The Clipboard: Seattle-area man arrested in West Bank

From an article¹:

A man from this suburb north of Seattle was one of two Americans arrested by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.

Mike Johnson, 52, a volunteer with the Palestinian-backed International Solidarity Movement, was detained Saturday along with Matteo Bernal, 22, of Kentucky and Palestinian Osama Qashou as they were trying to leave the Tulkarem refugee camp after accompanying schoolchildren to their homes during an exchange of gunfire, ISM officials said. The Israeli military later said the three did not have permission to be in the camp, a closed military area. (link)

Keeping an eye on this story.

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Complete text of the article, Lake Stevens man arrested in West Bank, by the Associated Press

A man from this suburb north of Seattle was one of two Americans arrested by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.

Mike Johnson, 52, a volunteer with the Palestinian-backed International Solidarity Movement, was detained Saturday along with Matteo Bernal, 22, of Kentucky and Palestinian Osama Qashou as they were trying to leave the Tulkarem refugee camp after accompanying schoolchildren to their homes during an exchange of gunfire, ISM officials said. The Israeli military later said the three did not have permission to be in the camp, a closed military area.

American activist Rachel Corrie, a student at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., was also working with ISM when she was struck and killed by an Israeli bulldozer March 16 as she protested the destruction of a Palestinian home.

Johnson "was very determined to go over," said his sister, Claudia Alfred of Gig Harbor. "He felt it was the right thing to do."

Johnson was laid off from Boeing in September. He was a member of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace and had talked of getting the union to take a position against selling equipment to the Israeli military, said Linda Bevis, a member of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, which she said acts as the Seattle chapter of the ISM.

In a statement he wrote before leaving for Israel, Johnson said: "I'm going because I understand what the situation is there and I can't theoretically not go ... My motive is love and a desire for peace for everybody."

Johnson left Seattle on April 19, flying through Poland after Israel imposed tougher restrictions on foreigners entering the country. He was scheduled to return June 20 but faces early deportation for being in an off-limits military area.

Despite the risks, Johnson had been convinced he could help.

"He knew what he was up against," Alfred said. "I'm afraid for him, but I'm very proud of him."

reference=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20West%20Bank%20Arrest