Protests and denunciations from Palestinian prisons to the streets of Gaza echoed a call for justice and freedom for Palestinian prisoners, following an attack on 28 July by Israeli prison guards on Palestinian prisoners in Nafha prison, including Ahmad Sa’adat, Palestinian political leader and General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
The PFLP, Sa’adat’s left-wing political party, organized several rallies and marches in Gaza, denouncing the attack and demanding freedom for Sa’adat and his fellow prisoners. One march, on the evening of 28 July, wound through Jabalya refugee camp, another marched in Rafah, a third rallied in Nuseirat refugee camp, and a fourth in Khan Younis. On the morning of 29 July, a rally in Gaza City marched to the United Nations headquarters condemning the attack by Israeli forces on Sa’adat and his fellow prisoners, with wide participation by many organizations. Jamil Mizher of the PFLP spoke, calling for a broader solidarity campaign for the prisoners on an international level, to provide political and legal support for their struggle.
In addition, Dr. Ahmad Bahar, the first deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, denounced the attack by Israeli occupation forces on Sa’adat, an elected PLC member, calling it a “heinous crime against the Palestinian popularly elected representative.” He called for a special unified session of the PLC in the West Bank and Gaza to address the attack on Sa’adat and the ongoing arrests and imprisonment of elected Palestinian parliamentarians and to develop a program of joint work to free the imprisoned representatives and all Palestinian political prisoners.
Bahar called on Arab, Muslim and international parliaments and parliamentarians to denounce the crimes of the occupation against Sa’adat and his fellow Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and to take all steps to pressure Israel to release the kidnapped deputies and to raise this issue in all international fora.
