A PALESTINE campaigner from Nottingham said yesterday that he was brutally beaten by Israeli security following his arrest at a peaceful protest camp.

Dan Laverick went to Palestine for three months in January as a volunteer, teaching English to young Palestinians.

He attended a protest camp on Monday on land being cleared by Israel to house Bedouins being forcibly removed from their own land. He was arrested with four Palestinians.

He has been released, but said that in custody he was beaten.

“Throughout my arrest and detainment I was blindfolded, handcuffed, placed in stress positions, hit, kicked, had my hair pulled and my life threatened,” he said.

“At one point an officer threatened to stab me in the face with a pen for refusing to sign a document written in Hebrew.

“Three Palestinians with me started enduring harsher treatment than me before I was blindfolded.

“The officers’ statements against me included entirely fabricated accusations, such as ‘assaulting an officer.’

“I am extremely concerned for the safety of my Palestinian friends who are being held in prison on equally spurious charges.

“Innocent Palestinians are too often abused and imprisoned for long periods and I feel it is important to recognise that this is not an isolated incident, but a regular occurrence for those living under Israeli occupation and apartheid.”

The protest camp is near Abu Dis in Palestine’s West Bank. It has been attacked six times.

In the latest attack tear gas, pepper spray, stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets were used.

Palestinian Popular Struggle co-ordinating committee’s Munther Amira said: “This land belongs to the Palestinians of Abu Dis and Eizariya. We don’t want them to displace the Bedouin, we don’t want them to build more settlements on our land.

“We will not stop rebuilding our camps. We are planning to do the same all over the West Bank.

“This is popular resistance. Yesterday the Israeli military came with enormous machines to destroy the camp, land and olive trees we had planted.

“They have already arrested us and threatened us but even if they arrest, deport and even kill us we will continue.”

Mr Laverick’s mother Angie Mindel said: “There were no grounds for their arrest as they were all protesting peacefully, as is their right.”

peterlazenby@peoples-press.com