Omar Qassis
2008-07-09, 12:00 p.m.

My cousin said this better than I could, so here's an email he sent out to our family about a recent tragedy in our home town.

"Omar Qassis is a Palestinian Christian, a cousin of mine, and a childhood friend from my home town Bir Zeit in Palestine. On the 27th of March 2008 was kidnapped by the Israeli Occupation Forces, taken from his house in the early hours of the morning before dawn to an Israeli detention facility in West Jerusalem. At that time I myself was in San Francisco on Easter Holiday. I was with Omar's first cousin Hussam, going around Berkeley, when Hussam's mother phoned to inform him of Omar's arrest. We though it was another one of those short harassment arrests, wherein the Israeli Army would humiliatingly arrest you, take you in for a few days, perhaps torture you, and then within a week-as there usually were no charges-would release you. Omar had been previously arrested for a brief week around the Christmas holidays more than a year ago. I remember we went to visit him after his release. His grandmother, Imm Mitri was thrilled he was able to make it home for the holidays.

Below is an article further describe what happened, please READ it and SHARE it with your friends. Arbitrary arrests and groundless incarcerations are not features of a democracy, rather the tools of ethnic cleansing.

Omar Nasser

http://right2edu.birzeit.edu/news/article546"