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I was detained at a US airport and asked about Israel and Gaza for 2 hours. Why? | Ilan Pappé

www.theguardian.com I was detained at a US airport and asked about Israel and Gaza for 2 hours. Why? | Ilan Pappé

Border agents asked whether I believe Israel is committing genocide and what I think of popular protest slogans shortly after I landed in Detroit

I was detained at a US airport and asked about Israel and Gaza for 2 hours. Why? | Ilan Pappé

I was held for two hours. The first round of questions was about my views on Hamas. Then the agents wished to know whether I thought Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip amount to genocide and what I think of the slogan “Palestine should be free from the river to the sea”. I said yes, I do think Israel is committing genocide. As to the slogan, I said that in my view people anywhere in the world should be free.

Then the agents interrogated me about who I know in the Arab American and Muslim American community. They asked me to provide them with telephone numbers, took my phone away for quite a long period and asked to wait until they made some phone calls before they let me go.

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