20 January, Gothenburg: Solidarity Night – Freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat!

10 January 2020

Monday, 20 January
6:00 pm
Syndikalistiskt Forum
Linnegatan 21
Gothenburg, Sweden
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/782847918898925/

On January 15, 2002, the Palestinian Authority arrested Ahmad Sa’adat, secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Sa’adat was then taken captive under the auspices of the United States and Britain. During a violent attack in 2006, he was kidnapped by Israeli occupation forces and is now serving a 30-year sentence on Israeli prison.

To mark Ahmad Sa’adat’s case as one of many, yet a unique example of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli and international prison and detention, we are organizing a solidarity evening in Samidoun Gothenburg. The evening of solidarity will include a short presentation on Sa’adat, followed by the opportunity to write letters to him (and other Palestinian prisoners) and to participate in a joint photo of solidarity. Finally, information on international mobilization will also be presented ahead of the campaign days 24-30 March 2020 for the two-year anniversary of the Great Return March.

Den 15:e januari 2002 arresterade Palestinska myndigheten Ahmad Sa’adat, generalsekreterare för Folkfronten för Palestinas befrielse. Sa’adat sattes därefter i fångenskap under USA:s och Storbritanniens regi. Under ett våldsamt angrepp 2006 kidnappades han av Israels ockupationsstyrkor och nu avtjänar han ett 30-årigt straff på israeliskt fängelse.

För att uppmärksamma Ahmad Sa’adats fall som ett av många men ändå särskilt exempel på palestinska fångar i israeliska och internationella fängelsen och förvar anordnar vi i Samidoun Göteborg en solidaritetskväll. Solidaritetskvällen kommer att innehålla en kort presentation om Sa’adat, följt av möjligheten att skriva brev till honom (och andra palestinska fångar) och att delta i ett gemensamt solidaritetsfoto. Slutligen kommer det även presenteras information om den internationella mobiliseringen inför aktionsdagarna 24-30 mars 2020 för Stora återvändarmarschens tvåårsdag: https://samidoun.net/2019/11/24-30-march-2020-worldwide-international-week-of-action-to-support-the-great-march-of-return-and-breaking-the-siege/#Svenska

Datum: Måndag 20:e januari
Tid: 18:00-20:00
Plats: Syndikalistiskt Forum

Solidaritetskvällen sker i samband med de internationella aktionsveckorna i solidaritet med Ahmad Sa’adat mellan 15:e och 29:e januari som utropades av Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network och kampanjen för frihet åt Ahmad Sa’adat, Free Ahmad Sa’adat. Läs och sprid vår översättning av deras uppmaning: https://samidoun.net/2019/12/call-to-action-free-ahmad-saadat-and-all-palestinian-prisoners-15-29-january-2020/#swedish

Har du inte möjlighet att närvara, eller vill du eller din organisation själva bidra till aktionsdagarna? Här följer några förslag (glöm inte att tipsa oss om era aktiviteter!):
– Organisera egna arrangemang, aktioner och protester vid israeliska, US-amerikanska och brittiska konsulat och på offentliga torg och andra öppna, allmänna utrymmen. Dessa datum är även årsdagar för Israels blodiga ”Cast Lead”-angrepp på Gaza 2008-2009 – vi manar alla till att också uppmärksamma dem i sina arrangemang.
– Sprid aktionsuppropet och utför medieaktioner, till exempel genom att skapa och publicera material som uppmärksammar Ahmad Sa’adat och andra palestinska fångar och kräver deras frihet.
– Översätt och publicera Sa’adats skrifter och uttalanden, som vi gjorde ifjol i samarbete med Svenska Clartéförbundets tidskrift: https://clarte.se/bloggen/10629-intervju-med-ahmad-sa-adat
– Uppmärksamma Ahmad Sa’adat och de palestinska fångarna i arrangemang för palestinasolidaritet, antirasism, antiimperialism och social rättvisa. Ta med flygblad och affischer eller dela ett uttalande från Sa’adat som del av andra arrangemang.

107 Days of Hunger Strike: Israeli occupation military court rejects Ahmad Zahran’s appeal

7 January 2020

*Poster of Ahmad Zahran at a support protest. Photo: Quds News*

The Israeli occupation’s Ofer military court rejected the appeal of Palestinian prisoner Ahmad Zahran, on hunger strike for the 107th day against his imprisonment without charge or trial. The military court had repeatedly delayed in issuing the decision, despite Zahran’s weakening health. It earlier had requested that he end his hunger strike in order to be subjected to further interrogation, which Zahran refused. He has been jailed under administrative detention, Israeli imprisonment without charge or trial, since March 2019.

Due to the severity of his health condition, Zahran was also transferred to the civilian Kaplan hospital on Monday, 6 January. He has lost over 35 kilograms (77 pounds) of weight, is unable to walk and has pain throughout his body. Zahran, 42, from the village of Deir Abu Mishaal, launched a previous hunger strike for 39 days, which he suspended after a promise to not renew his detention. Instead, his detention was renewed in violation of the agreement, sparking him to launch the strike again. In the past, he has spent almost 15 years in Israeli prisons. Palestinian prisoners transferred to civil prisons are routinely shackled to their hospital beds and held under heavy military guard, despite their severely ill health.

*Protesters in Gaza urge freedom for Zahran, 7 January. Photo: Hadf News*

On the 90th day of his hunger strike, Israeli interrogators appeared at the Ramon prison clinic seeking to interrogate Zahran. Military prosecutors claimed a need to interrogate him in order to direct the military court to delay or refuse his appeal. He had not been subjected to interrogation at any time prior to or earlier during his strike, leading Due to his severe health state, the interrogation could not continue.

Zahran’s lawyers emphasized that they would continue the legal battle, while Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails launched further solidarity strikes to demand his freedom. In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and the Palestinian Prisoners Study Center noted that Israeli intelligence agencies are working to thwart any agreement to end Zahran’s strke and secure his freedom. They said that the intelligence agencies have interfered to prevent an agreement between Zahran and the prison administration in an attempt to deny him a victory in the hunger strike.

Several Palestinian prisoners, including Jamil Ankoush, have been carrying out extended strikes in support of Zahran, while a group of prisoners in the Israeli occupation Gilboa prison began a one-day strike on Tuesday, 7 January. This is one of a series of rolling strikes called by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Israeli prisons. Nader Sadaqa, Ahmad Yassin, Majd Ba’ajawi, Ahmed Saleh, Badr al-Ruzza, Mahmoud Tayem, Khaled Kiblawi, Ahmad Issa, Baraa Abu Omar and Moataz al-Suruji joined in the collective solidarity action. The PFLP prison branch emphasized that these were initial steps and that the protests would be escalated if Zahran is not released.

Wael Jaghoub, the leader of the PFLP’s branch in Israeli prisons, was ordered to isolation as the prisoners announced their collective steps of struggle. On 6 January, Jaghoub was barred by the Israeli occupation prison administration from receiving family visits for six months. When his family members arrived at the prison gate on Monday, they were told they could not see him and that the ban would be in place for six months.

After Jaghoub’s fellow prisoners in Hadarim were informed of the decision, they immediately began to protest. The family were then allowed to visit for 15 minutes only in a completely isolated room. After the visit was over, the family members’ permits to enter were taken from them. Palestinian prisoners are routinely denied family visits because they are imprisoned within ’48 Palestine and their family members from the West Bank or Gaza require special permits to allow their entry. Family members are repeatedly denied these permits on the grounds of spurious “security concerns.”

Palestinians in Rafah, Gaza, organized a demonstration to support Zahran’s strike and demand his freedom. Ahmad Barakat, speaking on behalf of the PFLP, called for international organizations and institutions, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross, to intervene and stop the policy of administrative detention. There are approximately 450 Palestinians held in administrative detention, of around 5,000 total Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails. These detention orders, introduced to Palestine by the British colonial mandate and then adopted by the Zionist project, are issued for up to six months at a time but are indefinitely renewable on the basis of “secret evidence.” Palestinians may be jailed for years at a time due to indefinitely renewable detention orders.

Barakat also urged Palestinians and supporters to participate in actions and demonstrations to support the prisoners, including upcoming mobilizations to free imprisoned PFLP General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners, planned for 15 to 29 January.

A further demonstration in support of Zahran and his fellow prisoners has been called for Wednesday, 8 January at 3:00 pm at Manara Square in Ramallah, Palestine.

Zahran’s strike is also accompanied by escalating tensions in Israeli prisons overall. In Ramon prison, the Palestinian prisoners announced that they were dissolving organizational representation, a protest step indicating that they expect their demands to receive a serious reply. This comes in response to the repressive invasion and transfer in section 6 of the prison. 120 Palestinians jailed there were suddenly transferred to Nafha prison and denied the opportunity to bring their belongings or even their outer clothes, despite the cold weather.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network reiterates our full and unconditional solidarity with Ahmad Zahran and all Palestinian prisoners struggling for freedom. We urge all supporters of justice around the world to take a stand with Ahmad Zahran, whose life is on the line as he struggles to bring an end to administrative detention. International solidarity can be important to show Palestinian prisoners like Ahmad Zahran that they are not forgotten and to put pressure on the Israeli state – and the governments that support it – to support Zahran in achieving victory for justice and freedom.

Join the call to action: https://samidoun.net/2019/12/ahmad-zahran-heads-toward-100-days-of-hunger-strike-demand-his-freedom/

18 January, Toulouse: Stand Palestine – Freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat!

7 January 2020

Saturday, 18 January
11:00 am
Metro Capitole
Toulouse, France
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2789999011064518/

Between 15 and 29 January 2020, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is calling for an international week of action for the freedom of PFLP General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat, imprisoned by the Israeli occupation.

On this occasion, we will organize a Palestine Stand on Saturday January 18 from 11 am to 1 pm to inform about the situation of Ahmad Sa’adat and that of all Palestinian prisoners. Please join us!

On the program: mini exhibition on Ahmad Sa’adat and the Palestinian prisoners; solidarity photos; Palestinian music; speaking; sale of T-shirts, flags, calendars, tote bags; info table on the situation in Palestine but also the boycott of Israel, support for Palestinian prisoners and Georges Abdallah etc.

Du 15 au 29 janvier 2020, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network appelle à des semaines internationales d’actions pour la libération d’Ahmad Sa’adat, secrétaire général du FPLP, emprisonné par l’occupation israélienne.

A cette occasion, nous organiserons un Stand Palestine le samedi 18 janvier de 11H à 13H pour informer sur la situation d’Ahmad Sa’adat et celle de tou·te·s les prisonniers palestiniens. N’hésitez pas à nous rejoindre !

➡ Au programme : mini expo sur Ahmad Sa’adat et les prisonniers palestiniens ; photos solidaires ; musique palestinienne ; prise de parole ; vente de Tshirts, drapeaux, calendriers, tote bags ; table de presse sur la situation en Palestine mais aussi le boycott d’Israël, le soutien aux prisonniers palestiniens et Georges Abdallah etc.

➡ Plus d’infos sur : palestinevaincra.com

12 January, Berlin: Palestine bloc at Liebknecht-Luxemburg-Demo

6 January 2020

Sunday, 12 January
10:00 am
Karl-Marx-Allee 138
Berlin, Germany

Join the Democratic Palestine Committees and others for a Palestine bloc at the annual Liebknecht-Luxemburg demo, remembering the assassination of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in 1919.

10 January, Boston: Overcoming the Israeli Suppression of Palestinian Science

6 January 2020

Friday, 10 January
5:30 pm
MIT Wong Auditorium
70 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/688195321682031/

The Israeli occupation stifles Palestinian life and science, and deprives the international scientific community from the creativity and experience of the Palestinian scientific community.

Join us for the launch of the International Meeting of Science for Palestine with an evening and discussion including some of the most world’s most prominent scientists, such as MacArthur Fellow Nergis Mavalvala, 2018 Chemistry Nobel Prize winner George Smith, Palestinian innovator and Gaza Return March medic Dr. Tarek Loubani, Palestinian Minister of Education, Marwan Awartani, Political Economist Leila Farsakh, Political Economist, and Public Health expert Danya Qato. For more details on this event, see below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The collaborative nature of science makes it a uniting, positive and transformative tool for society- capable of integrating communities and struggles worldwide, despite borders and great distance. In Palestine, however, the 71-year-long Israeli occupation has not only physically fragmented Palestinian communities from each other, but has imposed physical and virtual barriers to Palestinian access to the global science community, blocking access to resources key to developing scientific research, and engaging in acts of violence intended to deprive Palestinians of their right to education and their capacity to integrate in the international scientific community.

Scientists for Palestine will work to bridge this gap between Palestinian science and the international scientific community and will work to strengthen Palestinian capacity to do science.

Our Third International Meeting for Science in Palestine will open Friday evening at Wong Auditorium at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with a panel and discussion with some of the world’s most prominent scientists alongside Palestinian Minister of Education, Marwan Awartani, Political Economist Leila Farsakh, Political Economist, Physician, Palestinian innovator and Gaza Return March Medic, Dr. Tarek Loubani, MacArthur Fellow Nergis Mavalvala, Public Health expert Danya Qato, and 2018 Chemistry Nobel Prize winner George Smith.

This event will include first-hand accounts on the act of practicing science despite living under an occupation and present a critical assessment of what the scientific community can and should do to facilitate scientific research by and for Palestinians.

Please note that the Saturday and Sunday conference program is now closed but we are accepting requests for seat at mitmeeting@scientists4palestine.com. Please use as subject: “waiting list”.

———– Friday Launch of Science for Palestine Conference ————

5:45 – 6:15 — Opening statements.

6:15 – 7:45 — Panel

Marwan Awartani – Mathematics, Palestine Education Minister.

Leila Farsakh – Political Economy, UMass Boston.

Tarek Loubani – Medicine & Director of the Gila Project, Gaza Return March Medic, U. of Western Ontario.

Nergis Mavalvala – Astrophysics, MIT.

Danya Qato – Public Health and Health Policy, U. of Maryland

George Smith – 2018 Chemistry Nobel Prize Winner, UMass of Missouri.

7:45 – 8:30 — Moderated Q&A and discussion.

5 January, Vancouver: No war on Iran!

5 January 2020

Sunday, 5 January
1:00 pm
U.S. Consulate
1095 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2706523262761894/

On Thursday, January 2, 2020 the US bombed Iraq’s Baghdad international airport, killing an Iranian General and Iraqi military leader, sparking instability in the region and inching the world closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East.

This is another act of imperialism and militarism that threatens the lives of millions of people across Iran, Iraq and beyond. Escalated attacks from the United States military have detrimental impacts for the people of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen who are already struggling under ongoing imperial proxy wars, colonial occupation, unjust sanctions, and border violence.

Join us Sunday, 5 January at 1pm at the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver to say:

No war with Iran!
U.S. out of Iraq!
Resist U.S. imperialism and War!
Long Live International Solidarity!

Organized by: ILPS in Canada, Vancouver Peace Council, Just Peace Committee and local member organizations of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle.

Large march in Athens confronts Netanyahu, demands end to Greece-Israel gas pipeline deal

3 January 2020

Large crowds marched through the streets of Athens to the Israeli embassy on Thursday, 2 January 2020 to declare that Israeli Prime Minister, war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, was not welcome in Greece and to demand the cancellation of the “EastMed” pipeline deal. This pipeline, which aims to ship natural gas, extracted – and stolen – by the Israeli occupation from the natural resources of the indigenous Palestinian people, to Europe via Greece and Cyprus, chaining the Greek economy to the Israeli state.

Samidoun Network – Greece organized the protest with many other Greek organizations who joined in the demonstration, including the Network of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, EEK, NAR, KKE (M-L), Intifada Front and the Network to Support Palestinian Resistance.

The Ghassan Kanafani Front for Palestine launched a protest call that was supported by Open Road, OPAM, LAE and more.

All of these organizations came together to confront Netanyahu and the Greek and Cypriot governments on the creation of a dangerous axis in the region that aims to break the historical solidarity between the Greek and Palestinian people by placing Greece as a partner in the theft of Palestinian resources for the benefit of Israeli and U.S. corporations.

“Continuing on the actions of its predecessor, the ND government is tightening even more the military, cultural and political relationship of the Greek state with Israel, playing an allied role in its geopolitical games in the eastern Mediterranean. Greece’s participation in the agreement for the EastMed gas pipeline strengthens the Greece-Cyprus-Israel-Egypt axis, making the Greek state a leader in the oppression, destruction and apartheid Israel is exercising against the Palestinian people,” the Network of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and Samidoun Network – Greece said.

Hundreds marched in an angry demonstration, chanting slogans like “Victory to the Intifada – Liberation for Palestine,” “Netanyahu Kills – Mitsotakis consents,” “No gas deals with Zionism” and more. Participants carried Palestinian flags and banners with the slogans of the demonstration. Outside the Israeli embassy, some demonstrators burned a European Union flag, denouncing the role of the EU in driving Greece into economic crisis and encouraging the construction of the EastMed pipeline.

*Photo: Kanafani Front of Resistance and Solidarity for Palestine*

From Palestine, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine urged the Greek movement to stand up against Netanyahu and block the gas deal. “The intensified political, military and economic ties between the Zionist entity and Greece, strengthened by the Syriza government and now heartily embraced by the right-wing regime, come at the expense of the Palestinian and Arab people whose natural resources are being confiscated, stolen and marketed by the illegal occupation….Netanyahu’s visit is an attack on the Palestinian people and the Greek people, their sovereignty and their wealth and resources. The Zionist project provides no solution to economic crisis – only more misery for Greece, Palestine and the world. Indeed, the occupation, allied with the United States, wants to impose hegemony and domination over the entire region of the Mediterranean, opening its resources to plunder and using it as an advance base for expansionist attacks throughout the region.”

“The Palestinian people stand together with the Greek people in confronting fascism, attacks on your sovereignty, economic devastation and austerity. Independent development for Greece is only strengthened by building the boycott of Israel and the corporations and institutions that sustain this illegitimate, apartheid, settler-colonial racist project. Zionism wants to cement itself in the region through these pipelines of theft and destruction. Make it clear that Greece will not become a bloodstained pathway for the transport of stolen Palestinian gas!” the statement urged.

Mohammed Khatib, Europe coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, said that ”
We salute the Greek progressive and left movement for their unconditional solidarity with the Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation and return, not only in their vision and politics, but marching in the street while confronting and struggling against the extreme right wing government.”

“Confronting the so-called EastMed gas deal between Israel, Greece and Cyprus – funded by the EU and supported by the US – is confronting the clearest example of Western colonialism in our region. The plunder of our people’s resources is part of the brutal imperialist war against our people. Each drop of gas from Israel means killing Palestinians,” Khatib said.

He drew attention to the ongoing campaign to stop another dangerous gas deal in Jordan. “We have to note that Arab reactionary regimes such as Jordan and Egypt are involved in this dirty deal also. They have started pumping Palestinian stolen gas to Jordan while pumping millions of dollars to Israel for these stolen resources, extorted from the Arab popular classes.”

Large crowds of thousands in Jordan also joined the demonstration against the gas deal there on Friday, 3 January, demanding that Jordan reject normalization with the Israeli occupation and declaring that the gas deal puts Jordan in a position of support for the occupation army attacking Palestinians on a daily basis. They also demanded the end of the Wadi Araba agreement with the Israeli occupation.

“This deal should be confronted and stopped by all means and it is the responsibility of the social movements and the resistance,” Khatib emphasized.

*Jordan protest confronts gas deal, 3 January. Photo: Hadf News*

Samidoun: Resist U.S. imperialism: U.S. out of Iraq! No war on Iran!

3 January 2020

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses our strongest condemnation of the latest crime by the United States against the people of Iran and Iraq, the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike near the Baghdad International Airport on 2 January 2020.

For over three decades, the United States has been engaged in a series of ongoing wars and occupation of Iraq, which has encompassed sanctions, invasion, occupation, bombing, the starvation of civilians, the destruction of infrastructure and the fomenting of civil war. This latest attack – on Iraqi soil, in apparent “revenge” for Iraqis demanding the U.S. occupation out of their country – cannot be separated from the continuing war on and occupation of Iraq.

Of course, this attack is also a massive escalation in the ongoing threats of war on Iran. The assassination of a major military – and political – leader is a blatant act of war and aggression that comes atop the ever escalating use of the economic weapon of sanctions against Iran, a project in which U.S. imperialism is fully allied with Israel in order to target the Iranian people in order to prevent any challenge to the imperialist-Zionist-reactionary hegemony and domination in the region.

This assassination puts millions of lives at risk throughout the region, primarily the lives of working people and the popular classes in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Palestine. It is a blatant act of imperial aggression with massive implications. We note that the goal of this assassination appparently seeks to threaten the resistance to imperialism more broadly throughout the region and extend the precedent of U.S. impunity for war crimes.

In particular, we note the particularly dangerous role played by U.S. “anti-terrorism” legislation. Nearly every Palestinian resistance organization is labeled a “foreign terrorist organization” by the United States. This designation is used to imprison charity workers like the Holy Land Five, to divide Palestinian communities in exile from those fighting inside occupied Palestine and struggling in the refugee camps, to threaten activists and organizers around the world with criminalization. In the case of the assassination of Qassem Soleiman and the extraordinary action of the U.S. in declaring a state’s armed forces to be a “foreign terrorist organization,” we recognize that these laws are also a threat of death.

We know that the real force of terror in the world is that of U.S. imperialism and its partners, the Zionist project and Arab reactionary regimes. In Palestine, 5,000 Palestinian prisoners – and indeed, a whole people – are labeled as “terrorists” by the perpetrators of ethnic cleansing, colonialism, mass arrests, extrajudicial killing, torture, land theft, home demolition, decades of assassinations: That is, they are labeled by the perpetrators of over 100 years of terror. For all of that time, a war has been waged on Palestinian resistance and on the resistance and self-determination of peoples throughout the region. Despite the atrocities and the military might of the perpetrators, that resistance has continued to fight for justice, return and liberation, to make it clear that the Palestinian people, the Arab people, the Iranian people and all peoples in the area hold the promise of a society liberated from oppression.

Imperialist wars anywhere are always wars on the people everywhere.We urgently call on friends and supporters of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance, especially within the United States and its allied imperialist states (Canada, the European Union and others) to take action to build a real anti-war movement to confront the crimes of empire. Now is the time to stand up and say clearly: US out of Iraq! No war on Iran! We stand with the resistance!

For a first practical step, there will be a series of demonstrations across the U.S. on Saturday, 4 January. Get details and join in the action near you here: answercoalition.org/national_action_us_troops_out_of_iraq

4 January, U.S. (See cities): National Day of Action – US Troops Out of Iraq

2 January 2020

On Saturday, January 4 the ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK and others are calling on people from around the United States to organize local demonstrations to demand: NO MORE U.S. TROOPS TO IRAQ OR THE MIDDLE EAST! U.S. OUT OF IRAQ NOW! and NO WAR/NO SANCTIONS ON IRAN!

SIGN ON AS AN ENDORSER HERE! Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is an endorser of this call.

In response to the massive protests in Iraq following the latest U.S. aerial assault that killed scores of Iraqis, Donald Trump has ordered 750 more U.S. troops to the Middle East and potentially 3,000 more. This is in addition to the 5,200 U.S. troops already stationed in Iraq. Every U.S. president over the last 28 years has ordered the bombing of Iraq. The decision by Donald Trump and the Pentagon to launch new air assaults against Iraqis in the past week ignited nationwide resistance by Iraqis who want to reclaim their full sovereignty and do not want Iraq to be used in a U.S. war on Iran.

More than a million Iraqis have died during the past 28 years as a consequence of U.S. occupation, bombings and sanctions. Tens of thousands of U.S. troops have either been killed or suffered life-changing wounds. The U.S. government has spent more than $3 trillion dollars in the on-going occupation and bombing of this oil-rich country. Instead of taking the United States out of this endless war, Trump is building up U.S. forces in the region and threatening a war with Iran.

Initiators for this call include the ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK, Popular Resistance, World Beyond War and many other anti-war and peace organizations. If you want to add your name as an endorser click here.

Demonstrations will also take place on Saturday, January 4 in the following cities.

Below is an initial list of events to stop the U.S.’ ongoing wars – mostly in the U.S. but a few international events as well (including one in Berlin). Please see the ANSWER website for the most up-to-date list of actions.

We also urge people in Edinburgh, Scotland, to join the comrades of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign for an important Saturday stand to support Palestinian prisoners at 1:00 pm at Waterloo Place! Click here for details.

- The White House – Washington D.C.
  12noon at the White House
- Chicago, IL
  12noon at Trump Tower
  Initiated by ANSWER Chicago
- Los Angeles, CA
  1pm at Pershing Square
  Initiated by ANSWER LAcl
- New York City, NY
  11am at Time Square
  Initiated by ANSWER New York
- San Francisco, CA
  12noon at Powell and Market
  Initiated by ANSWER San Francisco
- Miami, FL
  1pm at Torch of Friendship, 301 Biscayne Blvd
  Initiated by CODEPINK
- Berlin, Germany
  1pm at Brandenburger Tor / Pariser Platz
- Albuquerque, NM
  2pm at Kirtland Airforce Base, San Mateo and Gibson Blvd
  Initiated by ANSWER New Mexico
- Arlington, MA
  12noon at Broadway Plaza, Mass. Ave. and Medford St
  Initiated by Arlington United for Justice with Peace (AUJP)
- Seattle, WA
  2pm at Victor Steinbrueck Park
  Initiated by ANSWER Seattle
- Minneapolis, MN
  1pm at Mayday Plaza
  Initiated by Minnesota Peace Action Coalition
- Atlanta, GA
  3pm at Little Five Points
  Initiated by ANSWER Atlanta
- New Haven, CT
  3pm Sunday, January 5 at Church & Chapel Street
  Initiated by ANSWER Connecticut
- Portland, Maine
  12noon at Congress Square Park
  Initiated by Peace Action Maine
- Pittsburgh, PA
  12noon at Schenley Plaza
  Initiated by ANSWER Pittsburgh
- Denver, CO
  2pm at Colorado State Capital Building
  Initiated by ANSWER Colorado
- Boston, MA
  2pm at Park street MBTA station
- Sacramento, CA
  4pm at Capitol Park
- Philadelphia, PA
  12noon at City Hall (15th and Market St.)
- Columbia, SC
  12noon at the South Carolina State House
- San Diego, CA
  2pm at Federal Court Building
- Lancaster, PA
  12noon at Lancaster County Prison
- Austin, TX
  11am at Austin City Hall
- Boulder, CO
  11am at Broadway and Canyon
- Cleveland, OH
  12noon at Market Square
- El Paso, TX
  12noon Friday, January 3rd at the U.S. Federal Courthouse
- Fort Wayne, IN
  2pm at Allen County Courthouse Green
- Ithaca, NY
  10am at Corner of Clinton and Meadow Streets by CVS
- Northampton, MA
  11am in front of the Courthouse on Main St
- San Antonio, TX
  1pm Sunday, Jan. 5 at overpass on Walters and 35 (on way to Ft. Sam Houston)
- Santa Monica, CA
  2pm at Santa Monica Promenade
- Hopewell NJ
  12pm in front of the Marine Recruitment Center in Somerville
- Davis, CA
  11am at B and 5th Streets
- State College, PA
  12noon at Allen St. Gates
- Milwaukee, WI
  12noon at intersection of 27th & Oklahoma
- Madison, WI
  12noon at the State Capitol
- Boise, ID
  5pm at Boise City Hall
- Las Vegas, NV
  10am at Las Vegas Federal Courthouse
- San Jose, CA
  3pm at 4th & Santa Clara
- Fayetteville, AK
  11am at Washington County Courthouse
- Phoenix, AZ
  12noon at Esplanade Center
- Birmingham, AL
  1pm at Kelly Ingram Park
- Dallas, TX
  3pm at Dealey Plaza
- Salt Lake City, UT
  2pm at Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building
- St Louis, MO
  12noon at Lacy Clay’s Office 111 S 10th St
- Jackson, MS
  12noon at Smith Park
- Memphis, TN
  5:30pm Friday, Jan. 3 at Gazebo at the Cooper-Young intersection
- Kennewick, WA
  1pm at Corner of N Columbia Center Blvd and W Quinalt
- Cincinnati, OH
  12noon at Fountain Square
- Knoxville, TN
  1:00pm Sunday, Jan. 5 at Charles Krutch Park

To have an event organized in your city listed above click here!

Palestinian student Mays Abu Ghosh speaks out on Israeli abuse and torture under interrogation

2 January 2020

Palestinian journalism student Mays Abu Ghosh spoke with lawyers from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission, discussing her torture and mistreatment under interrogation for over 30 days. A student at Bir Zeit University from Qalandiya refugee camp, Mays Abu Ghosh, 22, is a writer and student activist who has worked to publicize the struggles of Palestinian political prisoners and Palestinian refugees.

*Mays Abu Ghosh seized by Israeli occupation forces*

In her statement to the lawyers, Abu Ghosh recalled that she was seized by Israeli occupation forces in a violent raid on 29 August 2019, when the armed soldiers removed the door of her family home and invaded it, ransacking her and her family’s belongings, blindfolding and cuffing her and then taking her to an occupation military camp near Qalandiya checkpoint. While she was held there, the soldiers dragged her violently as she was handcuffed and blindfolded while cursing at her and screaming in her face.

Later, Mays was transferred to the Moskobiyeh interrogation center. She was strip-searched and then transferred to the interrogation cells. She recalled that her interrogations lasted for many hours at a time while she was shackled to a small chair inside a very cold cell. After six days, the “military interrogation” began with her, which included the use of stress positions like the “banana” and “squatting” or the “false chair” for long periods of time, in an attempt to coerce a false confession from her.

*Illustration of the “banana” position. Source: Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association*

She was slapped, beaten and deprived of sleep. This “military interrogation” continued for three days, during which all of these torture tactics continued. Abu Ghosh said that at one time, she tried to escape from the interrogators and sit in one of the corners of the cell, but the interrogator began slamming her head against the wall, kicking her while yelling obscenities. Next, interrogators deliberately brought her brother and her parents in an attempt to coerce her into confessing by threatening to detain them. Her 17-year-old brother was later ordered to administrative detention, without charge or trial, despite being a minor.

Mays said that the interrogation cells have extremely harsh conditions, lacking the basic elements for human life. The walls are concrete and rough, the mattress is thin, without a cover or a pillow, and the lights are kept on 24/7 even as loud sounds constantly disturb the prisoners. She also noted that the meals provided were very poor and that wastewater would enter her cell and flow onto the mattress.

*Images of Shatha Hassan and Mays Abu Ghosh at the march in Ramallah in support of Ahmad Zahran, on hunger strike for 99 days. Photo: Quds News*

She said that at one time, a large rat entered her cell, which she believes was intentionally entered by the interrogators in order to further torment her. They repeatedly delayed in responding to the simplest requests, for example to access the bathroom, and was repeatedly provoked and ridiculed. After 30 days of this treatment under interrogation, she was transferred to the Damon prison, where she remains today, with her fellow Palestinian women prisoners. She is charged in the Israeli military courts – which convict over 99% of Palestinian detainees – with involvement in student activities on the Bir Zeit University campus. Her brother’s administrative detention has been renewed again and he continues to be jailed without charge or trial.

Mays’ family earlier spoke about their experience in being brought to see her under interrogation, noting that the signs of torture were visible on her face and body. “Her face was full of bruises and her body is very pale. I could not hug her due to the pain hurting all of her body,” said her mother. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association convened a press conference on 23 December highlighting the torture and abuse of Palestinian prisoners, including Abu Ghosh.

*Palestinian imprisoned student Mays Abu Ghosh supports freedom for Georges Ibrahim Abdallah*

Mays Abu Ghosh and Samah Jaradat are two of many Palestinian students who are being targeted by the Israeli occupation for arrest and imprisonment for their involvement in student activities on campus. Shatha Hassan, chair of the Bir Zeit University student council board, has been ordered to four months of administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial. There are hundreds of Palestinian university students held in Israeli jails, including approximately 80 from Bir Zeit alone.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges the broadest possible action and mobilization to support Mays Abu Ghosh and Palestinian students jailed by the Israeli occupation forces. We urge students around the world to hold events, vigils and informational actions to highlight the struggle of Palestinian students under occupation and all people of conscience to develop the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Freedom for Mays Abu Ghosh and all Palestinian students!

Arabic source for this article: http://hadfnews.ps/post/63496/

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