Book your tickets today for the amazing cultural event at this Saturday’s Masar Badil conference in Madrid! Starting at 7 pm in Rivas Vaciamadrid, the event will feature cultural performances from Rojo Cancionero, Pallasos en Rebeldia, Gazelleband, Jafra Group, La ONU and more. We’ll be honouring representatives of Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela. Please join us and book your tickets today (5 EUR entry)
Come to a free movie night of “Fedayin – Georges Abdallah’s Fight”
On October 29, Samidoun Palestinian Political Prisoners Solidarity Network organizes a movie night about Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. Abdallah is a Lebanese communist who has been held captive in France for 37 years. He fought in Lebanon against the Israeli invasion and worked in Europe for the Palestinian liberation movement. And although Abdallah has been eligible for release since 1999, US interference has left him in jail.
Georges Ibrahim Abdallah has never stopped his political activities in prison. Through statements of solidarity, analysis, and prison protests in solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners, Abdallah continues to be an example of resistance for Palestinian, Arab, and international radicals. Therefore, October is the Month of Action for the release of Georges Abdallah.
One week before this movie night, on October 22, there is a protest at the French embassy in The Hague for the release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. Keep an eye on our socials for more information!
Kom naar een gratis filmavond van Fedayin – De strijd van Georges Abdallah
Op 29 oktober organiseert Samidoun Palestijnse Politieke Gevangenen Solidariteitsnetwerk een filmavond over Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. Abdallah is een Libanese communist die al 37 jaar gevangen wordt gehouden in Frankrijk. Hij vocht in Libanon tegen de Israëlische invasie en werkte in Europa voor de Palestijnse bevrijdingsbeweging. En hoewel Abdallah sinds 1999 in aanmerking komt om vrijgelaten te worden, heeft bemoeienis van de Verenigde Staten er voor gezorgd dat hij nog steeds vastzit.
Georges Ibrahim Abdallah is in de gevangenis nooit gestopt met zijn politieke activiteiten. Via solidariteitsstatements, analyses, en gevangenisprotesten in solidariteit met Palestijnse politieke gevangenen, blijft Abdallah een voorbeeld van verzet voor Palestijnse, Arabische, en internationale radicalen. Daarom is oktober de Maand van Actie voor de vrijlating van Georges Abdallah.
Eén week voor deze filmavond is er op 22 oktober een protest bij de Franse ambassade in Den Haag voor de vrijlating van Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. Hou onze socials in de gaten voor meer informatie!
Tuesday, 26 October 7 pm Teatro del Barrio C/Zurita 20 Madrid
Please join Teatro del Barrio, the Alternative Palestinian Path (Masar Badil), Collectif Vacarme(s) Films and Samidoun España for the premiere screening in Madrid of “Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight” on Tuesday, 26 October at 7 pm.
Followed by a discussion with director Matthieu Jeuland of Collectif Vacarme(s) Films, Liliana Cordova of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and Jaldia Abubakra of the Alkarama Palestinian Women’s Movement.
On Saturday, 23 October, over 1,000 people gathered to take the streets in Lannemezan, France, to demand the immediate release of Georges Abdallah, Lebanese Communist and Palestinian resistance fighter imprisoned in France since 1984. The march led from the Lannemezan train station to the gates of the prison where he is jailed. In the 11th annual march on Lannemezan, there was a historic influx and growth in participation following a month of mobilization and action by support committees in France and around the world.
Photo: Ben Art’Core
Many delegations traveled to Lannemezan from Toulouse, Bordeaux, Pau, Auch, Tarbes, Albi, Nantes, Paris, Agen, Grenoble, Marseille, Martigues, Annecy, Montpellier and elsewhere in France, joined by activissts from Catalonia, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Germany. Many Palestinian groups, Palestine solidarity organizations and Georges Abdallah support committees were present (including Collectif Palestine Vaincra, Samidoun, Unitary Campaign for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah, Couserans-Palestine, UJFP, ISM-France, CAPJPO-EuroPalestine, BDS committees, sections of the AFPS, Collectif 65 for the liberation of Georges Abdallah, Free Georges 33, Jeunes 4 Palestine, and more), as well as left political organizations (PCF, FI, NPA, Révolution Permanente, UCL, Secours Rouge, PRCF, ANC, PCOF, LJR, JR, DIP, Popular Front of Turkey), trade unions (SUD and CGT sections), anti-racist and anti-fascist organizations (FUIQP, Les Filipin es Uni en France, anti-fascist groups from different cities), anti-prison and abolitionist activists such as l’Envolée and committees supporting other political prisoners (notably Musa Asoglu and activist Lola). The diversity of organizations supporting Georges Abdallah highlights the dynamic and multifaceted campaign that has grown year over year to build support for this imprisoned Lebanese Communist, the longest-held political prisoner in Europe.
Photo: Ben Art’Core
It is clear that the tour and screening of the documentary, “Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight” contributed significantly to the development of the mobilization, with many delegations present that were formed following screenings of the film in their communities. In Toulouse, over 170 people attended the film screening and discussion, which convinced multiple people to join the march. Please contact vacarmesfilms@gmail.com to arrange a screening, and please copy us at samidoun@samidoun.net so that we can help promote and share your event.
Photo: Ben Art’Core
The Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member organization of the international Samidoun Network, organized a contingent of the march around the slogan “Freedom for Georges Abdallah! Freedom for Palestine!” which brought together many participants. Samidoun Göteborg was present in the march as well as delegations from Secours Rouge International. Many Palestinian flags and flags of the Collectif were waved as well as placards supporting Palestinian resistance, calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners and demanding the boycott of Israel.
Two large red banners were displayed to demand the release of Georges Abdallah and Ahmad Sa’adat, general secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, unjustly imprisoned by the Israeli occupation. Marchers chanted many slogans, such as “Down with imperialism and Zionism!” “Long live the Palestinian resistance!” “37 years in prison, a whole life in struggle: Freedom for Georges Abdallah!” as well as Arabic slogans calling for Georges Abdallah’s freedom and the liberation of Palestine.
Photo: Ben Art’Core
The demonstration ended with a reading of a statement by Georges Abdallah written for the occasion. In a text reaffirming his revolutionary commitment remains intact after 37 years in prison, he underlines that “Every day, Palestine gives us all lessons of self-sacrifice and courage of exceptional significance. More than ever, the Palestinian popular masses, in spite of all the treachery of the bourgeoisie, assume the role of the true guarantor of the defense of the interests of the people. Faced with the occupation and the barbarism of the occupier, the first legitimate response that must be displayed above all else is solidarity. All solidarity with those who by their blood confront the soldiers of the occupation. The conditions of detention in Zionist jails are getting worse every day; and as you know, Comrades, to confront it, international solidarity is proving to be an indispensable weapon. Quite naturally, the Palestinian popular masses and their revolutionary vanguards can always count on your mobilization and your active solidarity. May a thousand solidarity initiatives flourish in support of Palestine and its promising resistance!”
Then, a joint declaration by many support committees (including the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and Samidoun Network) was read and then the various organizations take the floor. The music group, Grup Yorum, also played several pieces in support of the peoples’ struggles against imperialism.
Presidential candidates Philippe Poutou and Anasse Kazib affirmed their support for the immediate release of Ahmad Sa’adat, general secretary of the PFLP, imprisoned by the Israeli occupation.
The month of mobilization for the release of Georges Abdallah is coming to an end as a strong success. The Collectif Palestine Vaincra led an information and mobilization campaign in Toulouse in support of Georges Abdallah by organizing numerous Palestine Stands in the city, distributing 15,000 flyers, 900 posters and more than 5000 stickers while issuing a joint statement with many other groups to bring a large number of Toulouse residents to the Lannemezan march. The encouraging results invite all to redouble efforts to continue and intensify the campaign for his release so that Georges Abdallah can finally return to his homeland, Lebanon.
Photo: Ben Art’Core
The Collectif Palestine Vaincra organizes actions and initiatives in Toulouse 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.
The Palestinian Youth Movement San Diego and Students for Justice in Palestine SDSU are joining the call to action by organizing a public screening of the new and acclaimed film, “Fedayin,” which chronicles the life and detainment of Georges Abdallah.
On October 23, 2021, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and allies are holding a national march and rally outside Lannemezan prison in France once again, to demand the release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, the longest-held political prisoner in Europe.
PLEASE REGISTER TO RECEIVE EVENT LOCATION AND MORE INFORMATION: bit.ly/pymsjpfilm
Masks required, light refreshments will be provided, we will share the specific location details on the day of.
Since the beginning of the year, Israeli war criminal and “Minister of Defense” Benny Gantz has repeatedly designated Palestinian and international organizations working to defend Palestinian rights and organize for Palestinian liberation as “terrorist.” Today, 22 October, Gantz designated six Palestinian organizations, all known for their defense of Palestinian human rights: Al-Haq, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Defence for Children International Palestine, Bisan Center for Research and Development, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees.
This follows Gantz and the Israeli regime’s designation of Samidoun as a “terrorist” organization on 21 February 2021. In late August 2021, without issuing a press release, Gantz also designated EuroPal Forum, the International Legal Coalition for Palestine and the Popular Conference of Palestinians Abroad. It is clear that the Israeli regime has fully adopted as standard practice and policy the “terrorist” designation of organizations that effectively challenge its control and expose its crimes on the local, regional and international levels.
All of these designations are meant primarily as an attack on Palestinian organizing, research, agriculture, and the Palestinian prisoners’ movement. We express our full solidarity with all of the organizations designated in this manner and once again affirm that we will not be silenced or deterred by Israeli smear campaigns or attempted collective terror against Palestinians, Arabs and internationals struggling for justice.This repression must inspire us to organize more and build greater mutual defense and solidarity against all attempts to use the “terrorist” label to criminalize Palestinian resistance, action and organizing.
Once again, the Israeli designations appear to essentially be copied-and-pasted from right-wing propaganda organizations like NGO Monitor that aim to shield Israel from international accountability by smearing and attacking Palestinian human rights defenders. Their shoddy reporting, baseless claims and factual inaccuracies are part and parcel of their attempt to defend Israeli colonialism, military occupation, apartheid, siege and mass arbitrary detention of Palestine and the Palestinian people. These types of propaganda organizations have done so by attempting to prevent Palestinian non-governmental organizations from receiving grants; for example, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees has faced such attacks from these organizations in Australia, the Netherlands, and elsewhere.
Such “terrorist” designations can be used as a justification for arresting members, closing down organizations and centers or labeling the organizations “illegal” inside the occupied West Bank. In our experience with this designation since February of this year, these designations are used as ammunition by Zionist “lawfare” groups in various countries in an attempt to create a climate of fear to undermine collective solidarity, cut off funding or access to banking, and silence advocates for justice, rights and liberation in Palestine at international venues.
Through these designations, Israel has made clear that its definition of “terrorism” is any action that resists its colonialism throughout occupied Palestine. In many cases, such as with today’s designations of Addameer and DCI Palestine, as well as the existing designation of Samidoun, it is clear that this is an attempt to cut off Palestinian political prisoners — including imprisoned children — from growing legal, political and moral support and to attack the Palestinian prisoners’ movement. In the case of organizations like Al-Haq, it is clear that Israel wants to use the “terror” designation to provide itself with impunity from international prosecution, while the designations of organizations like Bisan, UPWC and UAWC aim to undermine and target Palestinian self-organization, research, and food sovereignty.
When Ben & Jerry’s ice cream brand announced that it would simply no longer sell ice cream in the future to illegal colonial settlements following an extensive campaign by social justice and Palestinian rights organizations, Israeli president Isaac Herzog labeled even this attempt of a company to come in line with international law — and all boycotts of Israel — as “terrorist.”
While this example is rhetorical, it indicates just how meaningless the term “terrorist” is in the hands of the Israeli regime. It means precisely any organization, activist, or freedom fighter that challenges Zionist colonialism through any method or means of resistance at all. The flurry of “terrorist” designations for organizations working to expose Israel’s crimes and organize Palestinians underlines this reality.
It further highlights exactly why all such designations should be considered propaganda stunts and tossed out by courts, governments, financial institutions and any other party called upon to repress Palestinian organizing on the basis of these bogus labels.Such designations have no international effect and do not require anyone to stop supporting these organizations.Instead, these designations must mobilize us to build greater popular support for Palestinian rights organizations designated by the Israeli occupation.
Further, such designations should also inspire international advocates for Palestine and organizations concerned with justice and human rights to adopt the boycott and international isolation of Israel, which has once again — as it has for over 73 years — shown itself to be dedicated to the expulsion and suppression of the Palestinian people with complete disregard for any principles of law or justice.
As we noted in February, these designations are also an attempt to divert attention from the serious problem facing hundreds of Zionist officials – including Gantz himself – who are afraid from the next steps of the investigations by the International Criminal Court (ICC) after its last announcement on 5 February 2021 affirming that it has the authority to investigate war crimes in the Palestinian occupied territories.
These designations are not attacks on individual organizations but against Palestinian human rights defenders and those around the world who stand up for Palestinian liberation — and, fundamentally, the Palestinian people as a whole, especially the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons. They attempt to repress growing support for the legitimate resistance of the Palestinian people and confrontation of imperialism and Zionism.
We express our firm commitment to mutual defense and collective solidarity with all similarly targeted organizations working for a liberated Palestine. The primary way that we can confront these designations is by intensifying our organizing, action, mobilization and resistance to bring down the structures of colonialism, implement the right to return for Palestinian refugees, and support the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners and of Palestine, from the river to the sea.
We invite all who want to get involved in building this collective solidarity to get involved with our work at Samidoun. Click here to donate to support our work. To find out about becoming a member or building a chapter in your area, email us today at samidoun@samidoun.net
Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat, Palestinian political prisoner in British jails and a medical doctor, suffered a heart attack inside Maghaberry prison on 9 October, only days before his most recent scheduled hearing on an application for bail. Despite his increasingly dire medical circumstances, he remains imprisoned. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges increased solidarity and action to demand his release.
Alongside his fellow detainees, the Saoradh 9, he was detained in “Operation Arbacia,” a series of political arrests carried out by British authorities based on a years-long infiltration carried out by MI5 agent Dennis McFadden. Today, Dr. Bassalat remains jailed in the Maghaberry high security prison, in the British-occupied north of Ireland.
“Barrister Joe Brolly told the court that Dr Bassalat had been treated for a heart attack and had returned on Tuesday to Maghaberry, where he has been placed in isolation for 14 days as a precaution against the spread of covid. He said that Dr Bassalat was not physically fit to appear at the hearing. After his return to prison on Tuesday, Dr Bassalat spoke to a family member and told them that he was keen to appear at today’s hearing. He also said that he was unhappy with being held in the prison’s isolation unit as the facilities there are poorer than elsewhere in the prison and are likely to hamper his recovery.”
“Dr Issam had to suffer six hours of life-threatening pain as the illegal occupations gaolers debated what to do, some even suggesting to Dr Issam that the unbearable pain that he was so clearly experiencing was a result of the medication that he has been taking.
It is evident that the decision that could have cost Dr Issam’s life and in fact has resulted in some of his very heart muscles dying was being deferred to those whose political bias overrides someone’s very life.”
Rather than ruling on the bail application, the court has now requested reports from hospital doctors before setting a new date for a hearing for Dr. Bassalat. Despite reports that new bail applications are routinely heard, approved or denied on a regular basis, Dr. Bassalat’s latest bail application has faced objections from the prosecution that his circumstances have not changed enough to seek bail again. Now, his dangerous health condition has brought to the forefront a new set of changed circumstances beyond the points already raised by his lawyers.
These delays have added yet more time behind bars to a process in which Dr. Bassalat’s lawyer already declared that the evidence will take him at least 63 weeks to review before a trial could be possible.
As he appealed for human rights groups to address his case, Dr. Bassalat said in a statement that “all the might of the British Government” has been used against him, “a single individual [who] dared to challenge the British historic role in creating the Palestinian plight through the Balfour Declaration and the 30 years of the British Mandate in Palestine ending in al Nakba – the catastrophe of the Palestinians in 1948.”
Under the emergency laws still in effect in the north of Ireland, his case will be heard by a judge without a jury. Issam was entrapped into a meeting with McFadden on false pretenses after he was told by British officials that he had to pick up his daughter’s passport renewal in Belfast instead of Glasgow. There, he was invited to what was presented to him as a meeting of Saoradh, an Irish republican political party, to discuss international solidarity and the Palestinian cause. Dr. Bassalat had previously spoken to a Saoradh Ard Fheis (annual meeting) about Palestine, an open, public event.
He is charged with “preparatory acts of terrorism” under the 2006 Terrorism Act, based on his attendance at this meeting engineered by MI5. Issam’s solicitor, Gavin Booth, has seen the transcript of the meeting Issam was compelled to attend, noting that “Everything that’s contained within the transcripts and the recordings is about Palestine, is about peaceful and democratic change. There’s nothing in the transcripts from Dr Bassalat that would support violence in any way.” Despite these facts and the presumption of innocence that is supposed to apply, he has been held on remand for a full year.
Dr. Bassalat was detained on 22 August at Heathrow Airport on the same day that nine members of Saoradh were also arrested by British forces. Throughout the past year, his bail applications have been repeatedly denied, despite serious health issues and the damaging effects of incarceration on his and his fellow detainees’ well-being.
Issam Hijjawi Bassalat is being targeted as a Palestinian in an attempt to justify the MI5 infiltration of public political parties and to smear both the Palestinian and Irish struggles through entrapment and misrepresentation. The presumption of innocence is being cast aside for political gamesmanship. This case requires attention and action to end the injustice against a Palestinian community leader. We urge the immediate release of Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and all political prisoners, including the Saoradh 9, detained in British jails.
Six Palestinian prisoners are continuing their hunger strikes to demand freedom from arbitrary imprisonment without charge. Kayed Fasfous is entering his 100th day of hunger strike on 22 October 2021. The 32-year-old Palestinian prisoner is jailed without charge or trial, held in Barzilai hospital after serious deterioration of his health. Fellow hunger striker Miqdad Qawasmeh, on hunger strike for 93 days, a Palestinian university student held under administrative detention, confronted Israeli medics attempting to force glucose and supplements on him after he was transferred to the intensive care unit at Kaplan hospital.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all people of conscience and organizers for Palestine and social justice to take action to defend their lives and act for their freedom at this critical moment.
Fasfous and Qawasmeh are among six Palestinian administrative detainees jailed without charge or trial carrying out long-term hunger strikes to demand their freedom and the end of the policy of administrative detention. With Fasfous and Qawasmeh on hunger strike are Alaa al-Araj, Hisham Abu Hawash, Shadi Abu Aker and Ayad Hraimi. All six are demanding their freedom from administrative detention, indefinitely renewable imprisonment without charge or trial.
From his hospital bed, Fasfous declared that “I will either go home or be martyred,” on his 98th day of hunger strike. Both Fasfous and Qawasmeh had their administrative detention “frozen” by the Israeli Supreme Court, and both refused to end their hunger strike, noting that this is a mechanism to induce Palestinian detainees to stop striking, only to reimpose their detention as soon as their health improves slightly. They both declared that they will continue their strikes until freedom.
Fasfous, a fitness enthusiast and bodybuilder before his detention, has lost at least 30 kilos (66 pounds), and Qawasmeh has also suffered severe weight loss. Qawasmeh is unable to speak or stand and suffers from pain throughout his body. Despite the “suspension” of his detention, he is constantly overseen by three jailers who eat in front of him as a form of pressure to end his strike. He was denied a visit from lawyer Jawad Boulos on 20 October, despite the suspension of his detention; similarly, Kayed Fasfous’ wife has been expelled from the hospital on at least three occasions on allegations of not having sufficient permission to visit him.
Doctors and lawyers warned that Qawasmeh was in danger of sudden death at any moment and that his symptoms indicated potential neurological damage, which could have long-term consequences for his health. Qawasmeh’s mother declared that occupation doctors tore his clothes, handcuffed his hands and feet and attempted to force feed him intravenously with supplements and glucose over his objections.
Khader Adnan, former long-term hunger striker who won his freedom from administrative detention on multiple occasions, denounced the attack on Qawasmeh as a heinous crime, urging action by international human rights and humanitarian organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, in response to forced feding.
Allam Kaabi, director of the Handala Center for Prisoners and Former Prisoners, denounced force feeding, emphasizing that it has been rejected by the World Health Organization. “Every claim that the goal of force-feeding is to preserve the life of the prisoner on hunger strike is false. Rather, the real goal of it is to break the prisoner’s steps of struggle and intensify his suffering,” Kaabi said.
Meanwhile, Israeli courts have refused to even “freeze” the administrative detention of Alaa al-Araj, despite his strike for 76 days, and Hisham Abu Hawash, on strike for 67 days. Along with Shadi Abu Aker, on strike for 59 days, they are held in the Ramle prison clinic and repeatedly transferred back and forth to civilian hospitals and the prison. All are suffering from vision problems, vomiting, physical weakness and severe bodily pain, and the repeated transfers are another form of physical and psychological pressure attempting to compel them to end their strikes.
Ayad Hraimi has now also been on hunger strike for 30 days — a full month — held in isolation in Ofer prison.
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 520 Palestinians jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, out of 4,650 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?
Kayed Fasfous, 32, from Dura – al-Khalil, started his strike 100 days ago. He is 36 years old, detained without charge or trial since July 2020. He is married and the father of the daughter; his three brothers, Akram, Mahmoud and Hafez are also detained by the Israeli occupation (Akram and Mahmoud earlier joined the hunger strike.) Before he was arrested, he was working in Dura municipality and had recently returned to Hebron University to complete his computer science degree, which he was earlier unable to complete due to repeated arrests.
Miqdad Qawasmeh: from al-Khalil, started 93 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. He has previously spent around 4 years in occupation prisons over various arrests since 2015.
Alaa al-Araj: from Tulkarem, launched his strike 75 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 and a civil engineer; he has been detained multiple times since 2013, including being held without charge or trial under administrative detention.
Hisham Ismail Abu Hawash, 39, from Dura, al-Khalil, has been on hunger strike for 66 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.
Shadi Abu Aker, 37, from Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, has been on hunger strike for 59 days to reject his administrative detention. He has been jailed without charge or trial since October 2020. Married and the father of two children, he is a former prisoner who spent 10 years in Israeli prison before his release in 2012. He has since been held under administrative detention three times.
Ayad Hraimi, 28, from Bethlehem, has been on hunger strike for 30 days against his administrative detention without charge or trial. He previously conducted a 45-day hunger strike against administrative detention in 2016; he has been repeatedly arrested by the Israeli occupation, mostly without charge or trial under administrative detention. He was arrested in April 2021 less than two months after he was released from previous administrative detention.
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!
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
Join the Social Media Campaign!
There is a growing social media campaign to #SaveKayed #SaveMiqdad and #FreeThemAll. Use these hashtags and the social media action sheet to post on Twitter and Instagram. Post in all languages! Many people have been conducting online hunger strikes in solidarity with the prisoners. Take action and join the social media outrage and break the isolation imposed upon them by the Israeli occupation!
Protest at the Israeli Embassy or Consulate in Your Country!
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!
UPDATE: As of 5 pm Pacific time on Thursday, 21 October, the leadership body of the Islamic Jihad prisoners announced that their collective hunger strike was suspended after reaching an agreement to end the punitive measures against them.
Mahmoud al-Ardah, the leader of the Freedom Tunnel operation in which six Palestinian prisoners liberated themselves from Gilboa prison, launched an open hunger strike on 21 October in the Ayalon prison in Ramleh where he is held. He launched his strike to reject the arbitrary penalties and deprivation of rights imposed upon him and his fellow Palestinian prisoners. His mother also launched a solidarity strike to support her son despite her own difficult health conditions, Bassima al-Ardah, Mahmoud’s sister, told Palestinian TV station Palestine Today.
Al-Ardah launched his hunger strike after a hefty fine of 3,500 NIS ($1090 USD) was imposed upon him, allegedly to “repay damage” to the prison from their escape; all of his appliances are confiscated along with most of his clothes. Like his fellow Freedom Tunnel escapees, he is being held in isolation after they were subjected to torture and severe “military interrogation” at the hands of Israeli military forces. He has been ordered to 6 months in solitary confinement, barred from family visits and accessing the “canteen,” or prison store, and his cell is invaded multiple times daily for intrusive “inspections.” He is prohibited from accessing recreation or leaving his narrow, small cell.
All of the six Freedom Tunnel prisoners have experienced similar harsh conditions and penalties imposed upon them. They have been provided one set of clothing that is too large and are allowed to wash them only once weekly. Yaqoub Qadri is under constant surveillance from cameras and has been able to sleep only two hours at a time tude to the constant “security” checks. Ayham Kamamji has been denied medical treatment for the injuries caused by Israeli soldiers assaulting and beating him when he was arrested following his self-liberation.
The Freedom Tunnel escapees: Mahmoud al-Ardah, Mohammed al-Ardah, Yaqoub Qadri, Munadil Nafa’t, Zakaria Zubaidi and Ayham Kamamji, liberated themselves from Gilboa prison on 10 September 2021, exposing the facade of Israeli impenetrability and high security. From the town of Arraba near Jenin, al-Ardah, a leader in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, has repeatedly attempted to liberate himself and fellow detainees from Israeli prisons. He was held in solitary confinement for over a year beginning in 2014, when he attempted to dig a tunnel under Shata prison. He is known in the Palestinian prisoners’ movement for his good relations with prisoners from all political movements and factions.
Al-Ardah joined the collective strike, now on its ninth day, of 250 Islamic Jihad movement prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons. They are protesting the abusive measures of the occupation imposed upon them after the self-liberation of the Freedom Tunnel prisoners. They have been repeatedly transferred, isolated and placed in cells lacking the necessary conditions for human life, while leaders of the movement have been repeatedly taken for harsh interrogations.
In response, they launched this collective hunger strike, now with hundreds of participants, with the support of all Palestinian political parties and organizations inside the prisons. There is a collective program of struggle with fellow prisoners from various movements planning to join the strike in successive escalations if the prisoners’ demands are not met.
Three Palestinian women prisoners have joined this collective strike: Mona Qa’adan, Amal Taqatqa and Shatila Abu Ayada. Qa’adan is a well-known leader of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement who was rearrested by Israeli occupation forces earlier this year; she previously served nearly four years in Israeli prison and was denied family visits for two years during that time. Abu Ayada is serving one of the longest sentences among Palestinian women prisoners, sentenced to 16 years in Israeli occupation prisons.
Five prisoners held in the isolation cells in the Negev desert prison, Abdullah al-Ardah, Abdel Obeid, Muhannad al-Sheikh, Tamim Salem and Mohammed Darbei, told Addameer lawyers athat they had joined the collective hunger strike on 14 October, one day after the launch of the general strike of the Islamic Jihad priosners. Because they are held in isolation, the strike is more difficult; they have all been held in isolation since the Freedom Tunnel liberation effort. They have begun to vomit and have difficulty breathing and constant pain; whenever they are taken to the showers, their hands are cuffed behind their backs.
This collective action comes as six more Palestinian prisoners continue their hunger strikes against administrative detention: Kayed Fasfous, Miqdad Qawasmeh, Alaa Al-Araj, Hisham Abu Hawash, Shadi Abu Aker, and Ayad Hreimi. Kayed Fasfous has een on hunger strike for 99 days, while Miqdad Qawasmeh has been on hunger strike for 92; their health condition is in severe danger. Khader Adnan, former long-term hunger striker who won his freedom from administrative detention through multiple strikes, said that this strike of administrative detainees of various political orientations serves to boost the collective strike and vice versa, building support for all who confront the jailer.
He emphasized that “We as Palestinians must uphold our responsibility at all popular and official levels to confront what our prisoners face inside occupation prisons.”
Tamer al-Zaanin of the Muhjat al-Quds Foundation said that he expects all prisoners associated with the Islamic Jihad movement, including the sick and elderly, to enter the strike in the coming days. He emphasized that the prisoners will confront any attempts to break or undermine their strike by the occupation forces, and that the prisoners continue to hold firm despite severe prisoners. “The prisoners’ message to the Palestinian resistance leadership is that we are now living in dungeons inside the prisons, but we will not surrender and you must liberate us,” he said.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network emphasizes and amplifies the call of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement to stand with the Palestinian prisoners and the Palestinian people today to demand justice and liberation for Palestine, from the river to the sea.
Palestinian prisoners are struggling, with their bodies and lives on the line, to confront colonialism, Zionism, occupation and apartheid. Their valiant confrontation of the jailer places them on the front lines of the struggle for Palestine.
Western imperialist governments are part and parcel of the ongoing attacks against Palestinian prisoners and the colonization of Palestine. From the U.S.’ over $3.8 billion annually in weaponry provided to the Israeli regime to the ongoing economic, political and diplomatic support provided by the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom and others, all of these states are directly involved in the ongoing crimes perpetuated against the Palestinian people. Everywhere in the world, we can and must act now to stand with all Palestinian prisoners struggling for justice, and for the liberation of Palestine!
On Tuesday, 19 October, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member organization of the Samidoun Network, organized a Palestine Stand at the entrance to the Bagatelle metro station in Toulouse, France. The stand displayed Palestinian flags and a large banner, declaring “Freedom for Georges Abdallah! Freedom for Palestine!”
Organizers received 77 signed petition cards calling for the release of Abdallah, the Lebanese Communist struggler for Palestine who has become the longest-held political prisoner in Europe. Many people already knew the story of this resistance struggler and expressed their outrage at the treatment the French government has imposed upon him. A number of others also stopped by the stand to collect flyers and stickers for the various campaigns the Collectif is organizing in support of the Palestinian people and their resistance.
Dozens of people came to the stand to express their solidarity for French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri against the Israeli authorities’ revocation of his residency in Jerusalem, his home city.
Salah Hamouri is a French-Palestinian lawyer and a former Palestinian political prisoner whose case was widely known throughout France as a symbol of injustice and false allegations until his release in 2011 in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange, only a few months before his sentence was to end. He has spoken throughout France and internationally at events like the World Social Forum on Palestinian prisoners and the struggle for freedom.
The Israeli occupation uses the forced revocation of residency for Palestinians from East Jerusalem as a means to displace Palestinians and forcibly create a “Jewish majority” in the occupied city as well as a means to silence Palestinian activists and organizers. As noted by Al-Haq, “Revocation of permanent residency status is the most direct tool used to forcibly transfer Palestinians from East Jerusalem. This policy which has been used by Israel more than 14,500 times between 1967 and 2015, and is illegal under international law.”
Photo: Corine Janeau
On 17 October, the Collectif joined with over 200 people gathering at the call of many organizations to remember the victims of 17 October 1961, when, as noted in the unified statement, “60 years ago, a peaceful march by Algerians for independence was savagely repressed by the police of the notorious prefect Papon in Paris. This also marked the establishment of a racist curfew only for French Muslims. This same curfew instituted during the revolts in working-class neighborhoods, applied to the descendants of post-colonial immigration. It was also a night of police violence with many dead and missing. A massacre that has never been officially recognized by the state.”
Photo: Corine Janeau
Algerian flags were displayed on the Pont-Neuf, and a representative of the Collectif spoke, saluting the resistance and the martyrs of 17 October, as well as the Algerian revolution as a whole. “After 132 years of French colonialism ,the sacrifice of our martyrs made it possible to liberate ourselves and I can say today that I am proud to be Algerian. The fight continues in particular against the Zionist colonization of Palestine,” she affirmed. She emphasized that the struggles of the Algerian and Palestinian people confront the same enemies, imperialism and colonialism.
Speakers also emphasized that the fight against police crimes and state racism are more topical than ever, with speakers from the Truth and Justice Committee 31 and the Révolte Décoloniale association emphasizing the need to confront anti-Arab racism and state Islamophobia. A speaker from Attac urged participation in the 23 October demonstration in Lannemezan to free Georges Abdallah.
Photo: Corine Janeau
Marchers chanted: “The police have killed, the police are killing: October 17, state crime!” and “October 17: we do not forget, we do not forgive!”
This action followed another Palestine Stand on Sunday, 16 October, which highlighted the international month of action to free Georges Abdallah. The Collectif set up the stand outside the Capitole metro station, with Palestinian flags and banners calling for Abdallah’s immediate liberation.
The stand caught the attention of shoppers and passers-by on a sunny autumn afternoon, where dozens signed petition cards to demand Abdallah’s release and organizers distributed thousands of flyers. Over the sound system, speakers emphasized that the Palestinian struggle is an anti-colonial liberation movement, linked to the struggles around the world of people fighting for their freedom, in particular the Algerian people who freed themselves from French colonialism after 132 years of occupation.
Many people took photos of solidarity with Georges Abdallah at the downtown stand, joining the call for his immediate release:
This came as part of a series of initiatives throughout the week, including a stand at the University of Mirail on 13 Octobber, where 80 petitions were signed to free Georges Abdallah.
Posters demanding freedom for Georges Abdallah once again appeared in city bus shelters, while the Collectif continued distributing flyers and posters in several districts of Toulouse.
The mobilization for Georges Abdallah’s release continues throughout October and will conclude with two important events:
Thursday, 21 October – screening of the documentary, “Fedayin: The Struggle of Georges Abdallah” 8:30 pm, American Cosmograph Theatre, with Collectif Vacarme(s) Films and Said Bouamama, sociologist and author of “The Georges Ibrahim Abdallah Affair”
Saturday, 23 October – Demonstration to free Georges Abdallah 2 pm, from the train station in Lannemezan, France to the prison where Georges Abdallah is held. Free bus from Toulouse — email collectifpalestinevaincra@gmail.com to participate!
The Collectif Palestine Vaincra organizes actions and initiatives in Toulouse 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.
Saturday, 30 October
Tuesday, 26 October
Tuesday, 26 October
Dozens of people came to the stand to express their solidarity for French-Palestinian lawyer 
This action followed another Palestine Stand on Sunday, 16 October, which highlighted the international month of action to free Georges Abdallah. The Collectif set up the stand outside the Capitole metro station, with Palestinian flags and banners calling for Abdallah’s immediate liberation.
Many people took photos of solidarity with Georges Abdallah at the downtown stand, joining the call for his immediate release: