An Irish woman is due to leave Israel on Wednesday after failing to lift an Israeli deportation order against her and spending ten days in detention, according to the pro-Palestinian activist group she was volunteering with in the occupied West Bank and her family.
According to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), Máire ní Mhurchú, also known as ‘D’ Murphy (70), is to return to her home in Swansea, Wales. Ms Murphy has been detained in Givon Prison in the Israeli city of Ramla since 1st June, when she challenged a deportation order made against her following her arrest in the West Bank on 31st May.
“As a family we are all very relieved to have my mother home,” said Dale Ryan, Ms Murphy’s son, in a statement. “The past 10 days has been intense and we have had to trust that the Israeli authorities would treat my mother fairly and ensure her basic needs were met. From their treatment of the Palestinians over the past several decades, this was not something we had the most confidence in.”
ISM said a hearing had been scheduled for July for Ms Murphy to challenge the deportation order against her. This followed an appearance Mr Murphy made before Israel’s Detention Review Tribunal on June 4th where the Irish woman says she was not given legal representation or an opportunity to obtain legal advice and, on the basis, refused to participate in the proceedings.
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ISM says Ms Murphy’s lawyer, Noa Dagoni, has since managed to visit her once but did not receive a response from Israel’s prison service regarding a request for the Irish pensioner’s release.
The Israeli ambassador responsible for Ireland, Dana Erlich, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin said it is providing consular assistance and, as per protocol, does not comment on the details of individual cases.
Ms Murphy was detained by Israeli police on May 31st near Khalet al-Daba’a, a Palestinian village that has been largely demolished by Israeli forces, along with Swedish activist Susanne Björk (48). Ms Björk left Israel on June 2nd after a deportation order was also made against her. Both women deny that the grounds on which the orders were made against them and, in particular, deny failing to comply with an order to leave a military zone by Israeli soldiers.
“Israeli bulldozers have returned to Khalet Al-Daba’a, the West Bank village in the demolition-plagued region of Masafer Yatta where Murphy was arrested,” said ISM on Wednesday. “It is a harrowing development that as she is deported, the Israeli forces are finishing to demolish what was left of the village of Khalet Al-Daba’a, where she and Björk were arrested. ”
Ms Murphy, who is originally from Douglas, Cork but lives in Wales, is a founding member of Swansea Palestine Community Link and was previously detained in 2011, when she travelled to Israel with the group.
“I know after a day’s rest my mother will be back gathering support for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for the fair treatment of all Palestinians, after me and all her family give her a massive hug,” said Mr Ryan.
