Episcopal Press and News
Episcopal Peace and Justice Delegation Protests Israel's Detention of U.S. Citizen in West Bank
Episcopal News Service. April 7, 1995 [95066]
(ENS) Bumping unexpectedly into the harsh system of military law used by the Israeli Defense Force to crack down on terrorism in the Occupied Territories, members of the Peace and Justice Network of the Episcopal Church on a fact-finding tour of the Middle East found themselves protesting the arrest and detention without charge of an American citizen living in the West Bank.
While the delegation had been told of frequent detentions of young Palestinian men, they got a first-hand experience when they attempted to visit 20-year-old Butrus "Peter" Saleh, born in Salem, Massachusetts, at Fa'ra Prison near Nablus. They were refused entry to the prison, and learned later from the American Consul that no American representative had been allowed to see Saleh for the first two weeks of his detention. Saleh was arrested from his residence in the West Bank, March 13. Only after repeated efforts was a representative of the American Consul finally allowed to visit Saleh on March 29. She reported that Saleh appeared to be in good health, but said he had been forced to confess to a charge of throwing stones at soldiers, which he denied.
An attorney they met at the prison said he often waited hours or days to see prisoners he represented, and reported that many were tortured into confessing crimes they did not commit.
In an open letter to the United States government (see text following), members of the network's Episcopal delegation stated that they were "deeply angered at the apparent impotence" of the government to investigate the detention of Saleh.
"We are not only deeply concerned about the human rights posture of the State of Israel, but also with the incapacity of the United States Government, the major foreign sponsor of the Israeli Defense Force, to gain immediate information about American citizens imprisoned by Israeli authorities," the delegation said. "Mr. Saleh's situation is apparently symbolic of a systemic reality in the Occupied Territories, in which young men who appear to be Palestinian are seized without explanation and often without cause."
They also expressed their shock at learning from the consul that Saleh was only one of four Americans being held. "Can Americans abroad no longer count on their government to protect them from abuse by another government?" the delegation asked. "Or is it that Israel is somehow a special case?"
Until the delegation raised the issue, no information was provided the consul about Saleh's location, the reason for his arrest or his physical condition. Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning informed U.S. government leaders of the case during a visit to Washington D.C., and both the consul office and the delegation pledged to continue to monitor Saleh's detention.