but had not confirmed that Bove, the head of the anti-globalisation Farmers' Confederation, was among the group.
Reeves added that among the other twelve activists taken by the Israeli army were nine "international activists" and three Palestinians.
About 50 pacifists, mostly French, but also from Italy, Britain, Switzerland and the United States dramatically entered Arafat's compound earlier in the day in defiance of the tanks and warning shots fired by soldiers, and met with the Palestinian leader.
After meeting with Arafat, about 10 of them, including Bove, decided to leave the compound to inform the media and "prepare for further assistance," according to peace activist Claude Loestic, who is still inside the headquarters.
Forty of them were still in his offices late Sunday and had announced they would form a "human shield" to protect the Palestinian chief.
About 100 European activists and a small number of US nationals are in Ramallah to express their solidarity with Arafat and the Palestinian people, including Bove, who became known for being involved in smashing up a McDonalds restaurant in southern France in 1999.
Israel declared Arafat an "enemy" and sent its tanks to occupy his headquarters in Ramallah on Friday, sparking deadly clashes.
AFP