July 10 2002 – Two Australian aid workers representing Muslim Aid Australia (www.muslim-aid.org.au) who were detained by Israeli officials at Tel Aviv’s airport as they attempted to enter the country have been released after intervention by Australian diplomats.
The two men, Mohammed Mayat and Suleiman Domingo, both Australian nationals, were detained without explanation on Monday when they arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport with the aim of going to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The men were planning to visit the Palestinian territories to review a number of current aid projects conducted by Muslim Aid Australia and distribute much needed funds. Muslim Aid Australia, the first and only Australian Muslim overseas aid organisation to be granted Deductible Gift Recipient status by the Australian Government, has been distributing aid and conducting projects in Palestine for a number of years and has previously sent delegates to Palestine without incidence.
Muslim Aid Australia had informed the Israeli embassy in Australia of its trip, upon request submitting a detailed itinerary, and had been assured of complete assistance from Israeli authorities. It was on this basis that the trip was authorised.
The men were most likely blocked from entering Israel as part of a recent Israeli government policy of hindering aid from reaching the Palestinian populations in the occupied territories. On July 3 International relief agencies issued a statement accusing Israel of hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians to the point where they can