Fadi Quran ‘10, a Palestinian-American Stanford alumnus arrested in Hebron, West Bank Friday, was released from Israeli custody Tuesday on a bail of 3,000 shekels. He is now home with his family, according to his sister Semma Qura’an, in a tweet to The Daily. Quran’s release came after he was refused bail during an initial trial on Monday.

 

According to Ilana Stein, deputy spokesperson for the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Quran was arrested Friday by military security forces and was subsequently transported into the custody of Israeli police.

 

“Fadi Quran was arrested on the charge of obstructing a law enforcement officer, assault and resisting arrest,” Stein wrote in an email to The Daily two hours after news of Quran’s bail surfaced on Twitter early Tuesday morning. Stein also said that several of the protesters at Friday’s event were violent.

 

“Approximately 1,000 Palestinians gathered at a number of flash-points, hurled two Molotov cocktails, set fire to a tire and bombarded security forces with rocks,” Stein wrote.

 

Two Palestinian protesters who were also arrested with the Stanford alumnus have not received bail and will face a hearing on Thursday, Qura’an said.

 

An Israeli judge decided to grant Quran bail while the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) prosecutor continued to review video evidence of the case.

 

“The IDF prosecutor still insists that the video has been doctored and that they need to keep Fadi an extra couple of days until they analyze it thoroughly,” Qura’an wrote in a Facebook message to The Daily before her brother’s release. “The judge then said that there is no need to keep Fadi incarcerated if they wanted to further investigate the video and that he should be allowed out on bail until anything new surfaces.”

 

Stein stated that the protest in which Quran participated was illegal because it was not authorized by the military.

 

“Demonstrations in Judea and Samaria [the official Israeli designation for the region including Hebron] can take place once authorized by the military authorities,” Stein wrote. “In this specific case, no authorizations were requested and as such, the demonstration was not authorized.”

 

Assaf Sharon Ph.D.’09, who is currently in Israel, told Stanford students that Quran’s judicial process is not yet over.

 

“Just to clarify — Fadi was released from custody, but this does not mean that no charges will be pressed,” Sharon wrote in an email to the Stanford Students for Palestinian Equal Rights (SPER) mailing list. “The matter is officially still under investigation and they may decide to indict.”

 

The U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem confirmed knowledge of a U.S. citizen’s arrest on Friday and said they were providing “appropriate consular services”, however declined to comment further citing privacy laws. Spokespeople for the Israeli Defense Forces did not respond to The Daily’s request for comment.

 

ASSU and University response

 

ASSU representatives began drafting a resolution Sunday evening to call for Provost and Acting President John Etchemendy Ph.D. ‘82 to issue a public statement in support of fair legal treatment and the immediate release of Quran.

 

Etchemendy wrote to The Daily on Monday that his office does not intend to make a public announcement.

 

“We are looking into this situation through appropriate channels,” Etchemendy said. “We will not be making a public statement or signing petitions, which would not be appropriate.”

 

The status of the resolution remained unclear during the day Tuesday, leading up to the weekly ASSU Senate meeting, as senators awaited news from Quran’s trials.

 

“We might change the language of the resolution and discuss it and we might not because technically, he’s been released,” said Senator and SPER member Samar Alqatari ‘14.

 

The bill, authored by Alqatari and Senator Janani Ramachandran ‘14 and co-sponsored by Rafael Vasquez ‘12, originally called for the ASSU to express public support and concern for Quran during his legal process, for Etchemendy to issue a public statement to the media in support of Quran and for the Stanford community to continue to reach out to alumni in the region of Israel and Palestine, according to an email Ramachandran sent to the SPER mailing list prior to Tuesday’s ASSU Undergraduate Senate meeting.

 

The ASSU Undergraduate Senate debated Tuesday until past midnight a version of the bill expressing concern for Quran’s welfare and urging his release from Israeli custody, while also requesting a public statement to the same effect from Provost and Acting President John Etchemendy Ph.D. ‘82.

 

Following three hours of heated discussion addressing concerns about the bill’s factual basis and unifying impact on the University community, the measure — despite significant amendments — ultimately failed by one vote to garner the required two-thirds approval.

 

Marshall Watkins contributed to this report.

 

Kristian Davis Bailey signed a Students for Palestinian Equal Rights (SPER) petition this year calling for Stanford divestment from eight companies operating in Israeli settlements.