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11 September, Clermont-Ferrand: AFPS Stand to #BoycottPuma and Support Palestinian Prisoners

Saturday, 11 September
Forum des Associations
Place de Jaude

Clermont-Ferrand, France
Info: https://www.facebook.com/Palestine63Solidarite/posts/2375745172562276
Organized by AFPS 63

The AFPS 63 will organize Stand 180 at the Forum des Associations, including information on the GAZA blockade, BDS-PUMA, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, and the 6 prisoners who have just escaped.

SAMEDI 11 SEPTEMBRE, PLACE DE JAUDE A CLERMONT-FD
STAND AFPS 63 au FORUM des ASSOCIATIONS

Stand N° 180
avec notamment des infos sur le blocus de GAZA, sur BDS-PUMA, sur l’épuration ethnique en Cisjordanie, et sur les 6 prisonniers qui viennent de s’évader.

10 September, Online event and Oostend, Belgium: The East Mediterranean: NATO, US Bases and Fossil Imperialism OUT!

Friday, 10 September
*Note: program will be conducted both onsite and online. Doors open onsite at 17:00h Brussels; program begins both onsite and online at 17:30h Brussels.
In Person: Vayamundo
Zeedijk 330 8400 Oostend, Belgium;
ONLINE event (5:30 pm central Europe, 8:30 am Pacific, 11:30 am Eastern, 6:30 pm Palestine) Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwode6gqDMoH904WaD4IEWHUymnXsZuZjBT

Featured speakers:
Mamdouh Habashi, Socialist Popular Alliance Party, Egypt
Oz Karahan, Union of Cypriots, Cyprus
Lida Dodou, New Left Current, Greece
Nilufer Koc, Kurdistan National Congress, Kurdistan
Thomas Hofman, Samidoun, Netherlands
Antonio Tujan, Institute for Political Economy, Philippines

The Eastern Mediterranean has always been a battleground for world powers, due to its strategic location. However, the target of the sphere of influence in the region is even wider than the Aegean corridor to the Eastern Mediterranean. The Eastern Med is also the port for the Middle East and this region’s natural resources. The countries that share a coastline to the Eastern Mediterranean have suffered from U.S. and NATO occupations, foreign interventions, and U.S.-sponsored terrorism for decades.

Today, the Eastern Mediterranean has become even more contentious, as the discovery of natural resources has fueled fossil imperialism and inflamed tensions among states in the region.This tension is used by the United States to justify increasing its military presence in the region, including a significant increase in U.S. military bases and cooperation agreements with allied countries. The U.S. even exploits the tension between Greece and Turkey, two NATO member countries, and increases its military presence in Greece. Cyprus, the small island state in the middle of the Eastern Mediterranean conflict, is home to five NATO armies today.

Join anti-war, environmental justice, and anti-imperialist activists to discuss U.S. and NATO militarization and bases in the region; the connection of militarization to rampant resource extraction and fossil imperialism; and organizing strategies to resist U.S.-NATO war-making and plunder of resources.

11 September, Gothenburg: End the Occupation – Freedom for All Palestinian Prisoners!

Saturday, 11 September
2 pm
Brunnsparken
Gothenburg, Sweden
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/896706687895741/

The Palestine coordination group in Gothenburg is calling on all to demonstrate full support for the Palestinian prisoners. They are freedom fighters! End the occupation – Freedom for all Palestinian prisoners!

Palestinska Samordningsgruppen kallar alla till en manifestation för att visa vårt fulla stöd till de palestinska fångarna.
De är frihetskämpar !!
Brunnsparken lördag 11 september kl 14-15
UPPHÄV OCKUPATIONEN –
FRIHET ÅT ALLA PALESTINSKA FÅNGAR

12 September, NYC: Globalize The Intifada From Attica To Gilboa!

Sunday, 12 September
4:30 pm – Orientation for 9/17 #GlobalizeTheIntifada action
5:30 pm – Rally for the 6 escaped prisoners
Washington Square Park
New York, NY 10012
Organized by Within Our Lifetime
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/179710347568611/

50 years ago the Attica prison uprising broke out in New York on September 9th, 1971 when a group of incarcerated freedom fighters and revolutionaries seized control of the prison to fight for their liberation, demand better conditions and protest the murder of Black Panther Party leader and political prisoner George Jackson in San Quentin Prison in California weeks earlier.

Four days later, on September 13th, the uprising came to a violent end when state police and prison guards launched a premeditated genocidal attack on the freedom fighters on the inside. Within 15 minutes, 43 people were killed in cold blood in a hail of indiscriminate gunfire, including 32 of the prisoners.

Today we are witnessing an historic moment of resistance and rebellion from inside the prison walls in Palestine in the wake of six Palestinian freedom fighters successfully escaping from the zionist occupation’s “maximum security” Gilboa prison this past Monday.

More than 72 hours later, they remain free, and the Palestinian people continue to take to the streets across historic Palestine to express their unwavering support for the escaped prisoners and resist the occupation.

Join us this Sunday, September 12th as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Attica, mobilize in support of the six escaped prisoners in Palestine and demand freedom for ALL Palestinian prisoners.

We will also be coming together for an orientation beforehand to plan ahead for our 9/17 #GlobalizeTheIntifada action with @decolonizethisplace.

Copenhagen demonstration “Gives Israel the Red Card” outside Denmark-Israel football match

Over 250 people rallied in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Tuesday, 7 September, in a large protest against the Denmark-Israel football match, under the slogan “Give Israel the red card!” The protest was organized by Boykot Israel-DK, Internationalt Forum, Demos, and Stop Annekteringen af Palestina. Representatives from Samidoun Stockholm participated in the protest following a series of meetings.

Samidoun Stockholm members traveled to Copenhagen after visits to Gothenburg and Malmo; they met with the Internationalt Forum, a long-established, active anti-imperialist organization based in Copenhagen, and attended the demonstration.

Ahead of the football game, over 1000 small Palestinian flags were prepared and then handed out – with leaflets about the Israeli apartheid state – to football supporters and all passers-by.

During the match, Palestinian flags were visible all throughout the stadium, while a demonstration in support of Palestinian rights and against the occupation was held at a nearby square. The display of Palestinian flags inside the stadium was covered in Danish media as well as Israeli media, and the national Danish TV 2 station published a long article on the “flag action” and the protest, quoting the Boykot Israel leaflets distributed in both Danish and English.

The demonstration aimed at promoting the boycott of Israeli sports teams and federations, as well as  exposing the role of sports events in legitimizing the illegal occupation in Palestine. The large crowd gathered to listen to speeches from anti-imperialist and Palestinian organizations in Denmark, accompanied by music and political conversations.

Johnna and Irene of Boykot Israel spoke at the demonstration, where they affirmed:

“Solidarity with the Palestinian people stands on two legs, partly a Boycott Israel campaign and partly a solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle. The two are connected around the common goal:  A free Palestine. Boykot Israel is in favor of a  total boycott of Israel  – economic, academic, cultural and sports. We do this because Israel is an apartheid state  – just as South Africa was – and because Israel is a  colonial power.  We are pressuring and isolating Israel economically, politically and diplomatically….Solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle is the second leg of solidarity. The many peace initiatives over the past sixty years have not changed anything – only given Israel more influence, such as through the Oslo Accords of 1993….Peace talks with an occupying power will never give the Palestinians their freedom and their state…We must support the Palestinian liberation struggle – through support for the struggle of political prisoners – through support for the demand for the right to return, and not least: through support for a new intifada!”

They concluded by quoting Ahmad Sa’adat’s affirmation that, “In the end, justice will win.”

After the Copenhagen protest, Samidoun had a meeting with representatives of Internationalt Forum, where we discussed the future of the Palestinian and boycott movements, as well as how the movements and organizations in Northern Europe can strengthen their cooperation in the struggle for Palestinian return and liberation.

11 September, Derry, Ireland: Stand with Palestinian Prisoners

Saturday, 11  September
3 pm
Free Derry Corner
Derry, Ireland
Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/353587639819469
Organized by Derry Branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign

RIGHT NOW Palestinian prisoners in the Naqab and Rimon prisons are leading an uprising against collective punishment and the cruelty of the Israeli prison system. They have been met with unprecedented violence, with the Israeli military entering the prison to quell the protests.

Palestinian prisoners are face to face with the worst and most inhumane of the state’s military excess. We are inspired by their fight for freedom in the face of extreme brutality. Freedom for Palestinian prisoners! Freedom for all prisoners!

Join with Derry Branch of Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign to show solidarity with all Palestinian Prisoners at Free Derry Corner on Saturday, 11th September at 3pm.

10 September, Paris: Rally to support the Palestinian Prisoners!

Friday, 10 September
5 pm to 7 pm
Place de la Republique
Paris, France
Organized by CAPJPO – EuroPalestine. Info: https://europalestine.com/2021/09/08/prisonniers-palestiniens-appel-a-rassemblement-ce-vendredi-soir-a-paris/

10The escape of 6 Palestinian political prisoners from the Israeli high security prison of Gilboa arouses emotion and pride throughout Palestine, in Lebanon and Jordan, and beyond. And it’s not just because of the feat they achieved, tunneling for months from their own cell. 

It is also because these six resistance fighters, all from Jenin – a city of martyrs and fighters whose refugee camp was razed by the Israeli army in 2002 – some imprisoned for twenty years for having fought the Israeli occupier, symbolize the fate of all the Palestinian people.

They represent the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who have been imprisoned by Israel, who are arrested, tortured, and detained daily, with or without charge. 

They represent the entire Palestinian population walled in, ghettoized, at the mercy of the occupier, in the West Bank, as in Gaza.

This is why we must show them our solidarity, and together demand the release of some 5,000 Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli jails, illegally, including many children, including women with disabilities and deprived of care, including prisoners who have been on hunger strike for over a month at the risk of their lives.

GATHERING TO SUPPORT PALESTINIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS
                        THIS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10
                                      FROM 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM
                  PLACE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE IN PARIS
 

Thank you for coming in large numbers and for circulating this appeal .

All associations wishing to join are welcome.

CAPJPO-EuroPalestine

**

L’évasion de 6 prisonniers politiques palestiniens de la prison israélienne de haute sécurité de Gilboa suscite émotion et fierté dans toute la Palestine et au-delà, comme au Liban ou en Jordanie. Et ce n’est pas seulement en raison de l’exploit qu’ils ont réalisé, en creusant pendant des mois un tunnel à partir de leur propre cellule. 

C’est aussi parce que ces six résistants, tous originaires de Jénine –ville martyre dont le camp de réfugiés a été rasé par l’armée israélienne en 2002– et pour certains incarcérés depuis une vingtaine d’années pour avoir combattu l’occupant israélien, symbolisent le sort de tout le peuple palestinien.

Ils représentent les centaines de milliers d’hommes, de femmes et d’enfants qui ont été emprisonnés par Israël, qui sont quotidiennement arrêtés, torturés, et détenus, avec ou sans inculpation.
Ils représentent l’ensemble de la population palestinienne emmurée, ghettoïsée, à la merci de l’occupant, en Cisjordanie, comme à Gaza.

C’est pourquoi nous devons leur manifester notre solidarité, et exiger ensemble la libération des quelque 5000 prisonniers palestiniens actuellement détenus dans les geôles israéliennes, en toute illégalité, dont de nombreux enfants, dont des femmes handicapées et privées de soin, dont certains hommes en grève de la faim depuis plus d’un mois au péril de leur vie.
RASSEMBLEMENT DE SOUTIEN AUX PRISONNIERS POLITIQUES PALESTINIENS
CE VENDREDI 10 SEPTEMBRE
DE 17 H A 19 H 30
PLACE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE A PARIS
 


Merci de venir nombreux et de faire circuler cet appel
.

Toutes les associations qui souhaitent s’y joindre sont les bienvenues.

Liberation through the Freedom Tunnel: Stand with Palestinian Prisoners’ Uprising – Take Action!

Six Palestinians jailed by the Israeli occupation liberated themselves through a tunnel dug beneath Gilboa prison in the early morning hours of Monday, 6 September. The six liberated prisoners – Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah, Mohammed Qasim Ardah, Ayham Fouad Kamamji, Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri, Zakaria al-Zubaidi and Munadil Yaqoub Infaat – have remained free despite the desperate attempts of Israeli occupation jailers to pursue them. However, occupation guards have been forcibly transferring, attacking and invading prisoners’ cells throughout Palestine while dragging the freed men’s family members to interrogation. There is an uprising inside the prisons that requires the support of all people around the world who stand with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian struggle for freedom and liberation – join us in taking action!

In Megiddo prison, Ramon prison, and the Negev desert prison, Palestinian political prisoners burned their rooms in resistance to the prison administration’s attempt to transfer the prisoners affiliated with Islamic Jihad. The Handala Center for Prisoners and Former Prisoners in occupied Palestine reported that 7 rooms in Megiddo prison, 4 rooms in the Negev prison and 4 rooms in sections 4 and 5 of Ramon prison have been burned, and that the prisoners’ movement leadership has affirmed that any section that is invaded to transfer detainees will be met with fire.

Palestinians throughout occupied Palestine are rallying in support of the six self-liberated prisoners, whose “Freedom Tunnel,” dug through lengthy months of perseverance with only kitchen utensils for tools, has become a symbol of hope for freedom as well as an example that the technological and military might of the Israeli colonial power has been unable to suppress Palestinian resistance. The tunnel, stretching for tens of meters below Gilboa prison, represents the unquenchable thirst for liberation of imprisoned Palestinians, and the hope of an undying love of freedom. In Ramallah, Jenin, Nablus, al-Khalil, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Tulkarem, Gaza City, Jabalya camp and elsewhere, organizers are taking to the streets to stand with the liberated prisoners and those resisting behind the walls.

The uprising inside prisons was launched after an attack on the Palestinians detained in the Negev desert prison. Occupation special units stormed Section 6 with weaponry and police dogs, including military forces from a nearby base, prompting the prisoners to burn 7 rooms and resist the invasion. As all of this continues, there are six administrative detainees, jailed without charge or trial, who are continuing their hunger strikes for freedom: Kayed al-Fasfous (for 56 days), Miqdad Qawasmeh (49 days), Alaa al-Araj (31 days), Hisham Abu Hawash (23 days), Raik Sadeq Bisharat (18 days) and Shadi Abu Aker (15 days).

Palestinian political parties and resistance organizations have emphasized the urgent need for action to defend the prisoners and demand their liberation. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine urged Palestinians and their allies everywhere to respond to the call of the prisoners with actions, demonstrations and protests of support.

There are currently 4,650 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including 520 jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, 40 women prisoners and 200 child prisoners. Political imprisonment affects all sectors of Palestinian society, and nearly 40% of Palestinian men in the West Bank and Jerusalem have spent time in Israeli detention.

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. The six liberated detainees of Gilboa prison represent the irrepressible hope of and commitment to liberation that no amount of militarized repression and Zionist colonization has suppressed, for over 73 years. The actions of this “Freedom Brigade” are not only a symbol of hope for Palestinians but also for everyone in the world who seeks justice and freedom. Inside the prison walls, Palestinian prisoners continue to defend themselves against ongoing invasions and attacks.

Western imperialist governments are not innocent in 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 the Palestinian prisoners and their uprising, and for the liberation of Palestine!

Join us in action:

1. Demonstrations, rallies and street actions – including actions to boycott Israel!

Have a protest or action to free Palestinian prisoners, support the Palestinian struggle for liberation, stand with the Palestinian resistance and boycott Israel and its complicit corporations. 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 and the liberated prisoners! Send us your events at samidoun@samidoun.net.

2. Creative Actions

Creative actions are a wonderful way to spread the word and highlight the struggle of the Palestinian prisoners. The banner hung by Samidoun España in Madrid at the University metro station highlighted the struggle of Palestinian students, while the campaign to symbolically rename streets after Georges Abdallah internationally commemorated his birthday and amplified the demand for his liberation.

These actions only require one, two or a few people. You can even simply poster and sticker around your neighbourhood. Contact us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397 if you are looking for image ideas or resources! 

3. 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!

Please note: Samidoun has speakers that can participate in your events (in-person and virtual) in Arabic, English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish and other languages. Contact us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397 to inquire about a Samidoun speaker! 

Submit Your Action

Please contact us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397 or over social media to send us your events and actions!

Download these signs for your action:

Developing news: Six Palestinian political prisoners liberate themselves from colonial Israeli prison

Six Palestinian political prisoners reportedly escaped the Israeli occupation Gilboa prison overnight on Monday, 6 September, liberating themselves. Israeli occupation forces reported that six Palestinian political prisoners were absent at the 4 am roll call and found a tunnel dug by hand with an exit outside the prison.

According to Palestinian media, the six liberated prisoners are Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, Munadil Yaqoub Naf’at, Muhammad Qasim Ardah, Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri, Ayham Fouad Kamamji, and Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah. Occupation forces are searching for the six liberated prisoners and they have so far remained free.

This is breaking news and we will provide further updates.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network sends its salutes to these six liberated Palestinian prisoners seeking justice and liberation and their fellow 4,750 Palestinians jailed by the Israeli colonial occupation. Palestinian detainees are routinely subjected to torture, abuse, and lengthy imprisonment for their commitment to a free Palestine. Freedom now for all Palestinian prisoners and for all of Palestine, from the river to the sea!

Palestinian mother Anhar al-Deek to be released today following global outcry

Palestinian mother Anhar al-Deek will be released today, Thursday, 2 September, from Damon prison to house arrest in her family home in Kafr Nima, near Ramallah in occupied Palestine, Palestinian lawyers announced. Anhar, 25, is in her ninth month of pregnancy and due to give birth at any time, for which she requires a Caesarean section. A widespread Palestinian, Arab and international outcry preceded the decision for her release, which still imposes significant conditions and unjust penalties upon her, indicating the power of massive pressure on the Israeli occupation to release Palestinian detainees. The Israeli military and civil courts provide no justice for Palestinians — it is only through action and mobilization that Palestinian prisoners may obtain their liberation.

Palestinian lawyer Akram Samara, who represents al-Deek, said that she was ordered released by the Ofer military court. Her family must pay a financial bail of 40,000 NIS ($12,500 USD) and she will be held under house arrest in her family home. Thousands of Palestinians, Arabs and international supporters of Palestine protested and raised her case on social media and to government officials, especially after her letter was released from Israeli prison. In her letter, al-Deek wrote about the conditions she would face after birth, isolated and imprisoned with her newborn son, without her husband and her mother:

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!…

Al-Deek 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 was thrown into the Israeli military legal system. During her imprisonment, the Israeli occupation did not permit 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.

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 Anhar al-Deek’s family, loved ones, the Palestinian people and people of conscience around the world in welcoming her and her beloved child home. At the same time, we warn of the need to continue to monitor her case closely, especially given that she has not yet arrived home with her loved ones. She has experienced an extremely traumatic pregnancy, while the Israeli occupation continues to impose unjust and onerous conditions upon her. 

Her case also highlights the importance of Palestinian, Arab and international mobilization to highlight the daily injustices of Israeli political imprisonment and the steadfastness and resistance of Palestinian political prisoners. Freedom for all Palestinian prisoners, and all of Palestine, from the river to the sea!