2 Italian artists leave Israel after arrest on a mural

JERUSALEM – Two Italian artists, arrested this weekend for painting a large fresco of a former Palestinian protester imprisoned on the Israeli separatist fence in the West Bank, left Israel on Monday, according to their lawyer.

The two artists – Jorit Agoch and Salvatore De Luise – were arrested on Saturday in the West Bank city of Bethlehem after spending days creating the mural depicting Ahed Tamimi, a prominent Palestinian protester jailed by Israel for eight months for having slapped two soldiers

. and, with a Palestinian, arrested for vandalism, according to police, who said he tried to flee the scene.

The artists were detained in two separate detention centers and on Sunday, Israel canceled their visas. and ordered them to leave the country within three days.

Their lawyer, Azmi Masalha, told The Associated Press that the Israeli authorities were not prosecuting any criminal charges. In addition to ordering their departure, Israel forbade them to re-enter the country for 10 years

A spokeswoman for the Israeli immigration authority did not allow them to leave Israel. did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

Tamimi, 17, was arrested in December. Israeli soldiers outside his family home. His mother filmed the incident and posted it on Facebook, where he became viral and, for many, instantly turned Tamimi into a symbol of resistance to the Israeli military regime of half a century on the Palestinians.

In Israel, she is seen The case of Tamimi attracted the attention of the international community and she was greeted by a hero when she was released from prison on Sunday.

The lawyer, Masalha, was recognized as a provocateur. The artists drew the fresco as a sign of "solidarity" with Tamimi.

Masalha said that he considered with suspicion the arrest of the artists while there were countless works of graffiti on the separation barrier and questioned the moment so close of the liberation of Tamimi.

"They were arrested on the fourth day of making this graffiti painting despite the fact that there was an army observation tower there and they were under that point from the first day and it is "1965-002 Masalha said that Italian diplomatic officials were involved in the liberation of artists

Three recent posts on an Instagram account supposed to be that of Agoch photo of the ongoing mural, a picture of an Israeli police vehicle and a black and white handwritten note reading: "Thank you all."

The two artists left Israel on Monday morning for Naples, Italy 19659016] Isaac Scharf, The Associated Press