Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes Maher al-Akhras and the Palestinian people on the occasion of his victory after 103 days of hunger strike. His steadfastness and commitment to struggle, with his very life on the line, continue to inspire all those around the world who support the Palestinian people and their just cause of return and liberation.
Al-Akhras, 49, Palestinian prisoner jailed without charge or trial under Israeli administrative detention, announced the suspension of his hunger strike after 103 days on 6 November 2020. Specifically, he announced an agreement to release him on 26 November 2020, and he will remain hospitalized until the date of his release for treatment. The agreement to end his hunger strike reportedly came with a firm commitment to his release on 26 November, unlike previous proposals to end the strike.
Al-Akhras is one of approximately 350 Palestinians jailed without charge or trial under Israeli administrative detention, a practice introduced to Palestine by the British colonial mandate and routinely used by Israel to jail Palestinian leaders and community organizers. There are approximately 4,400 Palestinian political prisoners in total at the present time. Administrative detention orders are indefinitely renewable, and Palestinians — including al-Akhras — have spent years at a time jailed under so-called “secret evidence,” never knowing when they will obtain their release. Al-Akhras launched his hunger strike on 27 July after he was seized by Israeli occupation forces and ordered to administrative detention.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network sends its warmest congratulations to Maher al-Akhras, is family, the Palestinian people and all friends of Palestine and forces of justice in the world on this occasion. We salute all of those who have protested, marched, gone on hunger strike and organized to highlight his case and the struggles of the Palestinian people, in every corner of the world. Now, it is time to continue the movement to support all of his fellow prisoners – and all Palestinians – in the cause of freedom.
We also recognize that all of these victories accomplished by Palestinian prisoners engaged on hunger strikes will only be partial so long as Palestinians continue to be imprisoned by the colonial Israeli regime, and so long as the Palestinian people continue to face occupation, apartheid, siege and dispossession at the hands of Zionism. We urge all who were inspired by Maher’s commitment, bravery and self-sacrifice to continue the campaign to free Palestinian prisoners. All of those who love freedom and justice look forward to celebrating with Maher al-Akhras – and look forward to celebrating the day in which all Palestinians are free on their liberated land. The steadfastness, struggle and commitment of the Palestinian prisoners – the leadership of the Palestinian movement – point in the direction not only to individual freedom and victory, but toward the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.
On Tuesday, 3 November, Samidoun Network in Occupied Palestine, along with the families of the prisoners and the martyrs, called for a demonstration in Ramallah at Manara Square, on Maher al-Akhras‘ 100th day of hunger strike. The 49-year-old Palestinian father of six has been on hunger strike since 24 July, when he was seized by Israeli occupation forces and ordered to administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial.
Protesters gathered to demand freedom for al-Akhras and his fellow Palestinian prisoners and marched through the streets of Ramallah carrying signs and banners calling for their liberation. Protesters also called for the immediate release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, the Lebanese Arab struggler for Palestine imprisoned in France for 36 years.
Administrative detention orders, first introduced to Palestine by the British colonial mandate and used routinely by the Zionist state against Palestinian community leaders and activists, are indefinitely renewable. Palestinians have spent years at a time jailed under these arbitrary detention orders, including Maher al-Akhras himself, who was imprisoned previously for 11 months and again for 16 months under these repeatedly renewed orders.
Maher al-Akhras has put his body and his life on the line for freedom, justice and dignity, for Palestinian prisoners, the Palestinian people and the world. His example stands as an inspiration amid the ravages of imperialism and colonialism. We urge all people of conscience and movements for justice to join us in demanding his immediate release, the end of administrative detention, freedom for all Palestinian prisoners, and freedom for Palestine from the river to the sea.
Join the twitterstorm and social media campaign for Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras now, on his 100th day of hunger strike. Take action NOW – at 10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern, 6 pm British and Irish time, 7 pm central Europe time, 8 pm in Palestine.
Post on Twitter and your other social media accounts – including Instagram and Facebook, and use the hashtag #Rage4Maher!
1. Join the social media campaign on Tuesday, 3 November at 10 am Pacific time, 1 pm Eastern time, 8 pm Palestine. We will launch a new hashtag for maximum impact. Follow @SamidounPP on Twitter for the hashtag, sample tweets and more. Let us flood social media with demands for Maher al-Akhras’ freedom on his 100th day of hunger strike!
3. Sign the petition. Join over 3,000 people who have already raised their voices to international human rights groups Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights to take action for Maher al-Akhras. The ICRC in particular has failed to live up to its responsibilities to protect Palestinian prisoners, calling on the political prisoner jailed without charge or trial to “find a solution” with the occupying power violating his rights.
4. Organize creative actions. Ad hacks, postering and other outdoor actions can draw a significant amount of attention to Maher al-Akhras and the Palestinian cause at this critical time.
4. Build the boycott of Israel! Join the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Highlight the complicity of corporations like Hewlett-Packard and the continuing involvement of G4S in Israeli policing and prisons. Build a campaign to boycott Israeli goods, impose a military embargo on Israel, or organize around the academic and cultural boycott of Israel.
16 people began a chain of consecutive one-day hunger strikes on Tuesday 11/03/20, in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoner in hunger strike Maher Al Akhras (original Spanish announcement)
On Tuesday, 3 November, the singer Cristina del Valle will begin a chain of consecutive one-day hunger strikes that includes sixteen people (members of European Parliament, cultural workers and performers, activists and refugees) in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoner Maher Al-Akhras and with all Palestinian political prisoners.
As the strike was announced, Maher Al Akhras is completing his 100th day of hunger strike, marked by a very serious deterioration in his physical condition. He was arrested in July by Israel through “administrative detention”, a type of imprisonment without charges, or trial, without meaningful legal defense and often denied legal visits. Israel can extend this detention for years until the Palestinian prisoner is finally freed at a time randomly decided by the Israeli military authorities.
In other cases, after spending a long time in this unjust regime, the prisoner is finally referred to the military courts, which Israel concludes with an almost 100% conviction rate. Maher Al-Akhras has in the past spent more than two years in prison under administrative detention, also without trial or charge, until Israel released him. There are currently 350 people in this type of incarceration, among 4,400 Palestinian prisoners, including 155 minors.
Israel’s policy of administrative detention has been condemned in the UN Committee against Torture, and the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine, Michael Lynk, has demanded that Israel not use it: “Administrative detention is incompatible with democracy, allows a state to arrest and detain a person without charge, without trial, without hearing the evidence against him, and without a fair judicial review. It is a penal system aimed at abuse and mistreatment ”, he said.
The solidarity action of rolling one-day hunger strikes will launch at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 3 November by the singer Cristina del Valle, and the activist Jaldia Abubakra will take over on Wednesday. From there, activists and Palestinian refugees will engage in the successive one-day strikes, along with the winner of the Goya awards (Spanish annual films awards) for the short film “Gaza”, Julio Pérez del Campo, the coordinator of Pallasos en Rebeldía, Iván Prado, and Members of European Parliament Manuel Pineda and Miguel Urbán.
At the end of the individual day of fasting, each person will share a video with their impressions of the solidarity action and the situation in Palestine. All of them affirm that boycott, divestment and sanctions are necessary to force Israel to comply with international law, as was the case with the Apartheid regime in South Africa.
This action is promoted by the organization of solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners, Samidoun, and the day-to-day action can be followed on the Facebook of Samidoun Spain.
The complete list of participants in the following days after the singer Cristina del Valle is made up of: Jaldia Abubakra (Activist), Daniel Lobato (Activist), Rawaa Al Saghir (Palestinian refugee), Sami Khalaf (Activist), Nisreen Mashal (Palestinian refugee), Julio Pérez (Film director), Yousra El Otmany (Activist), June Monreal (Activist), Iván Prado (Pallasos en Rebeldia), Zainab Youns (Palestinian refugee), Yanina Ruiz (Activist), Lydia Mower (Activist), Fadia Cervantes (Activist), and in conclusion the MEPs Manuel Pineda and Miguel Urbán.
At the end of the last shift, on Wednesday 18 November, a social media event is planned, all depending on the situation of Maher al-Akhras at that time..
On the 100th day of hunger strike of Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras, jailed without charge or trial and striking for his freedom, Samidoun organizers and activists for Palestine from around the world join their voices to call for his liberation. This video includes comrades in Canada, Belgium, Spain, France, the Netherlands, the US, Palestine, Germany and Sweden.
As a reminder, join us at 10 am Pacific time, 1 pm Eastern time, 6 pm British and Irish time, 7 pm central Europe, 8 pm Palestine time on Tuesday, 3 November, for a social media campaign to demand freedom for Maher al-Akhras and to make clear that the people’s movements and all those who love justice in the world stand with him and his fellow Palestinian prisoners – and the Palestinian people. Follow @SamidounPP on Twitter for the hashtag and more details. There are many calls to action and ways to participate – we’ll be sharing several below. Join us: stand with Maher al-Akhras, stand for Palestinian freedom!
Samidoun chapters, affiliates and links around the world:
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network has chapters and affiliates in the United States, Canada, Germany, Britain, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Palestine and Lebanon and we work with groups around the world. Would you like to form a local chapter or become an affiliate? Contact us at samidoun@samidoun.net.
Palestinians in Gaza paint a mural for Maher al-Akhras
As Maher al-Akhras enters his 100th day of hunger strike, the international campaign to support his struggle for freedom continues to go, even as he faces a dire medical condition and a deliberate policy of “slow death” and execution by the Israeli regime. The 49-year-old Palestinian father of six has been on hunger strike since 24 July, when he was seized by Israeli occupation forces and ordered to administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial.
Join us at 10 am Pacific time, 1 pm Eastern time, 6 pm British and Irish time, 7 pm central Europe, 8 pm Palestine time on Tuesday, 3 November, for a social media campaign to demand freedom for Maher al-Akhras and to make clear that the people’s movements and all those who love justice in the world stand with him and his fellow Palestinian prisoners – and the Palestinian people. Follow @SamidounPP on Twitter for the hashtag and more details. There are many calls to action and ways to participate – we’ll be sharing several below. Join us: stand with Maher al-Akhras, stand for Palestinian freedom!
Within Our Lifetime-United for Palestine has called for a photo campaign in solidarity with Maher al-Akhras, asking participants to take a photo of themselves with a solidarity sign and tag @wolpalestine on Instagram to build a massive solidarity campaign for the 100th day of hunger strike.
Samidoun Network in occupied Palestine is organizing a demonstration with the families of the prisoners and martyrs on 3 November at 4:30 pm at Manara Square in Ramallah, occupied Palestine, to march for Maher al-Akhras and his fellow Palestinian prisoners.
Administrative detention orders, first introduced to Palestine by the British colonial mandate and used routinely by the Zionist state against Palestinian community leaders and activists, are indefinitely renewable. Palestinians have spent years at a time jailed under these arbitrary detention orders, including Maher al-Akhras himself, who was imprisoned previously for 11 months and again for 16 months under these repeatedly renewed orders.
Al-Akhras has rejected various attempts to compel him to end his hunger strike, including a bogus “suspension” of his administrative detention (to be reimposed after the improvement of his health) and alleged offers to release him at the end of his detention orders on 26 November. Well aware of the history of Israeli officials repudiating agreements with prisoners to end hunger strikes only to extend their detention and intensify repression – and as a clear matter of principle, he has rejected such proposals, insisting on his freedom, even at the cost of his death.
Activists have shared videos of al-Akhras, where he is restrained in a hospital bed at the Kaplan Medical Center, clearly suffering from the effects of his hunger strike. His hearing, vision and ability to speak have declined significantly, his vital organs are at immediate risk and he has lost dozens of kilos of weight. In essence, Maher al-Akhras is being executed without charge or trial due to Israeli intransigence and insistence on maintaining their unjust and arbitrary detention order.
The case also clearly indicates the deep involvement of the Israeli judiciary within the colonial system, with the Israeli Supreme Court rejecting al-Akhras’ appeals on four occasions, on 23 September, 1 October, 12 October and 27 October, making clear once more that these systems are deeply entrenched in the violent system of colonization, apartheid and occupation.
International support and solidarity with Maher al-Akhras is growing. Michael Lynk, the UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, called for the immediate release of al-Akhras and an end to the practice of administrative detention. The International Association of Democratic Lawyers urged al-Akhras’ immediate release and called on governments, including the U.S. government and European governments, to end their support for Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Irish activists in Ireland and in the diaspora launched a rolling hunger strike in support of al-Akhras, a campaign that is now being echoed by the Anti-Imperialist Front, with activists in Donbass, Greece, Italy and Austria joining in a rolling solidarity strike starting on 2 November.
Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
In Toulouse, France, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra organized an “ad hack” poster campaign to demand freedom for al-Akhras and documented many international actions, including protests in New York, Vancouver, Dublin, Cologne and elsewhere.
In Paris, activists with CAPJPO-EuroPalestine launched a solidarity photo campaign to demand al-Akhras’ liberation. Even as France has gone back to widespread coronavirus quarantine preventing in-person actions, they have continued the online demonstration. CAPJPO-EuroPalestine is continuing to collect photos at info@europalestine.com.
Organizers and activists in Sweden have also continued the campaign of photos and solidarity with al-Akhras:
These are just a small number of the initiatives being announced by organizers all over the world. In Germany, Samidoun Deutschland launched a solidarity video in German urging al-Akhras’ liberation, below:
Maher al-Akhras has put his body and his life on the line for freedom, justice and dignity, for Palestinian prisoners, the Palestinian people and the world. His example stands as an inspiration amid the ravages of imperialism and colonialism. We urge all people of conscience and movements for justice to join us in demanding his immediate release, the end of administrative detention, freedom for all Palestinian prisoners, and freedom for Palestine from the river to the sea.
TAKE ACTION:
1. Join the social media campaign on Tuesday, 3 November at 10 am Pacific time, 1 pm Eastern time, 8 pm Palestine. We will launch a new hashtag for maximum impact. Follow @SamidounPP on Twitter for the hashtag, sample tweets and more. Let us flood social media with demands for Maher al-Akhras’ freedom on his 100th day of hunger strike!
3. Sign the petition. Join over 3,000 people who have already raised their voices to international human rights groups Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights to take action for Maher al-Akhras. The ICRC in particular has failed to live up to its responsibilities to protect Palestinian prisoners, calling on the political prisoner jailed without charge or trial to “find a solution” with the occupying power violating his rights.
4. Organize creative actions. Ad hacks, postering and other outdoor actions can draw a significant amount of attention to Maher al-Akhras and the Palestinian cause at this critical time.
4. Build the boycott of Israel! Join the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Highlight the complicity of corporations like Hewlett-Packard and the continuing involvement of G4S in Israeli policing and prisons. Build a campaign to boycott Israeli goods, impose a military embargo on Israel, or organize around the academic and cultural boycott of Israel.
Following the solidarity strike of Irish activists with Maher al-Akhras, the Palestinian political prisoner jailed without charge or trial currently on hunger strike for 99 days, urging his immediate release, the Anti-Imperialist Front has launched a rolling hunger strike. Organizers in countries including Donbass, Greece, Italy and Austria will engage in successive one-day hunger strikes to show their solidarity with the Palestinian father of six who is facing death and a slow execution as he struggles for freedom.
The Anti-Imperialist Front has taken up this initiative even as progressive political movements, lawyers and activists in Turkey are facing a campaign of severe repression and imprisonment.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes the Anti-Imperialist Front for this solidarity initiative and urges people and movements around the world to show their support for Maher al-Akhras.
Join us at 10 am Pacific time, 1 pm Eastern time, 6 pm British and Irish time, 7 pm central Europe, 8 pm Palestine time on Tuesday, 3 November, for a social media campaign to demand freedom for Maher al-Akhras and to make clear that the people’s movements and all those who love justice in the world stand with him and his fellow Palestinian prisoners – and the Palestinian people. Follow @SamidounPP on Twitter for the hashtag and more details.
AIF ON INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY HUNGER STRIKE FOR PALESTINIAN DETAINEE MAHER AL-AKHRAS
Administrative detention is a measure of repression and arbitrary punishment, which was implanted by the British army and later continued by Israeli occupation forces towards Palestinian people.
Maher Al-Akhras has undergone such a measure many times in his life because of his engagement and support of political prisoners.
In this moment Maher is on a hunger strike for nearly 100 days to demand an end to the administrative detention imposed on him another time. His resistance is not only for his own freedom but on behalf of all the Palestinians who suffer from this repressive policy.
In this moment Maher Al-Akhras is in a hospital and due to his long-term hunger strike his health situation gets serious.
To support his just demand and avoid that his health condition gets worse and even a concrete threat for his life, AIF supporters of different countries are carrying out a solidarity hunger strike throughout this week.
Dates and countries where solidarity hunger strikes are being carried out:
Monday (2nd Nov.): Donbass
Tuesday (3rd Nov.): Greece
Wednesday (4th Nov.): Italy
Thursday (5th Nov.): Austria
Friday (6th Nov.): Austria
FREEDOM TO MAHER AL-AKHRAS!
FREEDOM FOR PALESTINE!
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY IS THE WEAPON OF THE PEOPLE!
Photo: Amparo Grolimund for #MadridEnAccion – Twitter
On Friday, 30 October, activists in Madrid, capital of the Spanish state, gathered outside the Egyptian embassy to protest the murder of two Palestinian fishers, Hasan and Mahmoud Zaazu, and the injury of another, Yaser Zaazu, by Egyptian soldiers on 26 September. The three brothers are Palestinian fishers from Gaza who unintentionally strayed into Egyptian waters, and the Egyptian navy’s attack on the fishers comes as part and parcel of the vicious siege imposed upon Gaza by the Israeli occupation for the past 14 years.
As part of the framework of Camp David and security coordination, the Egyptian regime cooperates in the blockade of Gaza, not only by closing the Rafah border crossing, but with military force aimed at Palestinian fishermen working to sustain themselves and their families. The Israeli occupation forces have repeatedly narrowed the fishing window for Palestinian fishers in their own sea, leaving tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza who rely on small-scale fishing for their livelihood in desperate circumstances.
Photo: Amparo Grolimund for #MadridEnAccion – Twitter
The Israeli siege on Gaza is fully enabled as well by the complicity and active cooperation of Arab reactionary regimes, specifically the Egyptian regime, as well as the support of the United States and the European Union, despite purported statements of concern for the well-being of Palestinians in Gaza. It is worth noting that Egyptian fishers who have accidentally crossed into Palestinian waters have not received the same treatment; indeed, Palestinian fishers have saved distressed Egyptian fishers, welcomed them and freely supported their routine return to Egypt in January 2019.
Photo: Amparo Grolimund for #MadridEnAccion – Twitter
The protesters, including activists from Samidoun España, Alkarama Palestinian Women’s Mobilization and Unadikum, emphasized that this is not the only aspect of Egyptian official security coordination with Israel. In particular, they protested the abduction and ongoing detention of Ramy Shaath, the coordinator of BDS Egypt, for over one year, solely for his public political activities in support of fundamental Palestinian rights, and demanded his immediate release.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes the initiators of this conference and we look forward to joining them in struggle, and in Madrid in 2021! For more information, please see https://masarbadil.org/
Palestinian organizers and associations in occupied Palestine and the diaspora issued a call on Monday, 2 November, marking the 103rd anniversary of the Balfour declaration. They announced the launch of planning and preparations for the “Conference for the Alternative Palestinian Path,” to be convened in Madrid, Spain, at the end of October 2021, in one year’s time.
In the call for participation in the conference, which will coincide with the 30th anniversary of the so-called “Madrid Peace Conference” in 1991 – the event that laid the path to Oslo – they say:
“We call on the masses of our Palestinian people, and all student, youth and women’s organizations and movements, and civil and popular institutions throughout the diaspora, for unity, cooperation and active participation in launching the widest popular, Palestinian, Arab and international movement, that breaks with the constraints of the previous phase and the Madrid-Oslo approach, and establishes a news stage of struggle, through broad popular participation in the “All of Palestine Conference, All of the Palestinian People, All Palestinian Rights … The Alternative National, Popular and Democratic Conference.”
Reports about the organizing noted that “the organizers who are participating in this project, the early announcement of the conference and the documents that have so far been published all are positive elements that herald a new Palestinian movement, building on a mass, popular basis and outside the expected context, that can stir the stagnant waters in Palestinian politics and create a necessary dialogue, which we hope will go beyond the traditional discourse of Palestinian forces and the repeated talk of elections and rounds of reconciliation talks.”
The Madrid Peace Conference, held at the end of October and early November 1991, was the first major public occasion that brought together almost all Arab countries with Israel under U.S. and Russian (shortly following the dismantlement of the Soviet Union) sponsorship. This marked a fast track to normalization and the official, public Arab rupture with the “three No’s” of Khartoum after the 1967 aggression: “No reconciliation, no negotiation and no recognition.”
Preparatory committee members said, “The time has come for the Palestinian people to free their voice and their national cause from the grip and domination of the path of Madrid and Oslo. The basic elements for the success of this popular initiative lie in the breadth and depth of youth and student participation and the involvement of activists and organizations from all regions and conferences, to provide a positive atmosphere for this work. Through national action and responsible dialogue, the right of all is secured to participate in directing the future of the conference.”
They noted further that “what is important is after the conference, not just before it,” emphasizing that “the conference itself is not our goal. What we want is a radical change in the entire course of Palestinian politics that reflects the Palestinian popular will.”
They said, “We want to knock on the walls of the tank, in the famous metaphor of Ghassan Kanafani, and pose the right questions that require a collective answer. No progress may be made on the Palestinian internal front in order to strengthen our movement to confront Zionism, imperialism and colonialism without ensuring the full participation of people and breaking the silence. This cause has a compass, owners and one reliable reference — the Palestinian people.”
From the call to the conference:
“The Palestinian people, who re-established the Palestine Liberation Organization and all its institutions, launched a popular and armed historical revolution in the 1960s, restored the Palestinian national identity, established the Palestinian National Charter, and assumed their national and national responsibilities, are best able to correct the national, Arab and international compass. They are the most capable of turning the tables on all the enemy forces that participated in the Madrid-Oslo crime, and the most capable of restoring balance to the two wings of the Palestinian national movement, between the homeland and the diaspora, supporting the steadfastness of the popular classes, and directing the target of the Palestinian liberation struggle towards Palestine, all of Palestine, in order to protect the unity of the Palestinian people and their inalienable national rights.”
In the pre-dawn hours of 2 November 2020 – on the anniversary of the colonial Balfour declaration and only days after the one-year anniversary of the imprisonment of Palestinian feminist, leftist and parliamentarian Khalida Jarrar – Israeli occupation forces stormed the homes of women’s movement and student movement leaders, former prisoners and leftist organizers throughout the occupied West Bank of Palestine. They seized Khitam Saafin, the president of the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and student leader Shatha al-Tawil, a Bir Zeit University student, after invading their homes in al-Bireh.
The Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees denounced the arrest of Saafin, who has previously been subjected to arbitrary administrative detention, noting that it comes amid an ongoing attack on Palestinian women, especially women students. Shatha Tawil is now among hundreds of Palestinian university students imprisoned by the Israeli occupation, including a number of student leaders at Bir Zeit University.
Photo: Shatha Tawil
The UPWC called on “all strugglers for freedom in Palestine and internationally to carry out campaigns of solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners and all of the strugglers of our people until their liberation.”
Photo: Khitam Saafin
At almost the same time, Israeli occupation forces seized former prisoner and longtime trade union activist Mohammed Jawabreh, 55, from Izbat al-Jarad southwest of Tulkarem, and prominent Palestinian leftist Jamal Barham, 60, from the village of Ramin, also near Tulkarem, ransacking their homes and abducting these community leaders.
Photo: Mohammed Jawabreh
Jamal Barham has been detained in the past without charge or trial under administrative detention and served as the head of the Arab Studies Department in the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Photo: Jamal Barham
In Qalqilya, occupation forces invaded and ransacked the homes of and seized Shaher al-Rai, 50 and Ahmed Mohammed al-Rai, 65, longtime community leaders. Shaher al-Rai is a former prisoner who has been detained on multiple occasions by Israeli occupation forces, often under administrative detention, indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial. He has been arrested seven times, including three stints in administrative detention, and imprisoned for over 12 years in total.
Photo: Shaher al-Rai
Al-Rai is married to Palestinian activist Manal al-Rai and they have three children, Jarrah, Wajla and Kanaan. Manal al-Rai spoke about the impact of her husband’s earlier administrative detention on their young son in this video from Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association:
Shaher Al-Rai was earlier imprisoned by Palestinian Authority security forces for multiple years after he and his cousin were implicated in a false affidavit given by a Palestinian prisoner under Israeli torture. The confession was proven false by incontrovertible evidence and the Palestinian who made the confession under torture released and later compensated by Israeli intelligence, in an unusual case. Nevertheless, al-Rai remained held in PA prison for years after the discrediting of the confession, and released only after a widespread campaign.
Photo: Ahmad al-Rai
These latest attacks come amid several urgent situations threatening Palestinian prisoners, including an announcement of an outbreak of the novel coronavirus among at least 12 Palestinian prisoners detained in the Israeli occupation’s Gilboa prison, where around 90 prisoners in total are held. Palestinian prisoners in Gilboa, Ramon and Nafha prisons announced that they will escalate their protests given the ongoing negligence and deliberate neglect of Palestinian prisoners’ health by the Israeli prison administration.
Meanwhile, Palestinian detainee Maher al-Akhras is entering his 99th day of hunger strike against his Israeli administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial. His health condition has weakened dramatically and he is no longer able to walk and can barely talk. He has insisted on continuing his hunger strike until he wins his freedom from unjust imprisonment. Al-Akhras’ case has spurred worldwide outrage, including a statement from Irish trade unions, international lawyers and multiple social media campaigns to demand his immediate release.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and many organizations, including Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine, will campaign on social media on Tuesday, 3 November, the 100th day of Maher’s hunger strike for dignity, justice and freedom. We urge you to join us with tweets, photos and videos – and protests and actions – to share your solidarity at this critical moment. Follow @SamidounPP on Twitter to join the Twitterstorm at 10 am Pacific time, 1 pm Eastern time, 7 pm in central Europe and 8 pm Palestine time.
Samidoun Network in occupied Palestine, alongside the families of the prisoners and the martyrs, will hold a protest in occupied Ramallah, Palestine, at 4:30 pm on Tuesday, 3 November, to march for liberation for Maher al-Akhras and all Palestinian prisoners.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network denounces these latest attacks on the Palestinian women’s movement, student movement and community organizers. We urge women’s organizations, student organizations and people of conscience everywhere to raise their voices and act in solidarity with Khitam Saafin, Shatha al-Tawil and their fellow Palestinian prisoners targeted by the Israeli occupation – including by building the movement for the boycott of Israel, its institutions and complicit corporations like HP, Puma and G4S. The Israeli occupation wants, on this anniversary of the Balfour declaration, to continue its colonization of Palestine unchecked by isolating and detaining the leaders of the Palestinian people’s movement. Join us to act and urge their immediate release and the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners, and of Palestine, from the river to the sea!
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes the initiators of this conference and we look forward to joining them in struggle, and in Madrid in 2021! For more information, please see 
