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Six Palestinian detainees continue hunger strikes against administrative detention

Six Palestinian political prisoners are continuing their hunger strikes against their imprisonment without charge or trial in Israeli occupation prisons. Akram al-Fasfous suspended his hunger strike on 27 August, while Raik Sadeq Bisharat launched a hunger strike on 22 August, demanding his liberation from administrative detention. Kayed al-Fasfous, Miqdad al-Qawasmeh, Ahmad Hamamra, Alaa al-Araj and Hisham Abu Hawash are all continuing their strikes for freedom.

Akram al-Fasfous concluded his strike with an agreement for his release on 14 December as well as to fix the date of release for his brother, Mahmoud al-Fasfous, who had earlier been on hunger strike until the serious deterioration of his medical condition prevented him from continuing. Kayed al-Fasfous, also the brother of Akram and Mahmoud, is continuing his strike.

All of the hunger striking detainees face ongoing repression in an attempt to break their strikes. They are held in solitary confinement or isolation, denied family visits and often denied access to their lawyers. Alaa al-Araj, currently on his 23rd day of hunger strike, is experiencing a sharp deterioration in his medical condition. He has lost a significant amount of weight and is suffering from weakness throughout his body, Palestinian lawyers reported. Meanwhile, lawyers for detained university student Miqdad Qawasmeh have submitted another appeal on his behalf, seeking his freedom from detention without charge or trial. Qawasmeh has been on hunger strike for 40 days.

What Is Administrative Detention?

Administrative detention was first used in Palestine by the British colonial mandate and then adopted by the Zionist regime; it is now used routinely to target Palestinians, especially community leaders, activists, and influential people in their towns, camps and villages.

There are currently approximately 550 Palestinians jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, out of 4,750 Palestinian political prisoners. These orders are issued by the military and approved by military courts on the basis of “secret evidence”, denied to both Palestinian detainees and their attorneys. Issued for up to six months at a time, they are indefinitely renewable, and Palestinians — including minor children — can spend years jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention.

Who Are the Hunger Strikers?

  1. Kayed Fasfous: from Dura – Hebron, started the strike 47 days ago. He is 36 years old, detained without charge or trial since October 2020, and held in Ramon prison.

2. Miqdad Qawasmeh: from Hebron, started 40 days ago. Miqdad Qawasmeh is a Palestinian university student, 24 years old. He has been jailed without charge or trial since January 2021 and is held in Ofer prison.

3. Ahmad Hamamra: from Beit Sahour, started the strike 31 days ago. He has been imprisoned without charge or trial since 17 August 2020 and previously participated in the 2017 collective hunger strike while detained. His administrative detention order was renewed while on hunger strike.

4. Alaa al-Araj: from Tulkarem, launched his strike 23 days ago. He has been jailed since 30 June without charge or trial under administrative detention and is held in Megiddo prison. He is 34 years old.

5. Hisham Ismail Abu Hawash, 39, from Dura, al-Khalil, has been on hunger strike for 9 days. He has been jailed without charge or trial since October 2020 under Israeli administrative detention. Over multiple arrests, he has spent eight years in Israeli prisons. He is married and the father of four children; his youngest child suffers from kidney failure.

6. Raik Sadeq Bisharat, 44, from Tubas, has been jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention since July 2021. He is an injured former prisoner and has spent 9 years in Israeli prison. His hand was amputated and his wife was martyred by the Israeli occupation.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all supporters of Palestine to take action to support these Palestinian hunger strikers and all Palestinian prisoners struggling for freedom, for their own lives and for the Palestinian people. They are confronting the system of Israeli oppression on the front lines, with their bodies and their lives, to bring the system of administrative detention to an end. Take these actions below to stand with the hunger strikers and the struggle for liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea!

Download these signs for use in your campaigns:

TAKE ACTION: 

Sign the petition!

Independent grassroots international activists have launched a petition in support of the hunger strikers and to end administrative detention. Show your support by signing on – in addition to taking action in person! Sign here: change.org/NoChargeNoTrialNoJail

Protest at the Israeli Embassy or Consulate in Your Country!

Join the many protests taking place around the world — confront, isolate and besiege the Israeli embassy or consulate in your city or country of residence. Make it clear that the people are with Palestine! Send us your events at samidoun@samidoun.net.

Take to the streets: Organize a protest in solidarity with Palestine!

Take to the streets and join the actions on our full list of events, which is constantly being updated as new actions are announced! Organize your own if there is none in your area, and send us your events at samidoun@samidoun.net.

Boycott Israel!

The international, Arab and Palestinian campaign to boycott Israel can play an important role at this critical time. Local boycott groups can protest and label Israeli produce and groceries, while many complicit corporations – including HP, G4S, Puma, Teva and others, profit from their role in support Zionist colonialism throughout occupied Palestine. By participating in the boycott of Israel, you can directly help to throw a wrench in the economy of settler colonialism.

Demand Your Government Sanction Israel!

The racist, settler colonial state of Israel and its war crimes against the Palestinian people are enabled and backed extensively by the over $3.8 billion each year given to Israel by the United States — targeted directly to support the Israeli occupation military killing children, women, men and elders throughout occupied Palestine. From Canada to Australia to the European Union, Western governments and imperialist powers provide ongoing diplomatic, political and economic support to Israel as well as selling billions of dollars of weaponry to the settler-colonial state. Meanwhile, they also purchase billions of dollars in weaponry from the Israeli state. Governments in league with imperialist powers, such as in the Philippines, Brazil, India and elsewhere, also buy weapons and “security” services — all “battle-tested” on the Palestinian population. Call your representatives, MPs, political officials and demand your government sanction Israel now, cut off all aid, expel its ambassadors, and stop buying and selling weapons!

Frankfurt Palestine stand highlights struggles of imprisoned Palestinian women


Samidoun Deutschland organized a Palestine Stand in central Frankfurt on Sunday, 29 August 2021. The action, organized at Hauptwache, highlighted the cases of several Palestinian women prisoners, including Israa Jaabis, Anhar al-Deek, Fadwa Hamadeh and Yasmin Jaber.

Organizers set up a display of photos and calls to action highlighting imprisoned Palestinian students and calling for their liberation. There are hundreds of Palestinian university students imprisoned in Israeli jails, and students are routinely and specifically targeted for Israeli colonial imprisonment and repression for their student activism, organizing student events and participation in student elections and other political and social activities on campus.

Passers-by were invited to write letters to Palestinian prisoners to express their support and solidarity. The letters collected by Samidoun Deutschland will be sent directly to the prisoners as well as to Samidoun Palestine for sharing with the family members and lawyers of the detainees.

People who came to the stand were encouraged to write letters to Anhar al-Deek, the Palestinian pregnant mother imprisoned in Israeli jails, and to Israa Jaabis, the imprisoned Palestinian woman who is being denied appropriate medical care for her serious injuries, including the amputation of eight of her fingers. Large posters calling for freedom for all Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian flags and Samidoun banners adorned the area, drawing attention to the stand and the situation of detained Palestinians.

The displays also highlighted the hunger strikes of six Palestinians jailed without charge or trial by Israel. There are currently approximately 550 Palestinians jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, out of 4,750 Palestinian political prisoners. These orders are issued by the military and approved by military courts on the basis of “secret evidence”, denied to both Palestinian detainees and their attorneys. Issued for up to six months at a time, they are indefinitely renewable, and Palestinians — including minor children — can spend years jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention.

Visitors to the stand expressed their solidarity with Palestine and called for freedom for Palestinian political prisoners. Samidoun Deutschland organizes actions and events for a liberated Palestine, from the river to the sea, in Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, and elsewhere in Germany. Contact the Samidoun Network to find out more about how you can get involved.

7 September, Copenhagen: Give Israel the Red Card! Protest Denmark-Israel Football Match

Tuesday, 7 September
7 pm
Vibenshus Runddel Metrostation (Jagtvej 180), 2100
Copenhagen, Denmark
Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1198291027315448

Give Israel the Red Card! Boycott the World Cup football qualifier between Denmark and Israel on Tuesday, 7 September at 8:45 pm!

Demonstration at 7 pm with music, speeches, flyers and banners

Speakers:

Dalia – Stop Annexation of Palestine/Internationalt Forum Copenhagen
Jan Mathisen – 3F Palestine Network
Maher Khatib – Palestinian Democratic Union in Denmark
Irene and Johnna – Boykot Israel Campaign

Music:

Nassim – CHIEF, Fri Galaxe

MCs:

Tove Jensen, Demos
Maher Khatib, Palestinian Democratic Union in Denmark

We only carry Palestinian flags.

Israel is an occupying power that colonizes Palestinian land. Israel exposes Palestinians to daily racism and apartheid reminiscent of South African apartheid. Playing against the Israeli national football team in the Park legitimizes Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies.

Israel violates FIFA’s rules banning racism and apartheid. Israel is harassing Palestinian football players and restricting their freedom of movement. They are denied access to training and tournaments. The Israeli state has destroyed several stadiums and is preventing spectators and supporters from watching matches.

Israel is deliberately using sports and culture to cover up and launder its crimes against the Palestinian people.

Cancel the football match!

Boycott Israel – Free Palestine!

Organizers: Boykot Israel Kampagnen, Internationalt Forum København, Stop Annekteringen af Palæstina, Internationalt Forum Nordsjælland, Palæstinensisk Demokratisk Forbund i Danmark, Palæstinensisk Nationalforsamling i Danmark, Global Aktion, Demos.

GIV ISRAEL DET RØDE KORT!
NB DEMONSTRATIONEN ER FLYTTET TIL: VIBENSHUS RUNDDEL METROSTATION!
JAGTVEJ 180, 2100 KØBENHAVN Ø
Boykot fodbold VM kvalifikationskampen Danmark-Israel i Parken tirsdag den 7. september kl. 20.45

Demonstration kl. 19.00 med musik, taler, flyers og bannere
Sted: Vibenshus Runddel Metrostation (Jagtvej 180, 2100 København Ø)
Talere:
Dalia – Stop Annekteringen af Palæstina/IF København; Jan Mathisen – 3 F Palæstina Netværk;
Maher Khatib – Palæstinensisk Demokratisk Forbund i Danmark; Johnna & Irene, Boykot Israel Kampagnen

Musik:
Nassim, CHIEF, Fri Galaxe..,

Dirigenter:
Tove Jensen, Demos
Maher Khatib, Palæstinensisk Demokratisk Forbund i Danmark

Vi medbringer kun palæstinensiske flag.
Israel er en besættelsesmagt der koloniserer palæstinensernes jord. Israel udsætter palæstinenserne for daglig racisme og apartheid, der minder om den sydafrikanske apartheid. At spille kamp imod det israelske fodboldlandshold i Parken vil være at legitimere Israels besættelses- og apartheidpolitik.

Israel bryder FIFA’s regler der forbyder racisme og apartheid. Israel chikanerer palæstinensiske fodboldspillere og begrænser deres bevægelsesfrihed. De nægtes adgang til træning og turneringer. Den israelske stat har ødelagt flere stadions og forhindrer tilskuere og tilhængere i at overvære kampe.

Israel bruger bevidst sport og kultur til at dække over og hvidvaske sine forbrydelser mod palæstinenserne.

Drop fodboldkampen!

Boykot Israel – Frit Palæstina!

Arrangører:
Boykot Israel Kampagnen, Internationalt Forum København, Stop Annekteringen af Palæstina, Internationalt Forum Nordsjælland, Palæstinensisk Demokratisk Forbund i Danmark, Palæstinensisk Nationalforsamling i Danmark, Global Aktion, Demos.
Anbefalere:
Autonom

Infoservice, Fredsvagten v. Christiansborg, APK-Arbejderpartiet Kommunisterne, BJMFs (Bygge-, Jord-og Miljøarbejdernes Fagforening) Internationale Udvalg, Konfront, KP-Kommunistisk Parti, Dansk Cubansk Forening, FMN-Folkebevægelsen Mod Nazisme, Revolutionære Antifascister, KPID-Kommunistisk Parti i Danmark, Migrante, TID TIL FRED – aktiv mod krig,,…
(Opdateres)
Boykot PUMA, som er sponsor for det israelske fodboldforbund IF

29 August, NYC: Free our Martyrs – Die-In and Speak Out for Palestine

ALL OUT THIS SUNDAY IN GRAND CENTRAL: FREE OUR MARTYRS: DIE-IN & SPEAK OUT FOR PALESTINE

When: Sunday August 29th @ 4:30 pm
Where: Grand Central Terminal (New York, NY 10017). Meet inside by the clock.
Dress respectfully. Wear a keffiyeh.

As the numbers of martyrs continues to rise by the day, including 15 year old Emad Hashash from Balata Camp in the West Bank who was shot and killed by occupation forces on August 24th and 32 year old Osama Deaih from Jabalia in Gaza who died on August 25th after being shot four days earlier, we must stand against this genocide, honor our martyrs and demand the return of Palestinian martyrs bodies who are being held hostage by the zionist entity.

Between August 27-29 Palestinians will be mobilizing to demand the right to bury our children and to practice one of the most fundamental aspects of the human condition: the right to mourn. 254 Palestinian martyrs are buried in israeli military patrolled grave sites, 81 are in police morgues and 68 are disappeared. Denying dignity to the dead is one of the gravest violations of human rights, and yet israel continues to act with impunity.

We will not forget, we will not forgive, and we will never stop fighting for Palestine until all of the land is liberated from the river to the sea.

Organized by Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine

 

Toulouse Palestine Stand demands end to siege on Gaza

Photo credit: Corine Janeau

This report is largely translated from the original French at Collectif Palestine Vaincra. 

On Friday, 27 August, activists and supporters of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member organization of the Samidoun Network, organized a Palestine Stand near the Bagatelle market in Toulouse, France. The stand denounced the unjust and inhumane siege imposed upon the Gaza Strip, occupied Palestine, by the Israeli occupation with the active collusion of the Egyptian regime and Western imperialist powers.

Photo credit: Corine Janeau

Today, the 2 million Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza face a catastrophic humanitarian situation, which was further exacerbated by the last Zionist military assault in May 2021. However, the Palestinian people continue to confront the siege and resist for the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea, despite the colonial violence that once again targeted the recent protests against the siege in southern Gaza for violent repression.

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1431180968245747713

The stand, position at the exit of the Bagatelle metro station, was decorated with Palestinian flags as well as a large banner, stating: “From Gaza to Jerusalem: Resistance.” For over two hours, participants distributed over 1,000 flyers on the history of Zionist colonization in Palestine and the importance of supporting the Palestinian resistance.

Photo credit: Corine Janeau

An information table offered a wide range of information on the campaigns organized by the Collectif, especially for the liberation of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Arab struggler for Palestine imprisoned in France for over 37 years, and for the boycott of Israel. Many passers-by collected free flyers and stickers to raise awareness about Palestine.

Photo credit: Corine Janeau

Showing solidarity, visitors to the stand displayed Palestinian flags as they drove past, donated to the work of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, or offered bottles of water in the summer heat.

Photo credit: Corine Janeau

During many discussions, people expressed their solidarity and admiration for Gaza’s steadfastness and resistance. To show their support, many people joined in a photo campaign to demand an immediate lifting of the siege and an end to the blockade.

The Collectif Palestine Vaincra organizes actions and initiatives in Toulouse every month to support the Palestinian people and their resistance for the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea. Contact the Collectif to get involved, or reach out to Samidoun Network to get involved in your local area outside of France.

Photo credit: Corine Janeau

Layan Nasir is free: Escalate the campaign to #FreePalestinianStudents

Palestinian student Layan Nasir was released from Israeli prison on Thursday, 26 August, welcomed home by her family, comrades and loved ones.

A 21-year-old fourth-year nutrition student at Bir Zeit University, Nasir has been detained by the Israeli occupation since 7 July 2021, when occupation forces stormed and invaded her family home. Just two days earlier, on 24 August, her military court hearing was postponed until 5 October, but she was ordered released. Her release comes after a surge in worldwide and Palestinian support for her case, with organizations from the Anglican church to French trade unions calling for her freedom.

Nasir is continuing to face charges before an Israeli military court that accuse her of participating in student events and activities on her campus, including events like book fairs and group meals. Specifically, Layan Nasir is being accused of supporting an “unlawful organization,” namely the Progressive Democratic Student Pole, the leftist student bloc at Bir Zeit University. These arbitrary designations of Palestinian organizations as “unlawful” may be issued at any time by an Israeli military commander of occupation forces in the West Bank, and are used as a pretext to round up, detain and violently attack Palestinian organizations and movements.

As a condition of her release, Nasir was required to pay bail and to complete the unjust military trial outside detention. Israeli military courts convict over 99% of the Palestinians brought before them.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes Layan Nasir upon her release. Her case indicates why it is so urgent for people around the world to support Palestinian students — and all Palestinian prisoners — struggling for freedom.

At Bir Zeit University alone, Nasir’s university, approximately 74 students were detained by occupation soldiers during the 2019-2020 academic year. Students are routinely and specifically targeted for Israeli colonial imprisonment and repression for their student activism, organizing student events and participation in student elections and other political and social activities on campus.  In July, a UN panel declared that the imprisonment of Palestinian students Layan Kayed, Ruba Assi and Elia Abu Hijleh was unlawful and arbitrary, calling for their release.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network demands the immediate release of Layan Nasir and urges all friends of justice in Palestine to join the #FreePalestinianStudents campaign. 

We join together to call for action and support for Palestinian students behind bars, including:

  • Boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, including Israeli academic institutions, which are fully complicit in the systematic deprivation of Palestinian rights.
  • Ending all military and economic aid, military transactions, joint projects and direct funding to the Israeli occupation regime by governments around the world.
  • Challenging “normalization” programs that aim to legitimize Israeli occupation — this is an attempt to legitimize the criminalization and targeting of Palestinian students.
  • Organizing to build direct links of solidarity with Palestinian students and the Palestinian student movement, to ensure that they will not be isolated from their global community of support despite all attempts by the Israeli occupation.

For the full campaign statement, resources, posters, photos and more, including translations in eight languages, please visit: https://freepalestinianstudents.org/ Add your organization’s name to this statement: http://bit.ly/palstudentsignon

Free Anhar al-Deek, Palestinian mother imprisoned in her ninth month of pregnancy!

Detained Palestinian mother Anhar al-Deek, 25, is currently in her ninth month of pregnancy, jailed in the Israeli occupation’s Damon prison. Her baby is due in the coming days, and she has already been told that she will receive a Caesarean section to deliver her baby and that she and her baby will be isolated after the delivery, ostensibly because of COVID-19. Rather than receiving the support of her husband and her loved ones, she will be accompanied by Israeli occupation prison guards and jailers only.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network echoes Anhar’s call to the world for action to demand her freedom, joining Palestinians and people of conscience everywhere calling for Anhar to be immediately released.

Anhar al-Deek, from the village of Kafr Ni’ma, west of Ramallah, was seized by Israeli occupation forces on 8 March 2021 — International Women’s Day — when she was four months pregnant. With only a small fruit knife in her possession, she was accused of attempting to stab an Israeli illegal settler.

Throughout her imprisonment and her pregnancy, she has experienced severe physical and mental health symptoms and was diagnosed with bipolar depression. Rather than receiving the support and medical care that she needs and the presence of her loved ones, she has been thrown into the Israeli military legal system, where she continues to await trial and sentencing even as her delivery date approaches. Her military trial has been postponed 7 times; the Israeli military courts convict over 99% of the Palestinians brought before them.

The Israeli occupation has not permitted al-Deek family visits with her husband and baby daughter, Julia. Her husband was able to see her three months ago during the military court, and her brother said that he saw his sister five months ago in another military court hearing.

She issued a touching letter from inside Israeli prisons, which sparked a firestorm of outrage on social media, calling for her immediate release:

I miss Julia, my beloved daughter, so deeply. My heart cries for her, wishing I can hug her and hold her in my heart. The pain in my heart cannot be expressed.

What can I do if I have to give birth away from you, shackled? You know what it is like to go through a Caesarean delivery outside of prison. How will it be to go through it chained inside the prison?

I am so tired and have severe pain…I do not know how I will take my first steps after the surgery, when the jailer holds my arm with disgust…How can I protect the baby from the terrifying jailers?

I ask all free and honorable people of conscience to act, even by raising a word!…

Anhar is currently among 40 fellow Palestinian women prisoners held in Israeli jails, out of a total of 4,750 Palestinian political prisoners. Eleven of the detained women are mothers separated from their children by the Israeli occupation; just last month, Palestinian political leader and feminist Khalida Jarrar was denied early release or even the opportunity to see her daughter’s body after the untimely death of her daughter, Palestinian activist and human rights defender Suha Jarrar.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network joins with organizers throughout Palestine and internationally in raising our voices and our words to demand Anhar al-Deek’s immediate release. We urge all supporters of justice in Palestine to join in the campaign to #SaveAnhar and her child. Take action to stand with Anhar al-Deek and urge freedom for Palestinian women, Palestinian children, and all of Palestine, from the river to the sea!

Join the social media campaign!

Thousands of people around the world have already posted about Anhar under the hashtag #SaveAnhar. Use the images on this page to post and call for her immediate release.

Protest at the Israeli Embassy or Consulate in Your Country!

Join the many protests taking place around the world — confront, isolate and besiege the Israeli embassy or consulate in your city or country of residence. Make it clear that the people are with Palestine! Send us your events at samidoun@samidoun.net.

Take to the streets: Organize a protest in solidarity with Palestine!

Take to the streets and join the actions on our full list of events, which is constantly being updated as new actions are announced! Organize your own if there is none in your area, and send us your events at samidoun@samidoun.net.

Boycott Israel!

The international, Arab and Palestinian campaign to boycott Israel can play an important role at this critical time. Local boycott groups can protest and label Israeli produce and groceries, while many complicit corporations – including HP, G4S, Puma, Teva and others, profit from their role in support Zionist colonialism throughout occupied Palestine. By participating in the boycott of Israel, you can directly help to throw a wrench in the economy of settler colonialism.

Demand Your Government Sanction Israel!

The racist, settler colonial state of Israel and its war crimes against the Palestinian people are enabled and backed extensively by the over $3.8 billion each year given to Israel by the United States — targeted directly to support the Israeli occupation military killing children, women, men and elders throughout occupied Palestine. From Canada to Australia to the European Union, Western governments and imperialist powers provide ongoing diplomatic, political and economic support to Israel as well as selling billions of dollars of weaponry to the settler-colonial state. Meanwhile, they also purchase billions of dollars in weaponry from the Israeli state. Governments in league with imperialist powers, such as in the Philippines, Brazil, India and elsewhere, also buy weapons and “security” services — all “battle-tested” on the Palestinian population. Call your representatives, MPs, political officials and demand your government sanction Israel now, cut off all aid, expel its ambassadors, and stop buying and selling weapons!

Ghassan Zawahreh jailed without charge or trial by Israeli occupation military order

Palestinian struggler and community organizer Ghassan Zawahreh was once again ordered jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, only days after he was seized by Israeli occupation forces from his home in Dheisheh refugee camp. On Tuesday, 24 August, the Israeli military ordered Zawahreh detained for a four-month period, which is indefinitely renewable.

Zawahreh has been repeatedly detained since 2002, when he was only 14 years old. He was last released from Israeli occupation prisons on 4 March 2021 after 28 months jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention. Almost every time he is released, he may spend only a few months with his family and community before being ripped away once again for arbitrary imprisonment with no charge or trial. He was once again seized from his home on 19 August, only six months after his last release.

During his last detention, Zawahreh highlighted the injustice of administrative detention, announcing his boycott of the military courts: “Administrative detention is a heinous crime for the ages. What is even more criminal is the occupation’s attempts to mislead through mock courts and charades where the executioner and the ruler, dressed up in military suits, represent the Occupation and its crimes.”

He has spent nearly 16 years in total in Israeli prisons; his brother Moataz Zawahreh was murdered by Israeli occupation forces as he participated in a popular protest in Bethlehem in 2015. Moataz had actually returned home to Palestine from where he was studying in France to support Ghassan, who was engaged in a long-term hunger strike against his imprisonment without charge or trial. He won his release in December 2015, only to be seized again by occupation forces seven months later.

He is well-known in Dheisheh refugee camp as a community activist and volunteer in popular programs that provide social services to people in the camp. He worked as a taxi driver in order to support his family, on the Bethlehem-Ramallah road.

Administrative detention was first used in Palestine by the British colonial mandate and then adopted by the Zionist regime; it is now used routinely to target Palestinians, especially community leaders, activists, and influential people in their towns, camps and villages.

There are currently approximately 550 Palestinians jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, out of 4,750 Palestinian political prisoners. These orders are issued by the military and approved by military courts on the basis of “secret evidence”, denied to both Palestinian detainees and their attorneys. Issued for up to six months at a time, they are indefinitely renewable, and Palestinians — including minor children — can spend years jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention. There are currently nine Palestinians on hunger strike to end administrative detention without charge or trial.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network demands the immediate release of Ghassan Zawahreh, dedicated struggler for Palestine and leading political prisoner repeatedly attacked by Israeli occupation forces, and all of his fellow Palestinian political prisoners. We are committed to organize, struggle and work to achieve the liberation of Palestinian prisoners, and the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea.

Salem Zeidat, Mujahid Hamed, Omar al-Jabari suspend hunger strikes; six continue the battle of empty stomachs

Three Palestinian prisoners jailed without charge or trial under Israeli administrative detention suspended their hunger strikes after reaching an agreement for their release; six more continue their strikes to demand freedom and an end to the administrative detention policy. Salem Zeidat, from Bani Naim near al-Khalil, suspended his open hunger strike on Monday, 23 August after 43 days. He will be released at the expiration of his current administrative detention order in November. He has been detained since 22 February 2020, jailed without charge or trial, and his detention repeatedly extended.

Salem Zeidat
Mujahid Hamed
Omar al-Jabari

On Tuesday, 24 August, Mujahid Hamed and Omar al-Jabari ended their strikes. Hamed, from Silwad near Ramallah, suspended his strike after 42 days; he will be released in January 2022, at the end of his current administrative detention orders. He has been detained since 22 September 2020 and has spent 9 years in Israeli occupation prisons. He was seized and thrown in administrative detention only three months after his release.

Omar al-Jabari of Jenin suspended his strike after 7 days after also reaching an agreement for the end of his administrative detention. Kayed Fasfous, Miqdad Qawasmeh, Ahmad Hamamra, Akram Fasfous, Alaa al-Araj and Hisham Abu Hawash are continuing their strikes. All of the detainees on hunger strike are held in solitary confinement or isolation, denied family visits, stripped of their possessions and frequently delayed or denied access to their lawyers in an attempt to force them to end their strikes.

What Is Administrative Detention?

Administrative detention was first used in Palestine by the British colonial mandate and then adopted by the Zionist regime; it is now used routinely to target Palestinians, especially community leaders, activists, and influential people in their towns, camps and villages.

There are currently approximately 550 Palestinians jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, out of 4,750 Palestinian political prisoners. These orders are issued by the military and approved by military courts on the basis of “secret evidence”, denied to both Palestinian detainees and their attorneys. Issued for up to six months at a time, they are indefinitely renewable, and Palestinians — including minor children — can spend years jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention.

Who Are the Hunger Strikers?

  1. Kayed Fasfous: from Dura – Hebron, started the strike 41 days ago. He is 36 years old, detained without charge or trial since October 2020, and held in Ramon prison.

2. Miqdad Qawasmeh: from Hebron, started 34 days ago. Miqdad Qawasmeh is a Palestinian university student, 24 years old. He has been jailed without charge or trial since January 2021 and is held in Ofer prison.

3. Ahmad Hamamra: from Beit Sahour, started the strike 25 days ago. He has been imprisoned without charge or trial since 17 August 2020 and previously participated in the 2017 collective hunger strike while detained. His administrative detention order was renewed while on hunger strike.

4. Akram Fasfous: from Dura, al-Khalil (Hebron), launched his strike 20 days ago. He is the brother of Kayed Fasfous, on hunger strike for 28 days, and of Mahmoud Fasfous, who was previously on strike before suspending due to severe health deterioration. He has been jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention since October 2020. He is 38 years old, married and the father of four children.

5. Alaa al-Araj: from Tulkarem, launched his strike 17 days ago. He has been jailed since 30 June without charge or trial under administrative detention and is held in Megiddo prison. He is 34 years old.

6. Hisham Ismail Abu Hawash, 39, from Dura, al-Khalil, has been on hunger strike for 9 days. He has been jailed without charge or trial since October 2020 under Israeli administrative detention. Over multiple arrests, he has spent eight years in Israeli prisons. He is married and the father of four children; his youngest child suffers from kidney failure.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all supporters of Palestine to take action to support these Palestinian hunger strikers and all Palestinian prisoners struggling for freedom, for their own lives and for the Palestinian people. They are confronting the system of Israeli oppression on the front lines, with their bodies and their lives, to bring the system of administrative detention to an end. Take these actions below to stand with the hunger strikers and the struggle for liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea!

Download these signs for use in your campaigns:

TAKE ACTION: 

Sign the petition!

Independent grassroots international activists have launched a petition in support of the hunger strikers and to end administrative detention. Show your support by signing on – in addition to taking action in person! Sign here: change.org/NoChargeNoTrialNoJail

Protest at the Israeli Embassy or Consulate in Your Country!

Join the many protests taking place around the world — confront, isolate and besiege the Israeli embassy or consulate in your city or country of residence. Make it clear that the people are with Palestine! Send us your events at samidoun@samidoun.net.

Take to the streets: Organize a protest in solidarity with Palestine!

Take to the streets and join the actions on our full list of events, which is constantly being updated as new actions are announced! Organize your own if there is none in your area, and send us your events at samidoun@samidoun.net.

Boycott Israel!

The international, Arab and Palestinian campaign to boycott Israel can play an important role at this critical time. Local boycott groups can protest and label Israeli produce and groceries, while many complicit corporations – including HP, G4S, Puma, Teva and others, profit from their role in support Zionist colonialism throughout occupied Palestine. By participating in the boycott of Israel, you can directly help to throw a wrench in the economy of settler colonialism.

Demand Your Government Sanction Israel!

The racist, settler colonial state of Israel and its war crimes against the Palestinian people are enabled and backed extensively by the over $3.8 billion each year given to Israel by the United States — targeted directly to support the Israeli occupation military killing children, women, men and elders throughout occupied Palestine. From Canada to Australia to the European Union, Western governments and imperialist powers provide ongoing diplomatic, political and economic support to Israel as well as selling billions of dollars of weaponry to the settler-colonial state. Meanwhile, they also purchase billions of dollars in weaponry from the Israeli state. Governments in league with imperialist powers, such as in the Philippines, Brazil, India and elsewhere, also buy weapons and “security” services — all “battle-tested” on the Palestinian population. Call your representatives, MPs, political officials and demand your government sanction Israel now, cut off all aid, expel its ambassadors, and stop buying and selling weapons!

 

Israeli military court postpones hearing for detained Palestinian student Layan Nasir

Palestinian student Layan Nasir remains imprisoned by the Israeli occupation, her military court hearing postponed until 5 October 2021. Nasir, 21, is a student of nutrition at Bir Zeit University. She has been detained since 7 July 2021, when Israeli occupation forces stormed and invaded her family home, and is now being charged before an Israeli military court with participating in student events and activities on her campus.

Specifically, Layan Nasir is being accused of supporting an “unlawful organization,” namely the Progressive Democratic Student Pole, the leftist student bloc at Bir Zeit University. These arbitrary designations of Palestinian organizations as “unlawful” may be issued at any time by an Israeli military commander of occupation forces in the West Bank, and are used as a pretext to round up, detain and violently attack Palestinian organizations and movements.

Israeli military court hearings are routinely delayed and continued on multiple occasions. These repeated lengthy delays are also a mechanism of pressure used to compel forced plea bargains from Palestinian political prisoners in order to bring the process to an end. The repeated trips to and from the military courts are themselves a mechanism of pressure, with detainees enduring travel in the “bosta,” the military vehicle transporting detainees to and from the courts. Journeys that should take an hour often take a full day, with detainees denied food or access to sanitary facilities during the lengthy waits in the heat.

Last week, several French trade unions issued a solidarity statement calling for Nasir’s release as well as that of her fellow detained Palestinian students.

There are currently hundreds of Palestinian students detained by the Israeli occupation. At Bir Zeit University alone, Nasir’s university, approximately 74 students were detained by occupation soldiers during the 2019-2020 academic year. Students are routinely and specifically targeted for Israeli colonial imprisonment and repression for their student activism, organizing student events and participation in student elections and other political and social activities on campus.  In July, a UN panel declared that the imprisonment of Palestinian students Layan Kayed, Ruba Assi and Elia Abu Hijleh was unlawful and arbitrary, calling for their release.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network demands the immediate release of Layan Nasir and urges all friends of justice in Palestine to join the #FreePalestinianStudents campaign. 

We join together to call for action and support for Palestinian students behind bars, including:

  • Boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, including Israeli academic institutions, which are fully complicit in the systematic deprivation of Palestinian rights.
  • Ending all military and economic aid, military transactions, joint projects and direct funding to the Israeli occupation regime by governments around the world.
  • Challenging “normalization” programs that aim to legitimize Israeli occupation — this is an attempt to legitimize the criminalization and targeting of Palestinian students.
  • Organizing to build direct links of solidarity with Palestinian students and the Palestinian student movement, to ensure that they will not be isolated from their global community of support despite all attempts by the Israeli occupation.

For the full campaign statement, resources, posters, photos and more, including translations in eight languages, please visit: https://freepalestinianstudents.org/ Add your organization’s name to this statement: http://bit.ly/palstudentsignon

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Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Contact us: samidoun@samidoun.net
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