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December 16, 2008

Israel Detains UN Human Rights Envoy
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The Israeli government has expelled a UN human rights envoy after
detaining him at the Tel Aviv airport for more than twenty hours. The
envoy, Richard Falk, serves as the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights
in the Palestinian Territories. Falk has been a vocal critic of Israel’s
treatment of the Palestinians. Meanwhile, UN General Assembly President
Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann has revealed he has recently received death
threats. Last month, he compared Israel to apartheid South Africa. In
other news from the region, Israel released over 220 Palestinian
prisoners on Monday. Most of the prisoners are members of Mahmoud
Abbas’s Fatah faction. Israel still holds about 11,000 Palestinian
prisoners.



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