Huzaifa Halabiya is on his 58th day of hunger strike, protesting his administrative detention: Israeli imprisonment without charge or trial. The Palestinian from Abu Dis in Jerusalem has been imprisoned on the basis of “secret evidence” since 10 June 2018. When he was seized from his home, his wife was pregnant; now, he is the father of seven-month-old Majdal, who he has yet to meet due to the Israeli occupation authorities.
The prison branch of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine issued a statement that they are continuing to work to reach an agreement to obtain Halabiya’s freedom and that he is committed to continue his hunger strike until his demands are met. It also emphasized that the program of support and solidarity strikes will also continue until Halabiya’s freedom is assured. Over 50 Palestinian prisoners have joined solidarity strikes and actions to demand freedom for Halabiya and his fellow administrative detainees on hunger strike.
Halabiya is a leukemia survivor who also suffered burns over the majority of his body as a child, requiring ongoing medical treatment and follow-up. He has seen a severe deterioration of his health throughout his strike. Also on a lengthy hunger strike is Ahmed Ghannam, 42, who has refused food for 45 days. He is also a leukemia survivor and is experiencing severe health deterioration during his strike. He launched his strike to protest his transfer to administrative detention in early July.
Sultan Khallouf, 38, from Burqin near Jenin, has been on hunger strike for 40 days, and Ismail Ali, 30, also from Abu Dis, has been on hunger strike for 35 days.
Tareq Qa’adan, who has served over 11 years in prison, many of them in administrative detention, has been on hunger strike for 27 days after he was ordered jailed without charge or trial rather than being released at the end of a short sentence.
Nasser al-Jada, 30, has been on strike for 21 days, and Thaer Hamdan for 16 days.
All of the hunger strikers are refusing food, putting their bodies and lives on the line, against arbitrary administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial. Administrative detention was first introduced to occupied Palestine by the British colonial mandate before being adopted by the Zionist regime. Each detention order can be issued for up to six months at a time, but they are indefinitely renewable. This means that Palestinians have spent years at a time jailed under administrative detention, with no charges and no trial.
Meanwhile, Wajdi al-Awawdeh was victorious in his hunger strike on 26 August, concluding an agreement to confirm that he will be freed in February 2020.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all supporters and friends of Palestine everywhere around the world to stand with these courageous prisoners who have put their lives on the line to seek freedom and an end to the unjust system of administrative detention. International solidarity can play an important role in supporting their struggle, and Palestinian prisoners are calling for our actions. All of our participation, protests and petitions can play a role in helping them to seize victory for justice and freedom.
Take Action:
1) Organize or join an event or protest for the Palestinian prisoners. You can organize an info table, rally, solidarity hunger strike, protest or action to support the prisoners. If you are already holding an event about Palestine or social justice, include solidarity with the prisoners as part of your action. Send your events and reports to [email protected].
2) Write letters and make phone calls to protest the violation of Palestinian prisoners’ rights. Demand your government take action to stop supporting Israeli occupation or to pressure the Israeli state to end the policies of repression of Palestinian political prisoners. In particular, demand that your political officials put pressure on Israel to end the policy of administrative detention, the imprisonment of Palestinians without charge or trial.
Call during your country’s regular office hours:
• Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne: + 61 2 6277 7500
• Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland: +1-613-992-5234
• European Union Commissioner Federica Mogherini: +32 (0) 2 29 53516
• New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters: +64 4 439 8000
• United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt: +44 20 7008 1500
• United States President Donald Trump: 1-202-456-1111
3) Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Join the BDS campaign to highlight the complicity of corporations like Hewlett-Packard and the continuing involvement of G4S in Israeli policing and prisons. Build a campaign to boycott Israeli goods, impose a military embargo on Israel, or organize around the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. Learn more about the BDS campaign at bdsmovement.net.
