Italy calls for release of five of its activists arrested by Israel in the West Bank

Italy has called for the immediate release of five Italian activists, all women, held by Israeli forces in the West Bank, says Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

Italian foreign ministry sources say the women were detained yesterday by Israeli police in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, next to Hebron, along with other international activists, while seeking to protect Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest.

“What happened is unacceptable, they were not committing any crime,” Tajani tells reporters on the sidelines of an international summit in Istanbul, adding he hopes they will be released in a matter of hours.

The women were expected to be transferred to Israel’s immigration authority today pending expulsion and repatriation procedures, Israeli authorities told Italian diplomats earlier in the day, according to the sources.