“Deans of prisoners” is a term used by the Palestinian people for those who have been imprisoned by the Zionist occupation for more than 20 years continuously. Over the years, many Palestinian prisoners were liberated through prisoner exchange deals or other forms of political concession, such as those released in 1995 after the Oslo Accords; the prisoner exchange deal imposed by Hezbollah in 2004 with which 400 Palestinian prisoners were freed; the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange in 2011, where 1027 Palestinian prisoners were liberated in exchange for the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit captured by the resistance; or in 2013 when the occupation announced the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners coinciding with the return of the Palestinian Authority to negotiations and the continuation of its security coordination with the occupier under the terms of Oslo and its corollaries.
However, there are many prisoners who played leading roles in the Palestinian resistance and revolution, especially prisoners from the territories occupied in 1948, whom the occupation refuses to include in these deals because of “security concerns” or under the pretext that the prisoner holds the “Israeli” nationality, trying in vain to separate our Palestinian people from the occupied lands in 1948 from the rest of the Palestinian people.
With that, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoners Solidarity Network is pleased to publish the materials for the second week of the educational campaign on the prisoners, Ibrahim Bayadseh, Ahmed Abu Jaber, and Ibrahim Abu Nima. You can print the posters and hang them in your cities, and share them on the e-mail samidoun@samidoun.net
Ibrahim Bayadseh
Palestinian prisoner Ibrahim Abdel-Razzaq Ahmad Bayadseh, 62 years old, is from Baqa’s al-Gharbiyeh in occupied Palestine ’48.
When he was arrested in March 1986, Bayadseh was accused of belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, possessing weapons and explosives, and participating in Palestinian armed resistance actions with a group that also included Walid Daqqa and Ibrahim and Rushdi Abu Mokh.
He has completed 37 years behind bars, and the hope of freedom hangs over every space surrounding him and his family. He was sentenced to a life sentence, which was later set for 45 years.
Ibrahim Bayadseh is one of the 30 veteran prisoners arrested before the Oslo agreement. The Zionist authorities refused to release them in any previous prisoner exchange or agreement with the occupation, despite widespread demand. As a Palestinian prisoner from occupied Palestine ’48, he was labeled an “internal Israeli matter.”
During his decades behind occupation bars, Ibrahim has suffered from multiple illnesses, including toothache, migraine, and high blood pressure, and he was a frequent visitor to the prison clinic, as he became familiar to staff there. His pains were always a concern of his comrades in captivity.
When Ibrahim recalls the most difficult situation that happened to him in prison, he recalls the death of his elderly mother, Umm Muhammad. Umm Muhammad Bayadseh was known to all the institutions working to free the prisoners and the families of his imprisoned comrades. She spent the last three decades of her life traveling between the occupation prisons and courts, accompanying her captive son. Despite her difficult circumstances, she remained steadfast and committed to bringing about the liberation of Ibrahim and all Palestinian prisoners.
Ahmad Abu Jaber
Palestinian prisoner Ahmed Ali Hussein Abu Jaber, 62, from Kafr Qassem, in occupied Palestine ’48 has been detained since 8/7/1986 and is sentenced to life imprisonment. He has spent 37 years in the occupation prisons. He is one of the veteran prisoners arrested before the Oslo Accords in 1993 whose release was promised in an agreement and then unilaterally rescinded by the Israeli occupation. Abu Jaber is one of the leaders of the prisoners’ movement in the prisons of the occupation. The occupation military court sentenced him to life imprisonment plus 10 years, after accusing him of killing an Israeli soldier and an agent of the occupation. He is married and has three children, two sons and a daughter, the youngest of whom was a month old when he was arrested. Abu Jaber has made many literary contributions in writing poetry, stories, and articles. Several years ago, the occupation authorities refused to set a time limit for the life sentence for Abu Jaber, unlike other Palestinians from occupied Palestine ’48, because he had been tried at the Nablus military court. At the same time, he has been excluded from all prisoner exchanges and agreements between the occupation and the Palestinian resistance.
Samir Abu Nima
The prisoner Samir Ibrahim Mahmoud Abu Nima, 62 years old, is a resident of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in the occupied city of Jerusalem. The occupation arrested Abu Nima on 10/20/1986 and held him under interrogation for nearly two months, before a life sentence was pronounced against him and he was transferred to Ramon prison. He had been a dedicated struggler in the Palestinian resistance and was involved in a number of armed resistance operations targeting Israeli occupation soldiers.
He has suffered from pain in his neck and spinal nerves since his torture under interrogation many years ago. The lacerations at the base of his neck affect his joints and cause him severe pain. He also has severe foot pain and is unable to stand for long periods of time. He has had over six surgeries during his time in prison and is still awaiting care for other serious medical problems. He has been transferred repeatedly among multiple prisons and detention centers, including al-Mascobiyeh interrogation center, Ramle prison clinic, and Ramon, Shatta and Ashkelon prison, where he is currently held.
Abu Nima is among 13 long-time, veteran prisoners of Jerusalem whose names have been consistently excluded by the occupation from prisoner exchanges with the resistance and other agreements for prisoner release. His mother died while still awaiting her son’s liberation.
Ibrahim Bayadseh Posters:
Samir Abu Nima Posters:
