Irish nurse is deported from Israel
By Paul Cullen
MIDDLE EAST: An Irish nurse who was arrested by Israeli forces
after the end
of the siege at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem has been deported.
Ms Mary Kelly, from Baltimore in West Cork, was due in London last night
after
being deported on a flight from Tel Aviv airport. She is expected to
arrive
in Ireland today or tomorrow.
She had been on hunger strike since she was arrested along with seven
other
peace activists when the Israeli army lifted its five-week siege of
the
Bethlehem church last Friday.
Ms Kelly was "very angry" at her treatment at the hands of the Israeli
forces,
according to Ms Georgina Reeves, a spokeswoman for the International
Solidarity
Movement, to which Ms Kelly belonged.
According to Ms Reeves, the arrested activists were taken to a police
lock-up
at Ma'ale Aduman, an illegal settlement east of Jerusalem. On Sunday,
they were
transferred to Ramle, a low-security women's prison, where they were
held until
their deportation.
Ms Reeves, who visited Ms Kelly at the weekend, said she was "physically
tired"
from her ordeal, but otherwise in good health. "She was just very angry
at what
has happened, as we all are."
A Department of Foreign Affairs official declined to comment on individual
consular cases, but did confirm that Ms Kelly had been deported. Before
leaving, she
had received consular assistance from the Irish Embassy at Ramallah,
the
spokeswoman said.
The activists gained access to the Church of the Nativity, revered as
the birthplace of Christ, on May 2nd. As the only nurse among the group,
she provided medical
assistance to the wounded.
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2002/0515/1181786492FRMARYKELLY.html
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