We consider very serious what happened to Khaled El Qaisi, an Italian-Palestinian researcher, who was arrested last 31 August by Israeli security forces while he was spending his holidays in Bethlehem with his family. As Un Ponte Per we spread the heartfelt letter from Khaled's mother and wife - in which they tell his story, his work and his professionalism - so that the Farnesina will do everything possible to obtain his immediate release. In the hope that he can return to Italy as a free man as soon as possible.

OPEN LETTER:

"On 31 August, Khaled El Qaisi, respectively husband and son of the writer, was detained by the Israeli authorities and is still imprisoned under a precautionary measure pending verification of elements to formulate a charge. Last Thursday, Khaled, who has dual citizenship, Italian and Palestinian, was crossing the 'Allenby' border crossing with his wife and son after spending the holiday with his family in Bethlehem, Palestine. At the luggage and document check, after a long wait, he was handcuffed under the incredulous gaze of his four-year-old son, his wife, as well as all those present who were waiting to resume their journey. The wife's requests for explanations were not answered, rather she was asked questions and then sent off with her son to Jordanian territory, without telephone, cash or contacts, in a foreign country. In the late afternoon, the wife and child were only able to reach the Italian Embassy thanks to the human generosity of some Palestinian ladies. Khaled, a translator and student of Oriental Languages and Civilisations atLa Sapienza University in Rome, esteemed for his passionate commitment to the collection, dissemination and translation of Palestinian historical material, is one of the founders of the Palestinian Documentation Centre, an association that aims to promote Palestinian culture in Italy. Family, friends, but also those who simply had the opportunity to meet him are eagerly waiting for updates. At the moment, he has not yet been able to meet his lawyer and there is still little news about his safety. All we have heard from the consulate and his lawyer is that he will face a hearing on Thursday, 7 September. In the meantime, we imagine Khaled in complete isolation, with no contact with the outside world, with no real perception of the passage of time, under the pressure of continuous interrogations, anguished about the fate of his own son and his wife left in the lurch with the only image in his eyes of his deportation in handcuffs. The situation is therefore very serious. We await with great anxiety the resolution of this unjust imprisonment. We call on whoever has the power to do so to ascertain Khaled's health condition and, above all, to exert all necessary pressure for his speedy release.

The undersigned:

Francesca Antinucci, wife; Lucia Marchetti, mother".