Pro-Palestine activist highlights plight of Palestinians following ‘terrifying’ West Bank arrest

Pro-Palestine activist and Hackney resident Susanne Björk. Photograph: courtesy Susanne Björk

A local activist is raising awareness of what’s happening in Palestine after being arrested by Israeli police and deported despite “doing nothing wrong”.

Susanne Björk, 48, was visiting the village of Khalet Al-Daba’a, which is in the occupied West Bank and is home to around 100 Palestinians, with her friend and fellow activist D Murphy, 71, in late May.

The pair arrived on 30 May to see the village, which has been almost entirely destroyed since February, to show their support for the people living there and to “record and document what’s happening”.

They had been there less than 24 hours when they were woken at 6.30am by three masked men, all heavily armed, telling them they were in a firing zone.

It eventually led to them being arrested and interrogated, before Björk was deported and Murphy, who decided to challenge her deportation order, was detained in prison.

The run-up to the ordeal began the day before, when the pair were following a group of young Israeli men who, according to Björk, were “terrorising” the village.

Björk told the Citizen: “Settlers, young men, who live in outposts surrounding the village, arrive with their sheep and break into gardens, caves and other structures, and let the sheep destroy the trees.

“The animals defecate everywhere and wreak havoc. These men are terrorising the community, telling people to leave, but the Palestinians can’t do anything because the settlers will immediately call the army for support, who will then arrest the Palestinians instead.”

They followed and filmed the men for hours, all the while being filmed themselves.

Björk said she was then attacked by one of the group and had her phone stolen.

She called the police, who arrived in the village along with members of the army. The police took a statement, and Björk was told to report to the station the next day.

However, at 6.30am in the morning, the women were woken by three soldiers banging on their door and telling them they had “10 seconds to get out”.

“It was terrifying,” said Björk.

“They told us there was a fire, but it later became clear that they were accusing us of being in a firing zone – though neither the police nor the army had mentioned anything about this the day before.

“They seemed to only be targeting us. There were plenty of other people in the village.”

Björk told the soldiers that she was due to report the theft of her phone at the police station later in the morning.

The women were allowed to make their way, but only 200 metres down the road, they were stopped by a man in green fatigues who Björk described as “settler security”.

“He wanted to see our passports but refused to identify himself, so we waited for police to arrive.”

Björk and Murphy were then detained by police and arrested and charged.

Björk said the police were carrying a photograph of the man who stole her phone.

The pair were later sent to Ben Gurion Airport for separate immigration hearings.

Björk claims officers offered to drive her to the border and when she refused, they threatened to detain her for a further 72 hours. This time, she agreed, flying to Athens before making her way home to Hackney.

Murphy is resisting her deportation order, and at time of writing, is still being kept in an Israeli prison.

Björk said she had spoken to Murphy’s lawyer over the weekend and everyone is hoping that she will be home soon.

On her experience, Björk added: “This is what Israel does. They try to get rid of people raising awareness of what’s going on in any way possible.

“There was no due process. They didn’t even follow their own internal laws. It is a rogue state.”

Björk said she has visited the West Bank, but has never before been arrested.

Asked if she would go back, she said she was doubtful, and that she was expecting to be banned from travelling there again.

Now the activist, who has lived in Hackney for close to 20 years, is calling on residents to support Palestinians.

She criticised the council for “not having a dialogue with residents about how to divest its pension fund”, and for failing to scrap the borough’s twinning relationship with the Israeli city of Haifa.

Campaigners have long called for the Town Hall to withdraw its pension fund investments from companies linked to Israel’s military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

Mayor of Hackney Caroline Woodley has previously signalled her openness to “ethical divestment”, but pensions committee chair Cllr Adams has said pulling “passive” investments would “expose the Hackney pension fund to significant costs”.

Like other local authorities, officials have warned that the council has a legal responsibility to ensure the pension fund is profitable.

Björk said: “Palestinians are not included in the global family – for some reason, they seem to be an exception. And so they are being left to fend for themselves.

“We need everyone to get involved in the efforts to support their struggle for freedom.”

According to Palestinian-led activist group the International Solidarity Movement, the village of Khalet Al-Daba’a has “endured a shocking wave of violence and harassment in recent months”.

Between February and May, the group claims that homes, residential caves and tents being used as temporary housing were repeatedly destroyed.

It went on to report: “On 5 May, Israeli forces returned and destroyed roughly 90 per cent of the village’s homes and infrastructure: around nine homes, six caves, several water tanks and toilets, animal barns, solar panels, water and electricity infrastructure.

“Three weeks after this devastating erasure, settlers went into the village, forced families out of their caves, brought livestock and established an outpost at the edge of the community.

“Since then, settlers have returned on a daily basis to harass families, in an attempt to forcibly expel the residents who are steadfastly remaining on their land.”

Israel Police has been approached for comment.

Update, 11 June 2025: D Murphy has now been released and is travelling home.

Update: this article was amended on 11 June 2025 to add further clarifications and an update on D Murphy.