Israeli police detain Cork activist, 70, in the West Bank

Máire ní Mhurchú was arrested in Khalet al-Daba'a, a small Palestinian village which was largely demolished by Israeli forces in early May. Photo provided by Hannah McCarthy

An Irish woman has been detained by Israel in the West Bank, according to an activist group.

Máire ní Mhurchú, known as D Murphy, (aged 70) was detained by Israeli police on Saturday in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank, according to the International Solidarity Movement, the Palestinian anti-occupation group which the Irish woman has been volunteering with since May.

Originally from Douglas in Cork but living in Swansea, Wales, Murphy was arrested alongside Swedish activist, Susanne Björk (aged 48), in Khalet al-Daba'a, a small Palestinian village which was largely demolished by Israeli forces in early May. 

After Israeli soldiers ordered the activists to leave, the female activists were reportedly stopped while leaving the village by Israeli settlers serving as reservists with the military. The Israeli police were called and subsequently detained Murphy and Björk for being in a closed military zone.

Máire ní Mhurchú is a founding member of Swansea Palestine Community Link and was previously detained in Israel in 2011 when she travelled to the Jewish state with the Welsh pro-Palestine group. Photo provided by Hannah McCarthy

The 120-person community at Khalet al-Daba'a is one of a dozen Palestinian hamlets in Masafer Yatta located inside an area which the Israeli authorities designated as a military firing zone in the 1980s. 

After a long legal battle, Israel's Supreme Court approved the eviction of 1,000 residents from the villages in the occupied West Bank in 2022. Amnesty International says ongoing settler attacks and demolitions place communities in Masafer Yatta at risk of forcible transfer. 

International law prohibits both the expropriation of occupied land for purposes that do not benefit the people living there, and their forcible transfer.

According to the International Solidarity Movement, Björk is now due to be deported while Murphy is fighting a deportation order while detained at Ben Gurion Airport and facing possible jail time. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been contacted for comment. 

Murphy is a founding member of Swansea Palestine Community Link and was previously detained in Israel in 2011 when she travelled to the Jewish state with the Welsh pro-Palestine group. 

Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance and, as per protocol, does not comment on the details of individual cases.

Murphy's son, Dale Ryan, said: ”As far as I can see her only crime was observing crimes against Palestinian people. 

D has always had a strong sense of justice and I know she could not sit at home while she knew her friends in Masafer Yatta and all of Palestine were suffering unnecessarily. 

"I am very proud of my mother for sticking up for the basic human rights of her friends and trying to raise awareness of the injustices the Palestinian people are experiencing."

In 2024, the far-right Israeli security minister Itamar Ben Gvir established a special task force within Israel's West Bank police unit to target left-wing activists in the West Bank including foreign nationals and supporters of the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment (BDS) movement. 

According to the Israeli outlet Haaretz, at least 16 foreign activists working with Palestinians in the West Bank have been detained and deported from Israel since October 2023.

Activists often accompany Palestinian shepherds and farmers who are at risk of forced displacement, as well as violence from the IDF and local settlers while they work. 

In 2024, the UN recorded 4,250 Palestinians who were displaced, 1,760 structures which were destroyed, and about 1,400 violent incidents involving Israeli settlers across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.