74 days of hunger strike: Maher al-Akhras continues battle for freedom #SaveMaher #DignityStrike

8 October 2020

*Maher al-Akhras in Kaplan hospital on hunger strike. Photo credit: Oren Ziv/Activestills*

On 8 October, Maher al-Akhras is entering his 74th day of hunger strike for dignity and freedom. The Palestinian prisoner is in serious condition as he continues his strike in protest of his imprisonment without charge or trial under Israeli administrative detention.

These detention orders – first introduced to Palestine by the British colonial mandate and used routinely by the Israeli occupation – are indefinitely renewable, and they are used to jail Palestinians for years at a time. There are currently approximately 350 Palestinians jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention among a total of 4,400 Palestinian political prisoners.

People in Palestine and around the world are joining in a Twitter storm today, 8 October 2020, to express solidarity with and demand freedom for al-Akhras, whose health is deteriorating severely.

https://twitter.com/16thOctoberGr/status/1313924336621948929

The 49-year-old father of six is currently held in Kaplan medical center. While the Israeli occupation claimed to “freeze” his administrative detention, this term indicates that he will once again be jailed without charge or trial as soon as his urgent health crisis subsides or he ends his hunger strike.

Indeed, an Israeli court even refused to hear his second petition against his detention on 1 October, declaring that his detention order is “not currently active,” even though it will be reimposed as soon as his health improves. Instead, he is continuing his strike and putting his body and life on the line for freedom and an end to administrative detention.

"Doctors say I might die any moment now.."
"Israel" has been administratively detaining Maher al-Akhras (49), from Jenin city, since last July. But al-Akhras chose to fight for his freedom, and has been on a hunger strike for over 70 days. pic.twitter.com/iyceIkCBB3

— Quds News Network (@Qudsn_en) October 7, 2020

“My only conditions are freedom or death,” al-Akhras said to his lawyer Ahlam Haddad, in a message from his hospital bed. “I either live freely with my children, or I am killed in the name of false justice.” Haddad noted that he has rejected a proposal to release him at the end of his current detention period on 26 November; instead, he is demanding his immediate release.

“This strike is…in defense of every Palestinian prisoner, and in defense of my people who are suffering from the occupation, and my victory in this strike is a victory for the prisoners and my Palestinian people,” Al-Akhras affirmed.

*Taghreed al-Akhras, Maher’s wife. Photo: Al-Mayadeen*

His wife, Taghreed al-Akhras, announced that she will join her husband on hunger strike to further emphasize the urgency of the situation. Her husband launched his strike as soon as he was ordered to administrative detention in late July, in rejection of the illegitimate and unlawful policy, which has been widely condemned around the world.

Israel’s routine and systematic use of administrative detention against Palestinian civilians constitutes a serious violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Articles 9, 10 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Since 1967, at least 50,000 administrative detention orders have been issued by Israeli military officials and courts.

Taghreed al-Akhras also reported that her husband has lost nearly half of his body weight, suffers from a severe headache and constant ringing in the ears; he is too weak to stand or go to the washroom. This is the fifth time al-Akhras, known for his strong support for Palestinian political prisoners, has been jailed by Israeli occupation forces. He was born in August 1971 in Silat al-Dhahr, a village near Jenin; he was arrested in 1989, 2004, 2009 and again in 2018, most times jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network stands with Maher al-Akhras, his family and loved ones and the Palestinian prisoners’ movement in demanding his immediate release and an end to Israeli administrative detention. Administrative detention and the political imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians are colonial weapons used against the Palestinian people that have affected nearly every Palestinian family.

At the same time, the U.S., Canada, Britain, the European Union and other imperialist powers – as well as the reactionary Arab regimes normalizing with Israel, such as the UAE and Bahrain – are deeply complicit in these crimes against the Palestinian people, including the ongoing detention of Maher al-Akhras. These powers’ military, diplomatic, political and economic support of the Israeli occupation regime, and their attacks on Palestinian rights inside and outside Palestine, continue to enable the ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Israeli Zionist regime against the Palestinian people.

We urge all supporters of Palestine to join the campaign to free Maher al-Akhras and all Palestinian prisoners, including boycotting and internationally isolating Israel and its complicit academic and cultural institutions and corporate profiteers reaping benefits from the occupation and colonization of Palestine.

Freedom for Maher al-Akhras and all Palestinian prisoners!

Freedom for Palestine, from the river to the sea!

Toulouse mobilizes to free Georges Abdallah, stand with Palestine

6 October 2020

Over 20 organizations in Toulouse, France, have joined together to mobilize for the 24 October mass demonstration in Lannemezan, where Lebanese Arab Communist and struggler for Palestine, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, has been imprisoned by the French state for nearly 36 years. The Toulouse organizations are joining with Collectif Palestine Vaincra to organize a bus to the demonstration to demand his freedom, which will depart at 11:30 am at the Basso Cambo metro station in Toulouse.

Tickets for the bus are free, but you must register to reserve your place at collectifpalestinevaincra@gmail.com. Every year, hundreds of people march from the train station to the prison gates in Lannemezan to call for the immediate liberation of Georges Abdallah and to send a clear message: “Georges Abdallah, tes camarades sont là !” (Georges Abdallah, your comrades are here!)

The statement of the groups (below) follows another successful Palestine stand organized by Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member organization of the Samidoun Network, on Saturday, 26 September. The stand came as part of the preparation for the annual march and the month of action for Georges Abdallah, as well as the Days of Action to Return to Palestine and Confront Normalization.

Around a dozen activists and supporters of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra distributed information and materials for over two hours, despite the rainy weather. Organizers with Attac Toulouse and the Friends of Palestine Against Imperialism and Zionism also joined in the activities of the stand.

Thousands of flyers were distributed and activists spoke directly with hundreds of people about the continued imprisonment of one of the longest-held political prisoners in Europe, now nearing 36 years behind French bars. A number of people purchased the new t-shirts to support Georges Abdallah (available in French, English and Arabic, with international delivery), made small donations or signed up for the Toulouse bus to Lannemezan.

Many participants and passers-by took photos with signs to show their solidarity with Georges Abdallah and demand his freedom. The stand concluded with solidarity photos in support of Nerdeen Kiswani, the Palestinian activist and law student, chair of Within Our Lifetime – United For Palestine, who has faced a severe Zionist/far-right campaign attempting to attack her education; and Issam Hijjawi Bassalat, the Palestinian political prisoner jailed with his Irish comrades by the British state in the north of Ireland.

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1309886027969040385

Below is the full statement of Toulouse organizations in support of Georges Abdallah:

Free Georges Abdallah! Solidarity with Palestine!

On October 24, 2020, Georges Abdallah will have spent 36 years in French prisons. A Lebanese communist and struggler for Palestinian cause, this detention makes him one of the longest-held political prisoners in Europe. The story of Georges Abdallah is closely linked to that of the Palestinian resistance. Involved at a very young age alongside Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, he joined the ranks of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the early 1970s in order to participate in the resistance to Israel’s incessant attacks and invasions in southern Lebanon as well as to confront colonization in Palestine. He later travelled to Europe, in particular to France, after having co-founded the Lebanese Revolutionary Armed Fractions (FARL), whose objective was to combat those who were complicit in the massacres of the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples. The FARL claimed responsibility for several operations, including the 1982 assassinations of Yacov Barsimentov and Charles Ray, Israeli and US military attachés, on mission for their respective intelligence services (the Mossad and the CIA). That same year, the Israeli army occupied southern Lebanon and was involved in the massacres in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. Arrested in Lyon on October 24, 1984, Georges Abdallah was sentenced in 1987 to life imprisonment for complicity in murder, even while the prosecutor asked for 10 years and the trial was the scene of numerous irregularities (US diplomatic pressure, George’s lawyer secretly on the payroll of French intelligence…).

Eligible for release since 1999, Georges Abdallah has made several unsuccessful attempts to gain his freedom. The most recent (2013), was accepted by the sentencing court, conditional on his deportation to Lebanon. However, it was then blocked by Manuel Valls, Minister of the Interior at the time. For almost 36 years, he has remained condemned for refusing to deny his principles and for continuing to defend them against colonization, racism, fascism and in support of numerous mobilizations for equality and human emancipation.

Georges Abdallah is recognized by the Palestinian prisoners as one of their own, and supporting Georges Abdallah means supporting the Palestinian people who are fighting against colonialism and apartheid. Supporting Georges Abdallah is also denouncing the complicity of the Western powers with Israel and of the French justice system, which flouts its most elementary rules in this case. The movement in support of Georges Abdallah has continued to grow in France and in many countries around the world for many years.

In Toulouse, we call for participation in a month of mobilization for his release as well as in the national demonstration Saturday, October 24, 2020 from 2 p.m. from the Lannemezan train station to the prison of Lannemezan (65) where he is being held.

Initial signatories: Attac Toulouse, Campagne BDS France Toulouse, Kurdish Democratic Community Center of Toulouse, CGT Educ’action 31, Collectif Algeria Démocratique Toulouse, Collectif Palestine Vaincra, Support Committee for Musa Asoglu (Toulouse), Couserans-Palestine, Eunomia, Anti-imperialist Front (Toulouse), Popular Front of Turkey (Toulouse), NPA 31, NPA-Révolution Permanente 31, PRCF 31, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Secours Rouge Toulouse, Sud Education 31, Toulouse Anti-CRA, UD CNT 31, Union Antifasciste Toulousaine, Union Communiste Libertaire – Toulouse area, Union des Etudiant-es de Toulouse, Union Syndicale Solidaires 31

Video: Leila Khaled joins ILPS to launch month of action for Palestine

3 October 2020

On Saturday, 3 October, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle launched its October 2020 Month of Solidarity with Palestine with an online program featuring Palestinian resistance icon Leila Khaled of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine as the keynote speaker. The ILPS is a global alliance of mass organizations and people’s movements confronting imperialism, and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is a member of the ILPS.

Watch the video of the event:

The event, watched by thousands live on Facebook and a full webinar room on Zoom, was particularly remarkable, coming as it did 10 days after the censorship of Leila Khaled and her fellow presenters, former political prisoners Sekou Odinga, Laura Whitehorn, Ronnie Kasrils and Rula Abu Duhou, as part of an Open Classroom organized by Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi and Dr. Tomomi Kinukawa at San Francisco State University on 23 September. Zoom, YouTube and Facebook were all involved in the suppression of the Open Classroom. Following on that occasion, today’s ILPS event demonstrated that Zionist attack campaigns would not be successful in silencing Palestinian resistance or the voices of the Palestinian people, on any and all platforms, despite the complicity of big tech corporations acting in accordance with U.S.-Israeli priorities.

Leila Khaled was joined at this event by several other speakers, including Heba al-Labadi, the former political prisoner and hunger striker; Len Cooper, the President of ILPS and a labor leader from Australia; and Jamal Juma’ of the Stop the Wall campaign in Palestine.

The event kicks off a month of planned activities, including a Palestine 101 program, cultural events and several days of action, including a call for online and offline activities on 27 October under the slogan, “Colors of Resistance.”

This month-long campaign will deal with issues such as the recently announced Imperialist/Zionist annexation plan, the history of Israeli colonialism and apartheid, the rejection of agreements of humiliation and “normalization” between Zionism and some Arab countries, the global campaign to return to Palestine, support for the Intifada, the liberation of the Palestinian people, the unified capital of Palestine, the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and other key points. .

3 October, FREE PALESTINE! Launching of the Month of Global Solidarity with the Palestinian People with Leila Khaled

1 October 2020

Saturday, 3 October
6 am Pacific/9 am Eastern/3 pm central Europe-central Africa/4 pm Palestine/9 pm Manila/11 pm Melbourne
Register online: https://bit.ly/ILPS_Palestine
Organized by the International League of Peoples’ Struggle

This October, the ILPS, its member organizations, country chapters, and allied networks will be launching a month-long campaign of Global Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

As part of the Month of Solidarity, the ILPS will deal with issues such as the recently announced Imperialist/Zionist annexation plan, the history of Israeli colonialism and apartheid, the rejection of agreements of humiliation and “normalization” between Zionism and some Arab countries, the global campaign to return to Palestine, support for the Intifada, the liberation of the Palestinian people, the unified capital of Palestine, the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and so on.

We are inviting everyone to tune in to the launching of this campaign on OCTOBER 3, 11 PM Melbourne time. Our keynote speaker is no other than Palestinian woman activist Leila Khaled, from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

REGISTER HERE: https://bit.ly/ILPS_Palestine

#FreePalestine
#GlobalSolidarityPalestine

Samidoun mourns the passing of former prisoner, lifelong struggler Nabiha Diab Mohammed

1 October 2020

*Nabiha Diab Mohammed upon her liberation from Ansar prison camp.*

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network extends its deepest condolences to our European coordinator, Mohammed Khatib, his entire family, and the broader community on the passing of his beloved aunt, Nabiha Diab Mohammed, on 28 September 2020, after a long struggle with serious illness as well as the ongoing health effects of injustice, oppression, imprisonment and exile.

She was known not only as a pillar of the family, but also as a committed struggler for the Palestinian people, especially in the Ain el-Helweh refugee camp in Lebanon, where she always cherished a future of return to Palestine and nourished that love and dedication to return among future generations.

We mourn her as a struggler for Palestine, a lover of justice and of her people, as well as a former political prisoner who was jailed with her fellow Palestinian and Lebanese revolutionaries in the notorious Ansar prison camp in occupied southern Lebanon by the Zionist occupation forces.

Her legacy in supporting, sustaining and bringing together her family, her deep adherence to Palestine and to a revolutionary future of return and liberation continues to inspire so many of those whose lives she touched. We treasure her memory and pledge to continue to honor that memory with struggle until her aspirations for liberation, for the entire Palestinian people, are achieved.

*Nabiha Diab Mohammed. Photo: Mohammed Khatib/Facebook*

Samidoun joins International Day of Action to #ShutDownAFRICOM

1 October 2020

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network has joined organizations from across the Americas and most of the world that have endorsed and plan to participate today—the 12th anniversary of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)’s launch—in the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP)’s International Day of Action on AFRICOM.

In an article published September 30 in Black Agenda Report, BAP’s Africa Team states: “The International Day of Action on AFRICOM aims to raise the public’s awareness about the U.S. military’s existence in Africa, and how the presence of U.S. forces exacerbates violence and instability throughout the continent.”

BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka says AFRICOM is a key global command structure the U.S. state has set up to coordinate its colonial project of continued global domination through military aggression. “Through its regional commands and more than 800 military bases, the United States is able to project offensive military actions in support of its objective of ‘Full Spectrum Dominance,’ a cornerstone of U.S. geopolitical strategy.”

BAP, along with the organizations and individuals who have signed on to support this day, sees AFRICOM as an instrument of U.S. military and political domination. Hence, it threatens peace.

Margaret Kimberley, a member of BAP’s Africa Team and BAP’s Coordinating Committee, says, “The U.S. never had a good reason to establish a formalized military presence in Africa. Today, it is clear the United States coordinated with European countries like France to militarily counter the growing influence of China to ensure Africa remained firmly tethered to Western economic interests.”

The International Day of Action on AFRICOM supports BAP’s campaign to shut down AFRICOM.

This campaign demands: 1) the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) oppose AFRICOM and conduct hearings on its impact on the African continent with the full participation of members of U.S. and African civil society, 2) a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Africa, 3) supporting calls for Africa to be demilitarized and established as a zone of peace, and 4) along with AFRICOM, all U.S. global command structures and bases be closed down.

We call on everyone who believes in peace and self-determination to join us in our campaign to shut down AFRICOM by supporting this International Day of Action on AFRICOM.

Take action:

You can download materials and action information at BAP’s resources page.

We encourage you to share these social media resources below along with the links above today, Oct. 1, as part of the Day of Action.

Solidarity action in The Hague for Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and the Irish republican hunger strikers

28 September 2020

On Monday, 28 September – the anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Intifada – Samidoun Netherlands organized a symbolic action outside the British embassy in The Hague, the Netherlands. The action came in support of detained Palestinian doctor Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and his fellow Irish republican prisoners. Over 50 prisoners have joined Issam on a hunger strike to demand he be released from isolation and held with fellow Republican prisoners. We republish below the report from our comrades at Samidoun NL:

Solidarity and support for Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and the over 50 republican prisoners on hunger strike with him in the British occupation prisons in the north of Ireland!

Today is the 12th day of hunger strike in protest to the prolonged isolation of Issam in the dilapidated Foyle House facility. Issam began his hunger strike on being returned to isolation following a hospital visit for an MRI scan (which was also delayed by the prison administration despite Issam’s deteriorating health. the administration are claiming the isolation to be in line with corona protocols however it is worth noting that non political prisoners have been brought to hospital appointments and returned to the main prison population without undergoing isolation. The misuse of corona protocol is further illustrated by the simple fact that they could have placed Issam in isolation in Roe House , the correct location for political prisoners. This has been reiterated by the republican prisoners in Roe House.

The past week has seen more and more prisoners join the hunger strike in solidarity with Issam including some non affiliated prisoners. Solidarity fasts have also been held at the camp outside Maghaberry prison in Antrim and Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin camp held by Republican activists.

We showed our solidarity this morning by holding a symbolic action outside the British Embassy in the Hague. We held signs carrying slogans in support of the hunger strike, for the liberation of Palestine and unification of Ireland. A representative of Samidoun read out a statement. It was a simple act of solidarity to uplift and show support for the ongoing struggle against colonialism and imperialism from Ireland to Palestine.

This simple solidarity action was enough to trigger the police to attempt to harass the activists as they left the Embassy and made their way home.Two activists were stopped by police who reported they had been watching us on CCTV and demanded to see our signs and ID. They made threats to confiscate them and fine the activists for the action but backed down as we know they have no grounds to infringe our rights like that. At least we know our message was received by the colonisers inside the Embassy!

We will continue to show our support and solidarity with the republican prisoners in the occupied six counties in Ireland and Issam Hijjawi Bassalat in their struggle for justice and liberation!

From Ireland to Palestine!

Tiocfaidh ár lá

Two days prior, on 26 September in Nijkerk, the Netherlands, Revolutionaire Eenheid also organized a symbolic action at the Israel Products Center in Nijkerk, calling on progressive youth to act to end Dutch support for the occupation of Palestine and to support the Palestinian people in their struggle against exploitation, oppression and Israeli apartheid.

The action further expressed support for the hunger strike of Dr. Hijjawi Bassalat and his Irish comrades in the north of Ireland, calling for freedom for the hunger strikers. They urged: “Support the Palestinian Resistance, boycott Israel! Free Palestine, from the river to the sea!”

Istanbul demonstration commemorates Intifada, condemns normalization and defends Palestinian right to return #Action4Return

28 September 2020

On Friday, 25 September, the Friends of Palestine Against Imperialism and Zionism (Emperyalizme ve Siyonizme Karşı Filistin Dostları) organized a demonstration outside the Israeli consulate to denounce the U.S.-backed UAE/Bahraini normalization with the Israeli state, mark the anniversary of the second Intifada and remember the Sabra and Shatila massacres. The event also came as part of #Action4Return, the week of action to defend the Palestinian right to return and confront normalization called for by Samidoun with many other organizations around the world.

We republish below the following article by the comrades at Friends of Palestine reporting on the demonstration:

We held a demonstration in the front of the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul / Turkey to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Second Intifada and the 38^th anniversary of Sabra and Shatila massacres and to protest the attempts for the so-called “normalization” process initiated first by Trump’s “Deal of the Century” and then promoted by the treaties signed between Israel and some Arab states.

Our banner read “No to Trump’s imperialist plan and normalization with Israel! Long live Intifada!” in Turkish, Arabic and English. Some of our slogans were: “Free Palestine from the sea to the river!”, “Expel the Israeli ambassador!”, “Sever all relationships with Israel!”, “Israel will be defeated! Palestine will win!”

Below you’ll find a translation of the statement read there by Kutlu Dane, one of our spokespersons:

Dear reporters, and friends of Palestinian people,

Today we are here, in front of the Israel’s so-called consulate, once again to release a press statement about two Palestinian-question-related anniversaries alongside a string of recent political developments. The statement is intended both to reiterate our support to the right to return and to condemn the Zionist Israel and its imperialist collaborators.

The Zionist entity founded at the expense of expelling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their lands in 1948 has been touted, unfortunately successfully, by Zionists as a civilized and modern state. The Consulate building behind us is one of the places where that propaganda aimed at whitewashing Israel’s crimes is manufactured and disseminated.

38 years ago, Phalangists under Zionist auspices committed a massacre in the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Israeli-besieged Beirut, with a death toll of 3.000. Israeli occupying forces helped their phalangist allies by launching flares to illuminate the camp area and blocking the gates to prevent refugees from surviving the attack.

Israel and its cohorts perpetrated that crime within a couple of days, before the international force deployed to protect the camps arrived and after the Palestinian resistance organizations had left Lebanon as stipulated in the international treaty. Hence that was a premeditated ignominious mass murder and an ethnic cleansing inspired undoubtedly by the methods of Nazis. If Anne Frank had been still alive, we are sure that she would have spitted on the faces of those barbarians and that she would have mourned for her Palestinian sisters and brothers killed in those camps.

Sabra and Shatila massacres were also assaults against the right to return.

But the Palestinian people have never kneeled down! Having experienced many massacres inflicted by Zionism almost since 1930s, the Palestinian people have embarked on a world-renowned and inspiring struggle, which reached its climax in the intifadas of 1987 and 2000. This week is the anniversary of the latter, which had begun on September 28^th 2000. That great uprising during which 4.000 Palestinians, including 11 year old Muhammed Al-Durra who was shot dead hiding behind his father, have been martyred had shown the whole world how barbaric Zionism was.

Second Intifada was an upheaval for the Palestinian people to claim their right to return.

As thousands of Palestinians have been martyred for the cause, a section of the Palestinian leadership had already begun to act in cahoots with the illegitimate Israeli state. The cause was betrayed first by Anwar Sadat, and then by Arafat in 80s. The negotiations called Oslo Process have resulted eventually in the Palestinian Authority, which does dirty jobs in the West Bank for Israel! That imperialism and Zionism collude, overtly or covertly, with the reactionary Arab regimes unfortunately diminishes the hopes to return of the Palestinian people. Recognizing the Zionist entity, Arab countries which have turned into lackeys of the US imperialism pave the ways for more brutality against the Palestinian people. The so-called “normalization” process initiated by Trump’s “deal of the century”, which demands total surrender of the Palestinian people in return for a small land and a share from oil revenues, is now enhanced by the treaties signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Oman and Saudi Arabia wait for their turn.

That so-called normalization is nothing but an attack on the right to return.

But we would like to make sure that Zionists’ flagrant moves will never make us fear. Neither the Palestinian people nor we give up fighting. Just look at the anti-Zionist protestors flocking to the streets of Manama, Cairo, Latin America, Europe and USA or at the unbreakable resistance of the gallant Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

Palestinian people’s fight for the right to return will last till Israel is destroyed!

On the other hand, Turkish governments’ criticism towards the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain is clear example of hypocrisy. Turkey has “normalized” its relationship with Israel long before those countries did! We forget neither the strong economic, intelligence and military collaborations between Turkey and Israel nor how you withdrew the Mavi Marmara case. Stop using Palestine as a bargaining chip for natural gas found in the Eastern Mediterranean! Expel the Israeli ambassador! Sever all relationships with Israel!

We would like to emphasize that we hold that demonstration on the call of Samidoun (Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network) and pro-Palestinian organizations. We will keep fighting against Zionism and acting in solidarity with the Palestinian people till the day Israel is destroyed!

We will do so till the last intifada, which will be the last nail in the coffin of Israel, and lead to a free, secular, democratic and socialist Palestine from the sea to the river!

Friends of Palestine Against Imperialism and Zionism

September 25^th 2020

ILPS calls for international solidarity month for Palestine

28 September 2020

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is a member association of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS). We join ILPS in calling for the international month of solidarity for Palestine in October 2020 and republish the ILPS call below:

FREE PALESTINE: October 2020 Month of Global Solidarity with the Palestinian People

The International League of Peoples’ Struggles (ILPS) stands in militant solidarity with the Palestinian people against the ongoing Israeli occupation of their land, illegal Israeli settlements, Israeli colonialism, and other crimes against the Palestinian people. We condemn U.S. Imperialism for its support and endorsement of the unlawful, inhumane, murderous Israeli programme aimed directly at the Palestinian people.

The ILPS has consistently supported the continuing, magnificent, and courageous struggles of the Palestinian people against Imperialism and Zionism and is organizing a stepped-up programme of solidarity with the Palestinian people throughout the month of October 2020.

As part of the Month of Solidarity, the ILPS will deal with issues such as the recently announced Imperialist/Zionist annexation plan, the history of Israeli colonialism and apartheid, the rejection of agreements of humiliation and “normalization” between Zionism and some Arab countries, the global campaign to return to Palestine, support for the Intifada, the liberation of the Palestinian people, the unified capital of Palestine, the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and so on.

The ILPS stands shoulder to shoulder with the valiant, inspiring people of Palestine whose persistence will deliver victory and in doing so will change the face of the Middle East and help the people in the region to win peace with justice.

Watch out for the launching of the Month of Global Solidarity with the Palestinian people on October 3, 11 PM Melbourne time through Zoom and Facebook Live. Additional details will be announced soon.

Long live the Palestinian peoples’ struggles against Imperialism and Zionism!

Long live international solidarity!

#FreePalestine

#GlobalSolidarityPalestine

Video: Khaled Barakat and Susan Abulhawa discuss anti-normalization and the right to return to Palestine

28 September 2020

On Friday, 18 September, Workers World Party hosted a webinar as part of the #Action4Return days of action for Palestinian refugee rights and confronting normalization. The event featured Palestinian writer and activist Khaled Barakat and award-winning Palestinian novelist Susan Abulhawa, discussing a wide range of issues relevant to the Palestinian cause today.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network international coordinator Charlotte Kates co-hosted the panel discussion along with Ted Kelly of the Workers World Prisoner Solidarity Committee. During the discussion, Abulhawa, who just released her latest novel, Against the Loveless World to rave reviews, noted: “History has shown us, time and time again, how quickly the powerful can fall..,I am not counting, but I am counting on the solidarity that we can foster among the masses, pushing for socialism, pushing for anti-colonial ideals, pushing for justice. On the international arena, the question of Palestine is at the heart of every social justice movement.”

Barakat emphasized, “As long as capitalism, as long as U.S. imperialism are ruling our world, there will be occupation, colonization, prisons and injustice. As long as Israel exists, Palestinians will suffer. There is an alternative, in Palestine as well as globally, based on equality, justice and freedom. These values should be at the core of our organizing. When we look at popular movements today, particularly the left has a responsibility to strengthen the building of an international popular front globally…History has shown us that we will be victorious at the end.”

The discussion addressed topics including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Palestinians, especially those under siege in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails; the role of reactionary Arab regimes such as the UAE and Bahrain in complicity with U.S. imperialism and Zionist colonization; and the importance of joint struggle with liberation movements to confront common enemies and move toward a revolutionary future.

Watch the full video online:

The entire webinar can also be heard as a podcast, via Essential Dissent:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/free-palestine-no-normalization-colonization-or-occupation/id1464439315?i=1000492730580

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