Freedom Tunnel to Al-Aqsa Flood: Prisoners, Resistance and Liberation

6 September 2024

On 6 September 2024, we mark the third anniversary of the great Freedom Tunnel on 6 September 2021, in which six Palestinian prisoners – Mahmoud al-Ardah, Mohammed al-Ardah, Yousef Qadri, Ayham Kamamji, Munadil Nafa’at and Zakaria Zubeidi — liberated themselves from the Zionist occupation regime’s “high security” Gilboa prison. The Freedom Tunnel was a harbinger of the Al-Aqsa Flood, exposing the illusory nature of the occupation’s proclaimed technological and intelligence superiority and inspiring collective hope and optimism in Palestine and around the world about the future of the Palestinian cause.

Zionist soldiers look at the Freedom Tunnel in confusion, 6 September 2021

The heroic Al-Aqsa Flood, launched on 7 October 2023, has exposed the inhuman rampage of the genocidal enemy and its imperialist backers – the US, Germany, France, Britain, Canada and more – and highlighted to all the legendary courage, strategic planning and execution, steadfastness and brilliance of the armed Resistance. At a time when the bombing of refugee camps, the destruction of hospitals, and the slaughter of mangled children have become daily news updates that could provoke despair in all who love life and cherish humanity, it is the ingenuity, resourcefulness, faith and deep dedication of the resistance, its leaders and its fighters, from the depths of the tunnels of Gaza to the paragliders soaring over the colonial fences, that continues to spark not only hope but certainty of victory and empower a growing global Intifada.

Palestinians in Gaza stand atop a captured Zionist tank, 7 October 2023

This anniversary takes on additional significance and profundity in light of the current moment – Al-Aqsa Flood is characterized not only by the heroic Resistance, and most centrally the armed resistance, and the Zionist genocide in Gaza, but by the invasions throughout the West Bank of occupied Palestine, particularly in Jenin (the home of the Freedom Tunnel heroes), Tulkarem and Tubas. On 4 September, Zakaria Zubaidi’s son, Mohammed, was martyred alongside his comrades from both Jenin and Tubas after they were targeted for assassination, as Zionist occupation forces fired three missiles at their car.

Mohammed Zakaria Zubaidi was martyred alongside four fellow resistance fighters and leaders from both Jenin and Tubas – Mohammed Nazmi Abu Zagha, Mohammed Awad Abu Jumaa, Qusai Majdi Abdullah Abdelrazeq, Ahmed Fawaz Abu Dawas, as well as the youth Majed Abu Zeina.

The martyrs of the 4 September assassination attack: Mohammed Awad Abu Jumaa, Mohammed Abu Zagha, Mohammed Zubeidi, Ahmed Fawaz Abu Damas, Qusai Abdelrazeq

Mohammed Zubaidi survived an assassination attempt in Jenin just days before; growing up in Jenin refugee camp, forcibly separated from his imprisoned father for much of his life, he rose in the resistance to become a leader in his own right. The Zubaidi family has given martyr after martyr for Palestinian liberation, alongside the people of Jenin camp and city, a beating heart of resistance that has never been extinguished by either British or Zionist colonialism.

The history, present and future of the resistance in Jenin was woven into the Freedom Tunnel operation, a legacy that has continued in the Jenin Brigades, through its brave fighters and heroic martyrs who have relentlessly fought to free Jenin – and all of Palestine – from the grasp of the occupation. Despite the destruction wrought by the occupation forces – including tearing up 70% of Jenin’s roads – and the precious martyrs taken by their assaults and assassinations, from Mohammed Zubaidi and his comrades to Abu Shujaa in Tulkarem, the Resistance throughout the West Bank continues to fight, to rebuild, to defend their land and people, and to advance the cause of liberation.

Abu Shujaa, resistance leader in Tulkarem, martyred on 29 August 2024

The great popular Intifada of 1987 launched from Gaza in December, six months after the May 1987 Gaza prison break of Misbah al-Suri and his comrades and two months after their battle in Shujaiyya with occupation forces on 6 October, now commemorated as the official anniversary date of the founding of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement; and of course, two years after the great prisoner exchange of 1985 conducted by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command which liberated 1150 Palestinian prisoners, including al-Suri, Kozo Okamoto of the Japanese Red Army; Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, later the spiritual leader of Hamas; and Ziyad Nakhaleh, the current general secretary of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Similarly, it is clear that alongside the Battle of Seif al-Quds/the Unity Intifada, the Freedom Tunnel – and, of course, the Wafa’ al-Ahrar prisoner exchange accomplished by the Resistance in 2011 in which many leaders, including most prominently, Yahya Sinwar, chair of the Political Bureau of Hamas, were liberated – is one of the immediate forebears of 7 October 2023.

The light of liberation that shone from the Freedom Tunnel has become a burning sun of the Palestinian revolution, casting away all illusions and exposing the friends and enemies of the Palestinian people, unquenchable until victory and liberation, from the river to the sea. It is clear to all that the Palestinian resistance – alongside the resistance forces in the region, stretching from Lebanon to Yemen to Iraq to Syria to Iran, and around the world, from the Sahel to Venezuela, with the support of our movements on our campuses, communities, countries and cities everywhere, including in the heart of the imperial core – can and will defeat the Zionist project in Palestine and US-led imperialism in the region, no matter how vicious their genocidal aggression and the irreplaceable human toll that they are determined to extract from the Palestinian and Arab people.

Today, the six heroes of the Freedom Tunnel are high priorities for liberation in a prisoner exchange conducted by the Resistance, alongside their fellow leaders of the prisoners’ movement: Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Sa’adat, Abdullah Barghouti, Abbas al-Sayyed, Ibrahim Hamed, Hassan Salameh, Nael Barghouti, and their fellow prisoners with lengthy sentences, alongside the steadfast women prisoners like Khalida Jarrar, Hanan Barghouti, Bushra al-Tawil, Shatila Abu Ayad, and all of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held behind Zionist, imperialist and collaborationist reactionary regime bars.

The situation inside the prisons has become even worse for Palestinian prisoners, as the Zionist regime carries out a deliberate policy of torture, starvation, medical neglect and abuse. For thousands of Palestinians abducted from Gaza and held in the torture camps like Sde Teiman, Zionist imprisonment has meant extreme physical and psychological torture, rape and sexual assault, conducted as a matter of state policy. The internal Zionist front is being torn apart with contradictions, especially after the exposure of the Netanyahu government’s willingness to give up the Zionist captives held by the Resistance in order to prolong their political future – even at the expense of the Zionist project itself.

This year, as we recall the Freedom Tunnel, we are republishing our analysis (slightly edited) issued on the anniversary of the Freedom Tunnel, below. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all in the movement to take this anniversary as an occasion to highlight the struggles of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement as part and parcel of the Palestinian liberation struggle, demand an end to the genocide, the freedom of the Palestinian prisoners and the liberation of all of Palestine, and to celebrate and honour the heroic resistance of the Palestinian people, especially the armed resistance at the forefront of that liberation.

Glory to the martyrs, freedom for the prisoners, and liberation for Palestine, from the river to the sea.

The Freedom Tunnel: Palestinian prisoners leading the resistance

Today, 6 September, marks the anniversary of the Freedom Tunnel, when six Palestinian prisoners liberated themselves in 2021 from the high-security Gilboa prison of the Israeli occupation. The six Palestinians — Mahmoud al-Ardah, Mohammed al-Ardah, Yousef Qadri, Ayham Kamamji, Munadil Nafa’at and Zakaria Zubaidi — became national and international symbols of resistance and of the Palestinian will to freedom in seemingly impossible circumstances, while the simple spoon became a new icon of the resistance and steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their resistance leaders behind bars. While the six were eventually re-captured, their daring, well-organized escape from Gilboa exposed the weakness and cracks hiding beneath the propaganda exterior of “impenetrable Israeli security,” throwing the occupation prison system into internal crisis.

Five more Palestinian prisoners — Iyad Jaradat, Mahmoud Abu Shreim, Ali Abu Bakr, Mohammed Abu Bakr and Qusay Mar’i — are also imprisoned for their role in supporting the Freedom Tunnel actions. The six Freedom Tunnel prisoners and the five who supported them are held in solitary confinement and isolation, in a fruitless attempt to prevent their actions from remaining a bright example to the Palestinian prisoners’ movement and the Palestinian people.

Coming as it did so soon after the battle of Seif al-Quds/the Unity Intifada, the Freedom Tunnel captured the imaginations and consciences of the Palestinian people and Arab nation but also of all around the world who struggle for justice and liberation. Despite decades spent behind bars, the occupation was unable to break the will of the Palestinian prisoners or their leadership in resistance, and the six heroes of the Freedom Tunnel have once again demonstrated this clearly to the world.

Palestinian Prisoner Escapes

The Freedom Tunnel built on a long history of Palestinian prisoners’ resistance actions, from hunger strikes to collective rebellions behind bars, as well as successful escapes and self-liberations from occupation prisons. Some of the major escapes in Palestinian history include:

Atlit prison, 1938 – One of the leaders of the 1936-1939 revolt in Palestine against British colonialism, who fought alongside Sheikh Izzedine al-Qassam, Issa Hajj Suleiman al-Battat, escaped with several other Palestinian prisoners jailed by the British in 1938 before
Shata prison, 1958 – Many estimate this was the largest prison uprising and escape since the Nakba. Approximately 190 Palestinian and Arab prisoners revolted inside the Shata prison in the Jordan Valley on 31 July 1958. 77 prisoners escaped after fierce fighting in which 11 prisoners and two jailers were killed. Mohammed Jahjah, Zakaria Zubaidi’s grandfather, was one of the prisoners who liberated himself in this rebellion, who then participated in leading the fedayeen in armed struggle in Irbid, Jordan, before moving with the fighters to Syria.
Hamza Younes prison escapes, 1964, 1967 and 1971 – Palestinian prisoner Hamza Younes, from Ara, south of Haifa, escaped from occupation prisons on three occasions: from Asqelan prison, from a hospital and a third time from Ramle prison. In 1971, he escaped to Lebanon where he joined the Palestinian resistance there.
Ramallah prison, 1969 – Mahmoud Abdullah Hammad from Silwad, near Ramallah, escaped during a prisoner transfer in 1969. He evaded occupation forces for nine months and successfully made it to Jordan.
Nasser Issa Hamed and Majdi Suleiman Abu al-Safa, 1983 – Nasser was 15 years old at the time and was taken to the occupation court on 27 January 1983. The prisoners launched a confrontation inside the court and Nasser escaped into Ramallah, where he took shelter in an unfinished construction project. He hid in a well as he attempted to make his way home to Silwad, but eventually turned himself in after his mother was arrested by the occupation forces. One month later, learning of the story, Majdi Suleiman Abu al-Safa escaped in the same way from the occupation courts, making his way to Jordan and then to Colombia and Brazil, where he has remained until the present day.
Gaza prison, 1987 – Six Palestinian prisoners escaped Gaza prison on 17 May 1987; three were later assassinated by occupation forces and one more was re-imprisoned. Imad Saftawi and Khaled Saleh fled the Gaza Strip and maintained their freedom.
Nafha prison, 1987 – Three Palestinian prisoners, Khaled al-Rai, Shawqi Abu Nasir and Kamal Abdel-Nabi escaped Nafha prison successfully in 1987 but were recaptured eight days later as they attempted to make their way to Egypt.
Omar Nayef Zayed’s prison escape, 1990 – On 21 May 1990, Omar Nayef Zayed escaped from occupation prisons four years after his arrest as he was transferred to a hospital in Bethlehem. He made his way to Jordan and then to Bulgaria in 1994. In 2016, occupation forces attempted to have him extradited from Bulgaria to occupied Palestine, and he took refuge inside the Palestinian Authority embassy where he was later killed on 26 February 2016. His fight against extradition sparked an international campaign to support him and demand his freedom.
Escape of Saleh Tahaineh, 1996 – Saleh Tahaineh escaped from Ofer prison in a complicated plan involving his fellow struggler Nu’man Tahaineh — later also assassinated by the occupation — and another Palestinian prisoner scheduled to be released. He took the place of the prisoner whose release was scheduled, who then noted that he had not been released. He had earlier switched places with Nu’man, who had a much lower sentence. He was pursued and eventually killed by occupation forces after being captured. Both Saleh and Nu’man Tahaineh were mentors of Mahmoud and Mohammed al-Ardah.
Kfar Yona prison, 1996 – Two Palestinian prisoners, Ghassan Mahdawi and Tawfiq al-Zaben, escaped through a tunnel in 1996, the first prisoner escape that made use of a tunnel. While Mahdawi was seized the next year, al-Zaben was pursued by the occupiers for four more years.
Ofer prison, 2003 – Four Palestinian prisoners escaped from Ofer prison in 2002 during the Al-Aqsa Intifada, including Palestinian student Amjad al-Deek, using spoons and other implements to tunnel their way outside the prison. Three were later recaptured while Riyad Khalifa was killed by occupation forces.
Freedom Tunnel, 2021 – Six Palestinian prisoners escaped from Gilboa prison after digging a tunnel beneath the prison. While they were eventually recaptured, their bravery and commitment inspired Palestinians, Arabs and people around the world, especially in an era of advanced technological surveillance.
Multiple escape attempts – Over the years, Palestinian prisoners, including Mahmoud al-Ardah, who led the Freedom Tunnel operation, attempted to escape, including digging lengthy tunnels before being blocked. These included prisoners in Shata prison in 1998, Asqelan prison in 1996, Gilboa prison in 2014, and Eshel prison.

Inside the Prisons: Confronting the Occupier

The Freedom Tunnel action not only captured the imagination of Palestinians, Arabs and internationals seeking justice, in an era in which such actions had come to seem nearly impossible due to the high level of technological and electronic surveillance, it also sparked a crisis for the occupation. It exposed the weaknesses and failures in the system of military occupation that could not be protected by technology alone and remained highly vulnerable to the human element of the drive for freedom.

Since the Freedom Tunnel, the occupation has deployed large sums of money and resources to “enhance security” in the prisons, especially as they completed their self-liberation from Gilboa Prison Section 5, which had been constructed in 2004 and was touted as “invulnerable” to escape attempts. Over a period of time, the six prisoners dug the tunnel to the outside below the toilet area. They proceeded through the tunnel at approximately 1:49 am, and they were discovered not by an alert within the prison but by a settler who reported the presence of a “suspicious person” nearby. Images of occupation soldiers staring at the hole in the ground left by the tunnel and puzzling over the prisoners’ route were widely distributed.

The prison administration immediately began to implement measures against the prisoners following their public security humiliation. When the six heroes of the Freedom Tunnel were re-arrested, they were thrown in solitary confinement in difficult conditions, not provided medical care for their obvious injuries from beating and torture upon arrest, and transferred from prison to prison. However, they were not alone; the prisoners’ movement inside the prisons rose up, taking protest actions and burning cells to demand the rights of the Freedom Tunnel heroes. Outside, the Palestinian resistance announced that the six Freedom Tunnel prisoners would be at the top of the list for any upcoming prisoner exchange agreement.

Prison officials imposed a lockdown on many prisoners, particularly those of the Islamic Jihad movement and all prisoners with high or life sentences. Five of the six Freedom Tunnel prisoners are part of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, while the sixth, Zakaria al-Zubaidi, is a longtime Fateh leader; all six are from Jenin. The occupation authorities attempted to impose transfers every six months on those with high sentences, engaged in mass transfers of the Islamic Jihad prisoners, blocked family visits and engaged in ongoing raids, invasions and aggressive searches throughout the prisons.

In March 2022, the united Palestinian prisoners’ movement escalated toward a collective open hunger strike to stop such measures from going into effect, and the occupation was forced to back down. When it attempted to do the same again in August 2022, the prisoners’ movement again planned for an open hunger strike to begin on 1 September 2022, which was again averted as the occupation backed down. Further, the Islamic Jihad prisoners also achieved an end to the ongoing transfers of their prisoners and to return the prisoners to the sections from which they were originally transferred, while two prisoners, Abdullah al-Ardah and Abed Obaid, were returned to the general prison population from isolation.

In May 2022, the six heroes of the Freedom Tunnel were sentenced to five additional years of imprisonment, while five more Palestinians — Mohammed Abu Bakr, Iyad Jaradat, Ali Abu Bakr, Mahmoud Abu Shreim and Qusai Mar’i — were sentenced to four years for assisting their fellow prisoners.

In response to the sentences, Yaqoub Qadri affirmed: “We do not care what the sentence is. The important thing is that we made the impossible possible; we were able to break through the Israeli security services and dealt a blow. We were able to achieve something that was unthinkable for Israel and its security mechanisms.”

Even the judge in the court essentially affirmed Qadri’s comments that the sentence is a form of revenge for exposing the fragility of colonial domination in Palestine, noting that their self-liberation, “paralyzed the nation for days” and caused large financial expenditures, imposing additional costs on the occupation.

The response to repression following the Freedom Tunnel has been increased resistance inside the prisons, strong unity between all Palestinian political forces and a continued promise of freedom that no amount of repression has been able to suppress.

The Freedom Tunnel and The Resistance

Estimates indicate that the occupation spent tens of millions of dollars in less than 12 days in their pursuit of the Freedom Tunnel heroes. They further launched a project to fortify the prisons at a cost of $2.5 million. Thousands of police and army forces participated in the searches, with 720 police patrols, dozens of military vehicles and 250 checkpoints set up in the panicked reaction to the self-liberation of these Palestinian prisoners.

The effect of this action on the occupier and the self-liberation of these six Palestinians from Jenin has continued to inspire and inflame the growing resistance in Jenin, which has been the site of harsh battles as occupation forces attempt to suppress the resistance. Many referred to the Freedom Tunnel heroes as the Jenin Brigade, the name taken up by the fighters resisting the occupation in Jenin and heroically fighting back a massive invasion in July 2023.

The Freedom Tunnel came only months after the Seif al-Quds Battle/Unity Intifada throughout Palestine and served to confirm once again that the prisoners are at the heart of the resistance and are a truly unifying factor for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause. The Palestinian resistance upheld the centrality of the prisoners in the defense of Gaza in the Unity of the Fields battle of August 2022 and again in the Revenge of The Free of May 2023, amidst massacres by the occupation and through the placement of the Freedom Tunnel prisoners at the top of the list for an exchange agreement. Today, amid the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood, the prisoners are once again at the core of the liberation movement, a compass toward freedom, resisting the genocidal onslaught alongside their people throughout Palestine.

Internationalism and the Freedom Tunnel

The message of the Freedom Tunnel was not confined to occupied Palestine nor even to Palestinians in exile and diaspora around the world. In protests and demonstrations in many international cities, the symbol of the spoon and the images of the Freedom Tunnel heroes inspired people to take to the streets to demand justice and liberation for Palestine and the Palestinian prisoners and an end to Western imperialist complicity with and support for occupation crimes.

From the Philippines to Colombia to France, where Georges Abdallah has been jailed for 40 years, the message of the Freedom Tunnel resonated among political prisoners and those fighting for their liberation. It proved the indomitable will of revolutionary prisoners and of the Palestinian people in seeking freedom in the most unfavorable circumstances, inspiring many to mobilize and join the movement to liberate Palestinian prisoners — and Palestine itself, from the river to the sea.

The Freedom Tunnel and the six heroes of the self-liberation operation represent the irrepressible hope of freedom and commitment to liberation that no amount of militarized repression and Zionist colonization has suppressed, for over 75 years. The actions of this “Freedom Brigade” are not only a symbol of hope for Palestinians but also for everyone in the world who seeks justice and freedom.

Building on the experiences of Palestinian prisoners who liberated themselves in the past, they exposed the crumbling edifices of the Israeli occupation and forced them to waste tens of millions of dollars in their massive manhunt. Their bravery and commitment to freedom is celebrated throughout Palestine, from the river to the sea, and everywhere around the world. Spoons – symbols of the rusty kitchen tools they used to dig their way to liberation – have come to represent the irrepressible drive to freedom.

Al-Aqsa Flood changed the world, building upon the history of the Palestinian revolution — including that of the Freedom Tunnel. As we build the global intifada and develop our movement to confront the Zionist genocide and support the Resistance and the liberation struggle, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all to stand with the Palestinian prisoners’ movement and the Palestinian people to demand justice and liberation for Palestine, from the river to the sea.

The Freedom Tunnel prisoners

Mahmoud al-Ardah

Mahmoud Abdullah al-Ardah, the leader of the Freedom Tunnel escape, was born on 8 November 1975 and grew up in Arraba, Jenin. He first became active as a boy during the great popular intifada of 1987 and was seized and imprisoned for the first time in 1992 on allegations of targeting occupation jeeps and military patrols with Molotov cocktails. He became a part of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement in prison before his release in 1996. Eight months later he was arrested again by the occupation forces for shooting a military officer invading Salfit and harbouring the martyr leader Saleh Tahaineh, who had himself escaped from occupation prisons. He was already sentenced to 99 years in occupation prisons before the Freedom Tunnel operation.

Photos of Mahmoud al-Ardah from 1997 in Megiddo prison (above)

After his imprisonment, he attempted to escape on multiple occasions, in 2001, 2011 and 2014. In the latter instance, he was accused of digging a tunnel to escape from Shata prison and on each occasion he was placed in isolation. He obtained both his high school diploma and bachelor’s degree in prison and became a leader of the prisoners’ movement before designing and planning the Freedom Tunnel self-liberation.

Mohammed al-Ardah

Mohammed Qasem al-Ardah, is 39 years old, from Arraba, Jenin. He has been imprisoned since 14 May 2002 and is sentenced to 3 life sentences and 20 years (now 25 years) in occupation prisons for his role in the military resistance to occupation, particularly during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. He is a struggler with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement. His brother, Ahmad, said that Mohammed was like a second father to their family after the death of their own father. He became the imam of the mosque in the area and a beloved, respected figure in Arraba. Like Mahmoud al-Ardah, Mohammed al-Ardah knew Nu’man Tahaineh, involved with Saleh Tahaineh in his escape, closely, as well as fellow escapees Iyad Sawalha and Iyad al-Hamran, both of which were involved in the 2002 escape from Ofer prison.

Yaqoub Qadri

Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri (Ghawadra) was born on 22 December 1972 in Bir al-Basha, Jenin, growing up in Bir al-Basha and neighboring Arraba. As a teen, he was active in the great popular intifada of 1987. Seized by the occupation forces, he became more active following his imprisonment. He was later detained by the Palestinian Authority in 1996 under its “security coordination” with the Israeli occupation, and with the Al-Aqsa Intifada, became active in the resistance with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, fighting to defend his village and neighboring villages and refugee camps from invasions by occupation soldiers.

He participated in the battle to defend Jenin camp in 2002 when it was subjected to massacres by occupation forces, and in operations targeting illegal settlers stealing Palestinian land. He was “wanted” and pursued by the occupation for over a year before he was seized in October 2003 in a cave near Zababdeh. He was sentenced to two life sentences and 35 years after spending four months under severe torture in interrogation in Jalameh interrogation center. He joined Mahmoud al-Ardah in the attempt to escape Shata prison in 2014 before once again joining in the Freedom Tunnel escape. He described the days of his self-liberation as the most beautiful of his life.

Munadil Nafa’at

Munadil Naf’at, 26, is one of four brothers from Ya’bad, Jenin. His family is heavily involved in the struggle for Palestine, and the four brothers have not been able to meet in one room for 16 years, as one has always been imprisoned. He and his family are farmers; he has been arrested repeatedly since he was 14 years old. He had been detained for 19 months without trial on allegations of involvement with the resistance and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement at the time of his self-liberation through the Freedom Tunnel.

Ayham Kamamji

Ayham Fouad Kamamji, 36 years old, is from Kufr Dan, Jenin. He has been imprisoned since he was 20 years old in 2006 on the basis of involvement in the resistance with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement. Sentenced to two life sentences, he said that the inspiration for his escape was to see his mother’s grave, as he had been denied permission to attend her funeral in 2019. He had been active in the Palestinian prisoners’ movement since his arrest. On 14 April 2022, again only weeks before the additional sentencing of the Freedom Tunnel prisoners, his brother Shas Kamamji was killed by the occupation forces in Kfar Din. Many of Ayham’s brothers are also former prisoners for their role in resisting occupation.

Zakaria Zubaidi

Zakaria al-Zubaidi, born in 1976 in Jenin refugee camp, became one of the most prominent leaders of Fateh’s armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Mohammed Jahjah, Zakaria Zubaidi’s grandfather, was one of the prisoners who liberated himself in the 1958 Shata prison rebellion and escape, who then participated in leading the fedayeen in armed struggle in Irbid, Jordan, before moving with the fighters to Syria.

Both his mother and his brother Taha were killed by occupation forces in 2002. He was repeatedly pursued by the occupation and was eventually promised an amnesty brokered by the Palestinian Authority. He married and had two children, a son and a daughter, and became a prominent advocate for Palestinian arts with the Freedom Theatre in Jenin. In this capacity, he met with many international activists and supporters of Palestine. His amnesty was revoked in 2011 and he was detained without charge by the Palestinian Authority for six months and then later held in a PA jail in “protective custody.” In 2018, he began his master’s degree studies at Bir Zeit University, but in 2019, he and his lawyer, Tariq Barghout, were seized by occupation forces and detained on allegations of armed resistance to the occupation. He finally obtained his master’s degree behind prison bars.

In May 2022, shortly before he was re-sentenced, occupation forces killed Daoud al-Zubaidi, Zakaria Zubaidi’s brother, a former Palestinian prisoner and a longtime struggler of the Palestinian resistance in Jenin. Daoud al-Zubaidi’s body is currently being imprisoned alongside over 550 bodies of the martyrs, a form of collective punishment imposed by the Zionist regime.

Mohammed Zakaria Zubaidi, and his uncle Mohammed Zubaidi, flank a photo of Naim Zubaidi. All three are martyrs of the Palestinian liberation cause.

On 4 September 2024, two days before this anniversary, Zakaria’s eldest son Mohammed was martyred at the age of 21, a leader and a fighter in the resistance in Jenin, alongside four of his comrades, in a Zionist assassination attack which fired three missiles at their car.

Mohammed Zubaidi carries the body of the martyr Wafa Jarrar.

Samidoun statements on the Freedom Tunnel

Statement of the CUNY 28: “Palestine is everywhere. We are all outside agitators.”

5 September 2024

The following statement was issued today by the CUNY 28 at their press conference outside the courthouse where 8 of the CUNY 28 continue to face unjust charges for their participation in the student encampment for Palestine. As CUNY for Palestine writes, “On 4/30, hundreds across the city were arrested at protests and Gaza solidarity encampments. While the charges have been dropped for most, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, CUNY, and the NYPD continue to pursue the heaviest charges for 8 of the now CUNY 28. In addition to the previously known 22, there were 6 additional comrades arrested that same night also facing felony charges. We’ve since connected with the 6 other comrades who were brutalized and arrested that night at CCNY, but who were isolated by the bureaucracy of the carceral machine and are also facing heavy and unjust charges.

TELL CUNY TO MEET THE 5 DEMANDS. DROP THE CHARGES FOR ALL OF THE CUNY 28. FREE PALESTINE.”

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network stands in full solidarity with the CUNY 28 and join the demands to drop the charges. As we noted previously, ”

Escalating to end a genocide is not a crime — indeed, it is a duty, particularly in the heart of the imperial core, at a moment when the resistance forces of the region, from Palestine to Yemen to Lebanon to Iraq and beyond, are on the front lines sacrificing and fighting for the protection and liberation of humanity. We must all make clear that the raids and arrests will not intimidate our movement nor cause us to de-escalate our tactics and methods of struggle, but will only lead us to greater unity, resistance and confrontation, to end the genocide and for a free Palestine from the river to the sea.

The strong and principled statement of the CUNY 28 is below:

As of today, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been martyred over the last ten months. This is a continuation of 76 years of the genocidal ambitions of the zionist state, a continuation of the Nakba. These numbers do not account for the countless thousands missing under the rubble in Gaza. An entire population is being starved, while over 20,000 are held hostage in the West Bank.

Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq continue to answer to the Palestinian call by confronting the zionist entity, smashing all illusions of the occupation’s invincibility while they deal with the entity’s outbursts. “The Axis of Resistance bears its responsibility not only in supporting Gaza but in doing more to serve the primary goal, which is stopping the aggression in all its forms.”

The fight is not just in solidarity, but in resisting assimilation to the colonial project. The CUNY 28 attempted to answer the call made by the steadfast Palestinian resistance to escalate from within the belly of the beast. We resist with Gaza.

Since October 7th, numerous CUNY administrations have issued disingenuous statements about anti-Semitism on campus, yet they remain silent on the ongoing genocide. Instead, CUNY actively represses and condemns any support of the Palestinian right to self-determination and liberation, contributing to the widespread racist dehumanization of Palestinians.

As the zionist entity continues its destruction of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank—and as the United States maintains its genocidal hegemony from Palestine to Harlem—the working-class people of the world escalate. An encampment should not normalize the institution—it should disrupt it, dismantle it and abolish it.

The occupation of buildings by students and outside agitators symbolizes reclaiming space and disrupting normal operations to draw attention to injustices and to force institutions to address the demands of protestors.

The night of the CUNY raid, “public safety” brutalized protesters. CUNY “public safety” are the pigs! The pigs are the IOF! Anyone that chooses to play the role of a pig is the enemy. A principled encampment should never collaborate with the pigs.

Since the violent escalation by CUNY and the pigs, all 22 agitators were charged with 3rd degree felony burglary—a clear representation of state repression against those of us who choose to act against genocide. At the same time, the CUNY Board of Trustees introduced a resolution to spend 4 million dollars on a private security firm that advertises its services to pigs and zionist-trained “experts” to spy on pro-Palestine protesters.

CUNY agitators spent more time in custody than Columbia protesters, and are still facing higher charges and continued backlash. The narrative of “good” vs. “bad” protester is a narrative pushed by the state to divide our efforts along class and racial contentions, but in reality the fight against the same enemy unites us.

We will not be intimidated into silence by the state.

Eight of the 22 have decided to resist this blatant state reprisal. We will not be bullied into silence by any court, nor Alvin Bragg and his many zionist donors. More than 90% of people serving time in federal prisons right now accepted coercive plea bargains instead of going to trial. The judicial system is built on mass-incarceration, capitalizing off of modern prison labor, which is just another form of slavery.

We are fighting our charges, not only because we do not recognize the state’s claim to authority over our actions, but also because we believe that challenging these charges is a necessary stand against an unjust system that seeks to silence dissent and criminalize resistance. It is hypocritical of the state to criminalize property damage at a protest, while signing lucrative contracts to destroy entire communities.

We are not just fighting for a Free Palestine but for the liberation of all. We fight for ourselves and our communities. Palestine is everywhere.

Remember, “we are all outside agitators.” Whether we are fighting in Atlanta, New York City, Sudan, or Palestine, the enemy remains the same. The zionist entity escalates, so does the Palestinian Resistance. The pigs and institutions escalate, so do the agitators of the world!

Watch the press conference video below:

CUNY presser: “We are all outside agitators whether we are fighting in Atlanta, New York, Sudan or Palestine — the enemy remains the same. The zionist entity escalates & so does the Palestinian resistance. The pigs & their institutions escalate, so do the agitators of the world.” pic.twitter.com/7H6UtrdqgG

— Unity of Fields (@unityoffields) September 5, 2024

October 4-13 — RESISTING GENOCIDE: Week of Action — Boycott for Palestinian Liberation

1 September 2024

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is an endorser and participant in this call. We urge all organizations to join in the week of action by endorsing the call and organizing actions and events — a day within the week will be specifically dedicated to the liberation of Palestinian prisoners!

INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF ACTION

OCTOBER 4-13, 2024

RESISTING GENOCIDE: BOYCOTT FOR PALESTINIAN LIBERATION

END THE GENOCIDE NOW!

The Canadian BDS Coalition & International BDS Allies call upon all supporters of Palestinian liberation around the world to join us in a week of boycott action from October 4 through 13, 2024, marking one year of genocide and one year of resistance – amid 76 years of genocide and 76 years of resistance – to end the genocide now and liberate Palestine!

Organize boycott actions at local stores, government buildings and other facilities, mobilize mass marches and demonstrations, hold political education events, take direct action, flyer, sticker, poster and act for the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea. Target Zionist products and complicit companies, educate your community about the boycott movement, mobilize on campus for divestment, expose the complicity of corporate and state-backed media, confront Zionist “charities” funding the “Israeli” war machine, and demand the full international isolation of the Zionist regime.

Join us for a week of action that will include:

Day of Action for Palestinian Children
Day of Action for Palestinian Journalists
Day of Action for Palestinian Political Prisoners
Day of Action for the Palestinian Resistance
Day of Action for Palestinian Refugees & The Right to Return

The struggle for the right to return and the liberation of Palestine is being led by the Palestinian people and especially by the armed resistance on the front lines in Palestine and throughout the region. This is not only a struggle to bring the past 12 months of extreme genocidal aggression to an end, but for the liberation of Palestine. At the same time, we see the complicity and direct responsibility of the United States, Canada, Britain, and European Union states for the ongoing genocide, through ongoing weapons sales and unlimited political, diplomatic and military support for the genocidal regime.

We urge all groups to endorse the Week, join in, take action, and organize your own events. We will provide posters and other materials that you can use in your actions, and we invite you to become part of our planning team to share your ideas with other organizations that are part of the Week of Action. Let’s come together for a powerful International Week of Action for Boycott for Palestinian Liberation!

Organizations click here to endorse the Week

Click here to register your event as part of the Week

Stay tuned for the calendar of events

1-7 October, Madrid: The Line of Resistance and Liberation — Conference, Mobilization and Public Events — Register Now!

1 September 2024

Invitation to participate in the annual conference of the Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement

THE LINE OF RESISTANCE AND LIBERATION

1 – 7 October 2024

Madrid, Spain

Register here

Under the slogan “From the River to the Sea….victory for our people and our Palestinian resistance, ” the Masar Badil invites you to participate in its annual conference between 1-7 October 2024, and the international popular march in the Spanish capital, Madrid, on Sunday 6 October 2024.

Our upcoming conference is called under the banner, The Line of Resistance and Liberation: Towards Developing a Strategy for Resistance in the Diaspora. The conference will include dialogue and research into developing forms of resistance for our people abroad, expanding the scope and areas of popular student, labor, women’s and community movements and activities, developing comprehensive boycott campaigns, and confronting the war of genocide committed by the Zionist entity against our people in the Gaza Strip and all of occupied Palestine, under blatant U.S. and European imperialist sponsorship, amid the silence and complicity of the reactionary Arab regimes.

Several of the goals of our conference are to evaluate our work and draw up our programs for the current stage and to confront the policies of oppression and racism in Europe and North America, to build greater struggle and unity in all areas and countries, and to strengthen our relations with various resistance and liberation forces in Palestine, the region and the world.

To participate and register for the conference, complete the registration form on the Masar Badil website: https://masarbadil.org/en/2024/07/5026/

28 August, Brussels: Protest in solidarity with Palestine, Venezuela, Congo and Yemen against Imperialism, Colonialism, Zionism and Fascism

28 August 2024

Join us on Friday in front of the European Parliament to stand with the people of Palestine, Venezuela, Congo, Yemen, the Philippines, and all oppressed people who suffer and pay the price for Western colonialism and its imperial war machine.

The United States and the EU continue to unconditionally support the fascist Zionist Entity in committing genocide against the Palestinian people. In Latin America, and across Africa, they sanction and destabilise democratically elected governments in order to install fascist puppet regimes, regimes which will allow West to exploit the peoples of the Global South for unfettered access to their resources.

Just as was the case 200 years ago, the trappings of empire are paid for with the blood of the Global South.

On Friday we come together at one of the seats of Empire. As Palestinians, Latin Americans, Africans, and Asians, as antifascists and as the working class, we condemn continued western colonialism. We say with one voice, from Brussels, in front of the EU, that we stand with the people, and with every national liberation movement which struggles against Zionism, fascism, colour revolution, and colonialism in all its hideous, violent forms.

Down with colonialism and imperialism.

Long live the resistance.

Khalida Jarrar held in isolation for past 16 days: Free her now!

28 August 2024

Palestinian scholar, feminist, leftist and former parliamentarian Khalida Jarrar is currently being held in solitary confinement in the Zionist Neve Tirza prison in extremely harsh conditions. She has been held in isolation for the past 16 days. Like her detention itself — she is jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, alongside nearly 4,000 of the 9,500 Palestinians imprisoned by the occupation regime — no reason or excuse has been proffered by the occupation authorities to justify her ongoing isolation.

In a message from Neve Tirza, conveyed by her lawyers, Jarrar said:

“I die every day. The cell is like a small closed box where no air enters. There is only a toilet in the cell with a small window above it, which was later sealed just one day after my transfer. They left me no space to breathe, and even what is called the ‘ashnav’ (peephole) on the cell door was sealed. There is only a small opening where I sit most of the time to breathe. I am suffocating in my cell, waiting for the hours to pass, hoping to find some oxygen particles to breathe and stay alive.”

Jarrar, who suffers from several health problems, continued:

“What worsened the misery of my isolation is the high temperatures. I am, in short, inside an oven at its highest setting. I cannot sleep due to the extreme heat, and not only have they isolated me in these conditions, but they have deliberately cut off the water in the cell. Even when I request to fill a water bottle to drink, they bring it after at least four hours. As for going out to the prison yard, I was allowed only once after eight days of isolation, and they deliberately delay the delivery of the poor-quality meal for hours.”

Khalida Jarrar is detained in a very small isolation cell, measuring only 2 by 1.5 meters, where the only available space is occupied by a mattress. The cell also contains a tiny bathroom with a toilet and a shower. It is completely sealed off, with no window for ventilation or fresh air.

Addameer reported one week ago:

“On August 12, 2024, the IPS stormed Khalida Jarrar’s cell in Damon Prison and forcibly removed her. Jarrar was put in a filthy cell infested with tics, where she remained for an entire day without being interrogated.

On August 13, without prior notice or explanation, she was transferred from her cell without her necessary eyeglasses, which had been kept from her. She was informed that she was being transferred but was not told where. She remained in the Bosta (transport vehicle) for five hours before being taken to the Neve Tirza Prison in Ramleh, which is used for the isolation of detainees. Jarrar was informed that she was prohibited from receiving visits from her lawyer and they refused to disclose the reasons for her isolation at Neve Tirza or the duration of her stay.”

Jarrar was seized from her home in the morning hours of 26 December 2023 as part of mass arrests by Zionist forces in the West Bank of occupied Palestine during the genocide in Gaza. She was almost immediately ordered to administrative detention, which was renewed on 24 June 2024.

She is currently a scholar and researcher at the Muwatin Institute at Birzeit University. In fact, she was scheduled to appear on 27 December at a panel convened by Jadaliyya on imprisonment in the time of genocide; she was seized from her home only one day before.

She is now one of 87 Palestinian women prisoners held in Damon prison, and at least 19 jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention. The Palestinian women prisoners include a pregnant woman, the mothers and sisters of martyrs, students, journalists, lawyers and activists. They are among at least 9,500 Palestinians held in Zionist jails — not counting the thousands who have been taken captive from Gaza by the genocidal invading soldiers and whose names and numbers have not been reported.

We urge all to follow the Dismantle Damon: Free the ReSisters! Campaign for the latest news and updates on the Palestinian women prisoners.

Jarrar, a historical leftist political leader with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has been imprisoned on multiple occasions by the occupation regime, including in 2015, when her administrative detention without charge or trial drew global protests before she was then transferred to the occupation military courts. She is a lifelong advocate for the liberation of political prisoners and was targeted specifically for her statements and advocacy for the liberation of Palestinian prisoners.

In 2019, she was once again seized by the occupation regime. While she was imprisoned, her daughter Suha tragically passed away. She was denied the right to see Suha’s body and attend her funeral before she was released again in 2021. During both of her times of imprisonment, she established independent educational programs to teach the imprisoned minor girls the high school education they were denied as well as the adult women prisoners their rights under international law.

She discusses her imprisonment in the book, Our Vision for Liberation, by Ramzy Baroud and Ilan Pappe; her piece is published at the Palestine Chronicle.

While the Zionist regime has been waging a full-fledged genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, they have seized thousands of prisoners and subjected them to horrific conditions. Palestinians from Gaza in particular have been brutally and routinely tortured and abused by occupation forces — for example at the Sde Teiman concentration camp, where the extreme stories of torture reported by released Palestinian civilians have included forced amputations, sexual assault and rape, starvation, beatings and other severe abuse. This is both a continuation of the attack on the Palestinian people as well as a mechanism to inflate the number of prisoners in order to manipulate the results of a prisoner exchange with the Palestinian resistance, holding Palestinians like Khalida Jarrar hostage inside Zionist jails.

We urge all organizers and activists for Palestine to raise the demand for the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners from Zionist jails as part and parcel of our collective struggle, mass demonstrations and direct actions to bring an end to the ongoing Zionist genocide in Gaza for the past 11 months, as well as the ongoing genocide in Palestine for the past 76 years. Imperialist powers like the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, and others that continue to support, fund and arm the Zionist regime are full partners in the genocide and mass incarceration and torture of the Palestinian people. As the Palestinian resistance struggles on the front lines to liberate the thousands held behind Zionist bars — and to liberate Palestine from the river to the sea — we can and must act, organize, take action and shut down the genocidal imperialist systems targeting the Palestinian people today.

Freedom for Khalida Jarrar and all Palestinians in zionist, imperialist and reactionary jails!

Women of Resistance: The women martyrs’ bodies held captive by the Zionist occupation

27 August 2024

On the international and Palestinian day for the retrieval and liberation of the bodies of the martyrs, the Dismantle Damon campaign highlighted the 9 women martyrs — among the 552 Palestinian martyrs in total — whose bodies are held captive by the Zionist occupation regime in morgues and “numbers cemeteries,” where Palestinians and Arabs are buried with only a number and without their names.

Today, there are 552 known Palestinian martyrs held in the morgues and “numbers cemeteries,” including 256 in “numbers cemeteries” and 296 imprisoned in morgues and refrigerators since the re-implementation of the policy of imprisoning bodies in 2015. Among them are 9 female martyrs, 32 martyrs from the prisoners’ movement, 55 children under the age of 18, 5 martyrs from the 1948 occupied territories, and 6 martyrs from Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

However, these numbers do not convey the full extent of the crime; multiple released detainees from Gaza held at the Sde Teiman torture camp, where extreme physical torture, sexual abuse and assault, murder, starvation and abuse of all forms have been routinely used against masses of Palestinians from Gaza abducted by the invading genocidal army, have testified to the presence of over 1,500 bodies of martyrs held there; the occupation regime has returned around 428 martyrs’ bodies en masse.

The nine women martyrs whose bodies are being held by the Zionist regime include a woman, Bayan Mohammed Jumaa Salama Eid, targeted just one month ago in an assassination attack in Tulkarem, a 17-year old girl, Asmaa Daraghmeh, as well as some of the most well-known women of the Palestinian resistance across generations, Dalal al-Mughrabi, Wafa Idriss, Dareen Abu Eisheh and Hanadi Jaradat.

These are the stories of the imprisoned women martyrs whose bodies are detained by the Zionist regime, with the full support, funding, and partnership of the United States and its fellow imperialist partners in Germany, Britain, France, Canada, Australia and elsewhere.

Bayan Mohammed Jumaa Salama Eid was martyred in Tulkarem refugee camp on 23 July 2024, when Zionist forces invaded and attacked the camp for 16 hours. They bombed a home in the camp with a drone airstrike, killing five Palestinians, including 22-year-old Bayan and her mother, 50-year-old Iman Mohammed Jumaa, and three prominent leaders of the Palestinian resistance in the camp, Ashraf Eid Zaher Nafeh, a leader of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades in Tulkarem camp, and Mohammed Ibrahim Awad and Mohammed Badie, leaders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in the camp. The occupation forces invaded the refugee camp — whose residents have been denied their right to return home to Palestine for over 76 years — with 25 military vehicles, then abducted the martyred bodies of Bayan, Ashraf Nafeh, Mohammed Awad and Mohammed Badie, after they attacked the camp with bulldozers, destroying neighbourhoods and tearing up electricity poles.

Maimouna Abdul Hamid Harasheh from the village of Bani Naim, east of al-Khalil, was martyred on 24 April 2024 when “Israeli” occupation forces shot her in the head at a checkpoint in occupied al-Khalil. Maimouna, 20, a university student with an exam scheduled later that day, was shot dead at the Beit Anun checkpoint, referred to as the “checkpoint of death.” Occupation forces deliberately left her to bleed to death and denied access to ambulance crews seeking to provide her with medical attention before they kidnapped her body, where they now hold her body hostage in their morgue.

Labiba Faze’ Sawafta was martyred on 21 April 2024 when “Israeli” Occupation forces opened fire on her at the Hamra checkpoint in the northern occupied Jordan Valley, in Palestine’s West Bank. Occupation forces claimed that Labiba, 43, from Tubas, wanted to carry out a stabbing operation in retaliation for the ongoing genocide in Gaza. After they shot her in cold blood, once again, as in Maimouna’s case, the occupation forces denied access to ambulance crews, instead kidnapping her body.

Asmaa Imad Daraghmeh was martyred on 8 April 2024 when she was shot dead by the “Israeli” Occupation Forces at the Tayasir checkpoint east of Tubas in the northern West Bank of occupied Palestine. Asmaa, a 17-year-old girl, was shot at a distance of 10 meters (33 feet) away, when the heavily armed soldiers claimed that they were at mortal threat from a knife Asmaa held. As in the cases of Labiba and Maimouna, once again the occupation forces blocked access to a Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulance, forcing the teen girl to bleed out without receiving medical care, and instead kidnapped her body.

Wafa Abdul Rahman Baradei was martyred on 19 May 2021 when she was shot dead by an illegal Zionist settler near the so-called “Kiryat Arba” settlement. The settlers claimed that Wafa, 34, from al-Hallajil area near the village of Bani Naim in the Al-Khalil district, was carrying a gun and intended to carry out a resistance operation at the settlement. After the settlers murdered Wafa, occupation forces invaded her village and ransacked her home in the late night hours, as they stole her body and have held it hostage for over three years.

Hanadi Tayseer Jaradat was martyred on 4 October 2003 in a martyrdom operation she carried out in the Maxim restaurant in Haifa, occupied Palestine. Hanadi, 28, was a law student who was scheduled to qualify as a lawyer in the coming weeks, following the completion of her study at Yarmouk University in Jordan. Hanadi was a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, as was her younger brother, Fadi, and her cousin, Salah, both of whom were martyred after being assassinated by an undercover Zionist infiltrator in Jenin. In 2012, Hanadi Jaradat was honoured by the Arab Lawyers Union for her commitment and sacrifice for Palestine. “By the power and determination of God, I decided to be the sixth female martyr who will make her body into shrapnel that explodes to kill the Zionists and destroy every settler and Zionist. And because we are not the only ones who must continue to pay the price and reap the reward for their crimes, and so that our mothers do not continue to pay the price for the Zionist crimes…” she said before embarking on her operation. The occupation forces collected Hanadi’s remains and buried her in the “numbers cemeteries,” alongside Dareen Abu Eisheh and Wafaa Idriss.

Dareen Abu Eisheh was martyred on 27 February 2002 when she decided to become the second woman to carry out a martyrdom operation as part of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Dareen, 22, was a student at An-Najah National University and an ardent activist with the Islamic Bloc, where she studied English language and literature. She was deeply religious and very politically active, described as the first to attend rallies and demonstrations. Dedicated to Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, Dareen first approached the movement to join the al-Qassam Brigades and carry out an operation, but was denied because, at that time, the movement’s interpretation was that the struggle was the task of men, unless there were no men to carry out the fight. However, she was committed to participate directly through carrying out an operation, and then approached the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Fateh, who agreed to arm her to carry out a bombing at the Maccabim checkpoint between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. She wore the banner of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, layered over with a green banner for the Al-Qassam Brigades that she made, in the video she recorded, declaring: “I wanted to be the second woman to carry out a martyrdom operation and take revenge for the blood of the martyrs and the destruction of the sanctity of al-Aqsa mosque.” After her martyrdom, she was known as the “daughter of all factions,” with Fateh, Hamas and Islamic Jihad coming together to jointly claim her, while the occupation held her remains, burying her in the “numbers cemetery” where she has remained for 21 years.

Wafaa Idriss was martyred on 21 January 2002 in the first martyrdom operation carried out by a Palestinian woman against the Zionist occupation. A longtime Fateh activist, Wafaa, 28, was a Palestinian refugee who was born and raised in al-Ama’ri refugee camp in Ramallah. During the first intifada, she joined the camp’s women’s committee, providing social support, engaging in food distribution and supported prisoners’ families. She trained as a medic and volunteered with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. She went to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fateh’s armed wing, when she decided to carry out an operation in the middle of Tel Aviv. Her remains were confiscated and buried in the “cemetery of numbers” by the Zionist regime, but a mass memorial held for her in Ramallah in January 2002 drew thousands of women, as a Fateh women’s leader said, “Nobody can prevent the women from taking part in this war toward liberating Palestine,” and attendees chanted: “Women standing beside men, hand in hand, will march toward Jerusalem.”

Dalal al Mughrabi is an icon of the Palestinian resistance movement and one of the most widely-known women Palestinian fighters. A Palestinian refugee born in Sabra refugee camp in Lebanon to her Palestinian father, forced from his home in occupied Yafa during the Nakba, and her Lebanese mother, Dalal was trained as a nurse and joined Fateh and the Palestinian liberation movement in 1975, at the age of 16, at the beginning of the Lebanese civil war. She became a lieutenant in Fateh’s armed organization and was offered a political post in Italy, but declined in order to remain part of the armed struggle. She led a group of 11 Palestinian and Lebanese fighters in a boat to enter occupied Palestine via the beach near occupied Yafa, seeking to attack the Zionist war ministry or to reach the Knesset for a military operation to demand the release of Palestinian prisoners. The group seized a bus, holding the inhabitants captive, before Zionist forces stopped the bus. During a shooting battle between the resistance fighters and the occupation soldiers, Dalal raised the Palestinian flag and declared a Palestinian state. In a manner reminiscent of the “Hannibal doctrine” vividly illustrated by the IOF’s mass attacks on 7 October to prevent Zionists from being taken captive by the resistance, occupation forces bombed the bus from a helicopter gunship, exploding it, killing 38 of those held captive and 9 of the resistance fighters. Dalal al-Mughrabi’s body was supposed to be returned in 2008 to her family in Lebanon as part of the prisoner exchange achieved by Hezbollah, but the Zionist regime dubiously claimed they could not “locate her body” in the numbers cemetery, sending a coffin containing stones to her family.

After her martyrdom, Dalal al Mughrabi has become an icon of Palestinian resistance. Palestinian institutions inside and outside Palestine are named after her — and Palestinian organizations have been routinely pressured by the United States and various European Union countries, including Norway and Denmark, to remove her name from these women’s centers and fellow institutions, in an attempt to erase the legacy of resistance, liberation and commitment to struggle that she represents.

These are the stories of just nine of the Palestinian martyrs, the Palestinian women whose bodies are held captive by the occupation, even as they remain immortal in the hearts and minds of the Palestinian people and all who care for justice and liberation. The Zionist regime has been unable to erase their legacy of struggle, the meaning of their names, and their love for Palestine by holding their bodies hostage.

We call upon Palestinian and Arab networks, solidarity groups supporting the prisoners’ struggle and boycott campaigns around the world to join in the international campaign to recover and release the remains of Palestinian martyrs, and to expand the support and solidarity for Palestinian prisoners and martyrs everywhere around the world, for their liberation and the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea. Specifically, we urge women’s organizations and feminist movements to take up the campaign for the liberation of Palestinian women prisoners and of the imprisoned martyrs’ bodies, for the liberation of their people and their homeland.

It is critical that we take action on an international level to popularize the campaign to liberate the bodies of the martyrs. This is part and parcel of the struggle for the dignity and lives of the Palestinian people — and of humanity — being led by the Palestinian armed resistance confronting the genocidal Zionist regime and its imperialist partners in the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Canada and fellow imperialist powers.

Liberate the Imprisoned Martyrs: Over 550 Palestinians’ bodies detained by the Zionist occupation

27 August 2024

27 August marks the International Day for the Retrieval and Liberation of the Bodies of the Martyrs, held captive by the Zionist regime in occupation morgues, freezers and so-called “numbers cemeteries,” as well as in the notorious torture camp, Sde Teiman. The day of action was called for by the Palestinian National Campaign for the Recovery of the Bodies of Martyrs, as well as the Palestinian prisoners’ institutions. In the past year — as part and parcel of the ongoing Zionist/imperialist genocide in Gaza as well as the ongoing assault on the Palestinian people as a whole — the number of the martyrs known to be held captive by the Zionist regime has risen dramatically.

Today, there are 552 known Palestinian martyrs held in the morgues and “numbers cemeteries,” as well as at least 9 Lebanese martyrs of the Jammoul resistance movement, Elie Harb, Michel Saliba, Hussam Hijazi, Jamal Sati, Farjalla Fouani, Iyad Kser, Hassan Daher, Hasan Moussa and Yehya Khaled. This is in comparison to 398 bodies of the martyrs held one year ago, in 2023.

However, this number does not convey the extent of the crime; multiple released detainees from Gaza held at the Sde Teiman torture camp, where extreme physical torture, sexual abuse and assault, murder, starvation and abuse of all forms have been routinely used against masses of Palestinians from Gaza abducted by the invading genocidal army, have testified to the presence of over 1,500 bodies of martyrs held there; the occupation regime has returned around 428 martyrs’ bodies en masse.

As the International Campaign to Liberate the Remains of Palestinian Martyrs, a project supported by over 150 Palestinian, Arab and international organizations, including Samidoun, noted in the call to action it issued in March 2023:

“The occupation pursues a fascist policy in its treatment of the Palestinian and Arab martyrs. By refusing to give their families the opportunity to bury their loved ones, the occupation uses the remains of the martyrs as a mechanism for psychological torture of their families by detaining them for years and using them as a card for negotiation with the Palestinian resistance.”

“The Palestinian people have made clear that this barbaric policy will never ‘deter’ Palestinian youth from taking part in the resistance. These martyrs remain prisoners of the occupation even after death, and their families and the Palestinian people as a whole have every right to liberate, honour and bury them in ceremonies worthy of the sacrifices they made for the cause of Palestine, for return and liberation.”

Click here to endorse and support the campaign. Read the call to action in English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German, Swedish

Of the detained martyrs, 256 Palestinians (as well as the 9 Lebanese martyrs) are detained in “numbers cemeteries,” where martyrs are buried with a number, rather than a name, affixed to their graves; and 296 are held in the occupation’s freezers and morgues since the return of the policy of imprisoning bodies in 2015. While the martyrs are free, the occupation imprisons their bodies as a mechanism of collective punishment targeting their families and communities as a whole.

Of the imprisoned martyrs, there are 32 martyrs of the prisoners’ movement whose bodies are held captive by the Zionist regime. These include, infamously, the leader, freedom fighter, intellectual and writer Walid Daqqa, martyred inside Zionist prisons on 7 April 2024 after being repeatedly denied release and subjected to systematic medical neglect, and Sheikh Khader Adnan, whose life was taken after 86 days of hunger strike and the occupation’s deliberate refusal to provide him with medical care. Walid Daqqa’s wife, Sana Salameh, and their young daughter, Milad, have been vigorously campaigning for the release of his body in a case that highlights the racist nature of the Zionist regime and its war upon the entire Palestinian people, including Palestinian citizens of “Israel” like Daqqa and his family.

The 32 captive martyrs of the prisoners’ movement, whose lives were lost behind bars, many due to medical neglect and/or torture and abuse, are:

Anis Dawla, whose body has been imprisoned since 1980
Aziz Oweisat, whose body has been imprisoned since 2018
Fares Baroud, whose body has been imprisoned since 2019
Nasser Taqatqa, whose body has been imprisoned since 2019
Bassam al-Sayeh, whose body has been imprisoned since 2019
Saadi al-Gharably, whose body has been imprisoned since 2020
Kamal Abu Waer, whose body has been imprisoned since 2020
Sami al-Amour, whose body has been imprisoned since 2021
Daoud Zubaidi, whose body has been imprisoned since 2022
Nasser Abu Hmeid, whose body has been imprisoned since 2022
Sheikh Khader Adnan, whose body has been detained since 2 May 2023
Omar Daraghmeh, whose body has been detained since 23 October 2023.
Arafat Hamdan, whose body has been detained since 24 October 2023
Majed Zaqoul, whose body has been detained since 6 November 2023.
An unnamed worker from Gaza held in the Anatot camp, whose body has been detained since November 2023.
Abdul Rahman Mar’i, whose body has been detained since 13 November 2023.
Thaer Abu Asab, whose body has been detained since 18 November 2023.
Abdul-Rahman al-Bahsh, whose body has been detained since 1 January 2024.
Mohammed Ahmad al-Sabbar, whose body has been detained since 8 February 2024
Mohammed Abu Sneineh, a child martyr, whose body has been detained since 12 February 2024
Khaled al-Shawish, whose body has been detained since 19 February 2024
Izz al-Din al-Banna, whose body has been detained since 20 February 2024
Ahmed Rizq Qudaih, whose body has been detained since 16 February 2024
Asif al-Rifai, whose body has been detained since 29 February 2024
Jumaa Abu Ghanima, whose body has been detained since March 2024 (martyrdom announced on 16 March 2024)
Walid Daqqa, whose body has been detained since 7 April 2024
Dr Adnan al-Bursh, one of Gaza’s most prominent surgeons, whose body has been detained since 19 April 2024
Mustafa Abu Ora, whose body has been detained since 15 July 2024
Islam al-Sarsawi, whose body has been detained since 4 April 2024
Omar Abdel-Aziz Junaid, whose body has been detained since 17 June 2024
Kifah Dabaya, whose body has been detained since 11 August 2024
Zaher Raddad, whose body has been detained since 25 August 2024.

It is critical that we take action on an international level to popularize the campaign to liberate the bodies of the martyrs. This is part and parcel of the struggle for the dignity and lives of the Palestinian people — and of humanity — being led by the Palestinian armed resistance confronting the genocidal Zionist regime and its imperialist partners in the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Canada and fellow imperialist powers.

We call upon Palestinian and Arab networks, solidarity groups supporting the prisoners’ struggle and boycott campaigns around the world to join in the international campaign to recover and release the remains of Palestinian martyrs, and to expand the support and solidarity for Palestinian prisoners and martyrs everywhere around the world, for their liberation and the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea.

We are republishing the statement below from the Palestinian National Campaign to Retrieve the Martyrs’ Bodies:

National Day for the Retrieval of Martyrs’ Bodies – August 27th

Facts about the Martyrs Whose Bodies are Held in Numbers Cemeteries, Morgues, and the Sde Teiman Military Base:

The number of martyrs whose bodies are held amounts to 552, including 256 in numbered cemeteries and 296 since the return of the policy of holding bodies in 2015. Among them are:

9 female martyrs.
32 martyrs from the prisoners’ movement.
55 children under the age of 18.
5 martyrs from the 1948 occupied territories.
6 martyrs from Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Since the start of the genocide against our people in Gaza, the occupation has escalated its policy of holding bodies. Since the war, the occupation has held 149 bodies, which constitutes more than half of the martyrs held since 2015. It is important to note that this figure does not include the bodies held from the Gaza Strip. The number of martyrs from Gaza held by the occupation is estimated to be in the hundreds, but there is no official statement from the occupation regarding the actual number of bodies from Gaza to this day.

Key Data on the Crime of Holding Martyrs’ Bodies (As a Systematic Historical Policy):

The crime of holding martyrs’ bodies, practiced by the Israeli occupation, is one of the prominent historical policies used as part of the crime of collective punishment against martyrs and their families, and as a mechanism of control and punishment of Palestinians. This issue has passed through several stages and has been closely linked to the escalating level of resistance and confrontation against the Israeli occupation system. Since the occupation of Palestine in 1948, the occupation has used this policy, continuing its implementation until 2008, and resumed it with a decision by the Israeli cabinet in 2015, at the beginning of the popular intifada. The occupation did not stop at holding the bodies but also imposed certain conditions when returning the bodies. It also applied a classification policy as part of the conditions imposed on families, particularly affecting martyrs who hold Jerusalemite identity cards, by imposing harsh and unjust restrictions in the context of the occupation’s desire for revenge against the living and the martyrs.

This issue underwent legal transformations since 2017. On December 14, 2017, the so-called Israeli Supreme Court decided to postpone its ruling invalidating the holding of martyrs’ bodies to allow the Israeli authorities to legislate clear and explicit provisions authorizing the military and police leadership to hold martyrs’ bodies. In September 2019, the Supreme Court issued a decision allowing the military commander to hold the martyrs’ bodies and bury them temporarily for use as bargaining chips in negotiations. It also imposed broad conditions authorizing the previously mentioned authorities to issue orders to hold the bodies of some martyrs. In reality, the vast majority of the martyrs whose bodies are held do not meet the conditions imposed by the court, making this issue a new phase in the role played by the so-called Supreme Court in consolidating the crime of holding martyrs’ bodies. This was followed by efforts by the Israeli Knesset to legislate a law authorizing the occupation police to hold martyrs’ bodies, and later an amendment was made to the “Anti-Terrorism Law.”

Holding Martyrs’ Bodies Since the Start of the Genocide:

The ongoing genocide against our people in Gaza has brought about transformations on all levels, with the enormous crimes committed by the Israeli occupation. The issue of martyrs’ bodies is one of the most prominent of these issues, with the number of bodies held by the occupation increasing. After the beginning of the genocide, the number of bodies held reached 149, which constitutes more than half of the martyrs held since 2015. This number does not include the martyrs from Gaza whose bodies are held, estimated to be in the hundreds.

To this day, there is no official statement from the occupation regarding the actual number of bodies held from Gaza, in addition to the fact that the occupation employs a policy of concealing identities as another face of the systematic crime of enforced disappearance, instead assigning numbers to the bodies. The only information that has emerged regarding the bodies of martyrs from Gaza held by the occupation was in July 2024, when the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz revealed in an article that the Israeli occupation holds about 1,500 bodies of Palestinians whose identities are unknown, stored in refrigerated containers inside the military base known as Sde Teiman, and they were classified by numbers rather than names. The newspaper mentioned that the condition of the bodies had reached a certain stage of decomposition, with some missing limbs and others without identifiable features.

During the war, the occupation handed over the bodies of 428 unidentified martyrs in several batches, and they were buried in mass graves in Khan Younis and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The scene of the occupation handing over the bodies of martyrs in blue bags was one of the most striking images, reflecting the level of savagery of the occupation and its disdain for human dignity as one of the aspects of the ongoing genocide for more than ten continuous months.

Holding Martyrs’ Bodies in Violation of International Conventions and Charters:

This policy contradicts all international customs and charters that stipulate respect for the victims and the return of their bodies. The relevant rules of international humanitarian law concerning the treatment of the dead, their remains, and their graves include Rule 112 on searching for and collecting the dead, Rule 113 on protecting the dead from pillage and mutilation, Rule 114 on the return of the dead’s remains and their personal belongings, Rule 115 on the disposal of the dead, and Rule 116 on identifying the dead.

The First Geneva Convention of 1949, in Article 17, emphasizes the importance of decent and respectful burial, stating that the parties to the conflict must “ensure the dead are honorably interred, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged, that their graves are respected, grouped according to nationality, and properly maintained and marked so that they can always be found.”

In addition to Article 17 of the First Geneva Convention, Article 120 of the Third Geneva Convention, Article 130 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and Article 34 of the Additional Protocol require facilitating the return of the bodies and remains of the dead.

The National Campaign for the Retrieval of Martyrs’ Bodies and Palestinian human rights organizations renew their constant demand for the international legal system to resume its necessary role in stopping the genocide and to stand up for humanity by addressing the terrifying state of paralysis that surrounds its role in the ongoing Palestinian tragedy that has persisted for decades and to exert pressure to free the bodies of our martyrs.

Free the Martyr Captives’ Bodies, Free the Martyr Captives:

We have names… We have a homeland.

No to Zionism! No to submission! 23 years on the martyrdom of Abu Ali Mustafa

27 August 2024

The statement and article below are updated from the previously published article, Abu Ali Mustafa: A life in struggle for the liberation of Palestine:

Today, 27 August 2024, we mark the 23rd anniversary of the assassination of Palestinian revolutionary and national leader Abu Ali Mustafa by Zionist occupation forces, using US-made and US-provided helicopter-fired missiles, in a bloody illustration of the alliance of Zionism and imperialism that is amplified today in the genocidal Zionist assault on Gaza, armed with U.S.-made and -sponsored weaponry. The General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Abu Ali Mustafa was targeted in his office in occupied Al-Bireh, Palestine, part of the systematic mechanism of assassination that continues to characterize the attacks on the leading martyrs: Ismail Haniyeh, Fouad Shukr, Saleh al-Arouri, and so many others. He has become a symbol of resistance, Palestinian unity and confrontation of the occupation, known by his famous words when entering Palestine: “We return to resist, not to compromise.”

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes Abu Ali Mustafa, a popular, revolutionary leader of the Palestinian liberation movement, who remained committed to the Palestinian resistance, the Palestinian people and the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea, until his last moment. He continued his work even though he knew that he was targeted, because he was determined to never abandon the cause of the people, resisting and struggling in the Al-Aqsa Intifada and developing the struggle after the devastation of Oslo.

Pan-Arab struggler of the Palestinian working class

Abu Ali Mustafa was a son of the Palestinian popular classes, born in 1938 in Arraba, Jenin, Palestine. He left school in the third grade and worked as a boy in the factories of Haifa before and during the Nakba and the Zionist colonization of Palestine. At the age of 17, he joined the Arab Nationalist Movement, founded by Dr. George Habash (al-Hakim), Wadie Haddad, Abu Maher al-Yamani (himself a labour leader), Basil al-Kubaisi, Ahmad al-Khatib, Hani al-Hindi and their comrades, and played a leading role in the ANM of the 1950s and 1960s.

He was committed to the vision of pan-Arab liberation and resistance to Zionism and confronted the imperialist-aligned Jordanian regime, which banned political parties and acted to defend the interests of imperialism in the region at the expense of the Palestinian people and the Arab people as a whole. He was arrested and sentenced by a Jordanian military court for his organizing and spent 5 years behind Jordanian bars. Throughout his life, he was committed to the liberation of the prisoners from Zionist, imperialist and reactionary regime prisons, recognizing the use of imprisonment as a tool of colonial control aimed to target the liberation movement.

Developing the Palestinian revolution

Abu Ali was finally released from Jordanian prison in 1961 and became responsible for the northern district of the West Bank of Palestine, before he joined with his comrades in establishing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine following al-Naksa in 1967. The PFLP reshaped the Arab Nationalist Movement along Marxist-Leninist lines, for the mobilization of Palestinian, Arab and international forces toward the defeat of Zionism, reactionary forces and imperialism.

In the context of this struggle, Abu Ali Mustafa played a key role from the earliest days in developing the PFLP and in developing the Palestinian liberation movement. He was always active behind the scenes and did not seek the spotlight; thus, he was well-placed to establish the underground organizations of the Front. In 1965, he attended the Egyptian military course to graduate officers at the Anshas school, skills he then dedicated to building the Palestinian military resistance. He led some of the earliest guerilla patrols to cross the Jordan river into the West Bank, working to coordinate resistance activities throughout occupied Palestine without being detected.

He struggled throughout years of exile in the resistance, from the battles in Jordan against the attacks of imperialist-backed monarchy, to the Palestinian camps of Lebanon. He became the military leader of the Front in Jordan until 1971 and commanded its forces, before leaving to Lebanon in July 1971. In 1972, he became the deputy general secretary of the PFLP, a position he served in for many years while continuing his work of building its organizations and military capacity.

Throughout his life, he was renowned for his caring, humbleness and sincerity, who loved his family, spoke with the people and integrated the experiences and ideas of the Palestinian popular classes to further deepen his leadership and action.

Returning to resist, not to compromise

He returned to the occupied West Bank of Palestine in 1999 — to his place of birth, Arraba, Jenin. He expressed clearly that his return to Palestine was accompanied by a very clear commitment to resistance and liberation, including and particularly the armed resistance. In 2000, at the sixth congress of the PFLP, Abu Ali Mustafa was elected General Secretary of the Front. His presence as a principled national leader in occupied Palestine was not a concession to the Palestinian Authority and the Oslo framework but served as a challenge to the so-called “peace process” — and this is why he was targeted for assassination. Over 50,000 Palestinians marched in his funeral in central Ramallah.

As a response to the targeted assassination of Abu Ali Mustafa, the PFLP elected its general secretary Ahmad Sa’adat — today imprisoned in Zionist jails and one of the leadership figures of the imprisoned Palestinian resistance, alongside Abdullah Barghouthi, Marwan Barghouthi, Ibrahim Hamed, Abbas al-Sayyed, Hassan Salameh and over 9,500 Palestinian prisoners — and targeted the notoriously racist Zionist tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi several weeks later on 17 October. Of course, Ze’evi was widely known and notorious for his demands for the complete ethnic cleansing of Palestine. The successful assassination of Ze’evi sent a clear message from the Palestinian resistance – that the Israeli assassination policy would not be tolerated and that an assassination of Palestinian leaders would be met with an equal response. This project remains critical today, as Hezbollah responds to the assassination of Fouad Shukr (Sayyed Mohsen), and as the entire alliance of resistance forces in the region awaits the coming response to the Zionist assaults on Yemen, the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, and the ongoing Zionist/imperialist genocide in Gaza.

Confronting, resisting and defeating the assassination policy

The assassination policy of the Zionist project has always been part of a comprehensive project of elimination targeting the leaders, organizers and revolutionary voices of the Palestinian pople and their liberation movement. Abu Ali Mustafa’s name is joined with that of Fathi Shiqaqi, Abdel-Aziz Rantisi, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin Abu Jihad, Kamal ‘Udwan, Mohammed Yousef al-Najjar, Kamal Nasser, Wadie Haddad, Ghassan Kanafani, Mohammed Boudia, Basil al-Araj, Imad Mughniyyeh, Samir Kuntar, Saleh al-Arouri, Ismail Haniyeh and many more. This assassination policy includes the attacks on the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, from Ibrahim al-Rai, killed under torture, to the systematic denial of medical care to Sheikh Khader Adnan, martyred after 86 days of hunger strike, to Walid Daqqah, killed behind bars through the policy of “slow killing” through medical neglect. This policy has become particularly vividly institutionalized in the post-October 7 era of the Al-Aqsa Flood, as the Zionist regime targets the prisoners for starvation and brutality, inside the colonial prisons as well as in the notorious concentration camp of Sde Teiman, where Palestinians abducted from Gaza are subjected to the most severe forms of torture, abuse, sexual assault, starvation, and murder.

The heroic Al-Aqsa Flood changed the world and has exposed the horrors of Zionism and imperialism to all, as the brave resistance fighters chart new epics of confrontation on a daily basis. Perhaps never before have Abu Ali Mustafa’s words, “No to zionism, no to surrender….we are fighting an enemy that has attacked humanity” rung more clearly and truly. From the heart of Gaza, the red triangle of the resistance fighters has become the international symbol of resistance and steadfastness, making clear that it is possible and indeed inevitable to defeat such a vicious, colonial and anti-human enemy. From Yemen to Lebanon, Iraq and Syria to Iran and beyond, the resistance front is more unified than ever, confronting the unified forces of the Zionist regime and its imperialist backers, with the United States at the forefront, alongside Germany, France, Britain, Canada and fellow imperialist forces.

From the response to the assassination of Abu Ali Mustafa on October 17 2001, to the battles of the Unity of the Fields and the Revenge of the Free, to the great and glorious Al-Aqsa Flood, to the battle against the genocidal Zionist regime, it is quite clear that the Palestinian resistance will not relent under the assassination policy. They have never killed the resistance and will never succeed in doing so; instead, the Palestinian people, their revolution and their resistance, brings forth new leaders and fighters at the forefront of struggle, until return and liberation — a liberation that, despite the devastation, the war crimes, the genocidal rampages of the Zionist regime and its imperialist co-conspirators, is closer than ever before.

Abu Ali Mustafa was known throughout his life as an organizer and a builder of organizations. Thus, it is appropriate that many institutions have been named to honor him after his martyrdom, from schools and sports clubs to the armed wing of the Popular Front, which continues to fight today as part of the armed resistance to genocide in Gaza, reflecting his wide-ranging legacy in the Palestinian liberation struggle.

This legacy lives on in the Palestinian, Arab and international revolutionary organizations and movements, and the people, always his compass, who continue to struggle for the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea, for the return of the refugees, for the defeat of Zionism, for the uprooting of imperialism from the region and the world. These strugglers lead and fight so heroically from behind bars, under siege and in exile, despite all the internal and external difficulties that are being imposed upon them, confronting the forces of imperialism, Zionism and Arab reaction, as Abu Ali Mustafa did throughout his life.

He said: “We are all targets as soon as we start mobilizing. We do our best to avoid their weapons but we live under the brutal Zionist occupation of our lands and their army is only a few meters away from us…We have a job to do, and nothing will stop us.”

The legacy of Abu Ali Mustafa must inspire us all to action: to support the prisoners in their struggle, to fight back against imperialism, to organize to bring an end to the assassination policy, and to confront the genocidal Zionist regime and its imperialist partners and sponsors everywhere: to march, to take direct action, to organize for their defeat. Most fundamentally, Abu Ali Mustafa, a truly revolutionary Palestinian national leader, firmly upheld the Palestinian and Arab resistance, making clear that the people say “No” to normalization and negotiations, their eyes fixed on return and liberation.

When we act and organize on the path of Abu Ali Mustafa and his fellow resistance leaders targeted for assassination and imprisonment, from Basil al-Kubaisi and Ghassan Kanafani to Fathi Shiqaqi, Fouad Shokr and Ismail Haniyeh, we make clear that the assassination policy will never succeed in defeating the Palestinian people and the Palestinian, Arab and international liberation movement. This anniversary is not merely a historical occasion, but a call to action at an urgent moment for the Palestinian liberation movement – to act together with the Palestinian people and their resistance, to stand with the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, to confront the genocidaires with our growing movement everywhere, and to realize the vision of Abu Ali Mustafa and of the Palestinian people – for victory, and for the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.

More resources:

We are republishing below Khaled Barakat’s 2017 article on Abu Ali Mustafa, “The Lessons of the Revolutionary Worker:”

Published in Al-Adab, September 2017 issue (Original in Arabic)

“We are a party with a glorious history and high respect among the people, but this does not justify the state of retreat or decline that is facing us. A party that does not renew itself, with more giving and more action, is one that will fade away…” (The martyr Abu Ali Mustafa, al-Hadaf, 31 July 2000)

What is the main historical contribution of the martyred leader Abu Ali Mustafa in the Palestinian and Arab resistance movement in general, and in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as whose secretary-general he was assassinated by the Zionists on 27 August 2001, in particular?

What are the elements of the self-motivation that made an impoverished boy working in the Haifa factories, who did not complete the third grade, from the village of Arraba in the occupied district of Jenin, to become one of the most prominent Palestinian and Arab revolutionary leaders of our time?

And if his fellow leaders, such as “al-Hakim,” Dr. George Habash; the writer Ghassan Kanafani; the “Revolutionary Engineer” Dr. Wadie Haddad; and many others have left important imprints in the fields of political thought, revolutionary literature, journalism, media and guerrilla action, then what is the imprint of Abu Ali Mustafa on the Palestinian and Arab struggle in general and on his party’s march in particular that made him the exceptional leader who says little, but does much?

The answer is one word: organization.

Yes, the construction of the organization was the craft of his diligent and stubborn perseverence: building the pillars of the Arab Nationalist Movement and then the Popular Front. It is an arduous task for those who take it seriously, as did this great leader. Organization is a part of the struggle that some comrades “evade” even though they may not run away from death itself(!) because it requires the mixture of the determination and patience of dedicated workers and the wisdom of a special type.

This work – party building – is rarely highlighted. This is due to its close association with burning internal issues directly related to the life, security, relations and tasks of the party. Those with long experience in armed action and the building of revolutionary organizations realize the difficulty of the tasks associated with this aspect of party and struggle activity.

What is organization?

It is the daily workshop that the eye does not see, but without it, one does not see at all. Without this workshop, you will not see any real results in the streets and the field, and it will be difficult to measure the level of progress and regression or gain access to the criteria for proper evaluation and criticism.

Internal organizational work not only lays the “foundations” of party principles, but also establishes theoretical, intellectual, and moral principles. This painstaking work is akin to the circulation of blood in the body of the party, which ensures the integrity of its line and the democratic processes of its ranks. It strengthens its ability to continue the struggle and develop its immunity and ability to eliminate the manifestations of corruption, calcification and stagnation.

Abu Ali Mustafa treated the Popular Front as his “daily workshop” that does not rest and does not sleep. If the party is the embodiment of the will of its members and supporters, all of them must participate in its construction and give their opinions in absolute freedom, so no one rank will confiscate the rights of another rank, nor one comrade confiscate the rights of another comrade.

How can each body and institution guarantee its rights while doing its duty at the same time? How do you know its role and limits? And how to preempt conflicts before they occur? What is the relationship of the Popular Front organization in the occupied territory with the status of the party organization and its leadership outside Palestine? How is the daily relationship organized with the Prison Branch? And many other questions.

All this happens within this daily workshop, which is called organization. Abu Ali was firmly convinced that the members of his party were the cells of one body: skilled workers who built the house together, advanced by revolutionary cadres that serve as “work crews” for the home, engineers, technicians, maintenance workers, electricians, and so on…

Therefore, there is no real construction without real participation, harmony in vision, and without this set of theoretical and ethical values that draw members of the party together, one to the other. But the role of the leadership is to provide the solution and lay out the vision and adjusts it according to the collective principles of the work, away from personalization, hypocrisy, flattery and opportunism. This is a necessity in order for the members not to be lost.

In an internal letter after receiving the duties as the General Secretary of the Popular Front, written in September 2000, Abu Ali said the following:

“How do we understand internal conflicts in the party, especially in the framework of the leadership bodies? Is this new? Is it a negative phenomenon or a natural phenomenon? Have the new circumstances of the Palestinian national liberation movement come to deepen these contradictions, exacerbate them, or did it raise them to a new level? And what is the nature of these levels? These are some of the questions that may be raised in the mind of any comrade, and even need to be asked with other questions to understand the changing of attitudes and interpretations within a sound, correct framework at the theoretical and organizational levels.”

Therefore, Abu Ali Mustafa was not only fighting for the rights of his people to liberation and return, but he was equally as strongly building the revolutionary tools that could create the act of liberation and help people to extract their confiscated rights: from the women’s institutions to the youth organizations, to the institutions for students, workers and charity, and for military action. These tools are the vehicles of the revolutionary organization.

Early on, Abu Ali realized that the readiness for struggle for Arab unity and the liberation of Palestine was not a sufficient condition for active participation in change and confrontation. Therefore, if he wanted to advance in the ranks and fields of sacrifice and redemption, it was first necessary to “build himself with his hands.” This means that he must read books, newspapers and magazines, talk with his comrades, listen to what people say, and participate in various fields of work: from distributing pamphlets (Al-Thaer, Al-Rai), to collecting donations, reaching to preparation of armed struggle. Abu Ali Mustafa listened more than he spoke in order to gain more knowledge of the pulse of the people and their needs, guided by ancient wisdom: “Those who do not renew themselves, will inevitably dissipate.”

For further self-development, the martyr Abu Ali joined Anshas Military College in Egypt and subjected himself to internal development processes that included refining his mind, body and will. It was a stage that provided him with practical and direct knowledge of weapons, theoretical knowledge of people’s experiences and strategies for wars of popular liberation and guerrilla wars. And, most importantly, that he received his share of the vibrant culture of Greater Egypt in the time of the late President Jamal Abdel Nasser.

Thus, this professional revolutionary worker fought a series of battle experiences and gained new skills. But he also tasted powerlessness, like hundreds of fighters and revolutionaries in the 1950s; that is an inevitable tax that militants must pay if they walk on the path of unity and the liberation of Palestine. Abu Ali knew these experiences prior to the establishment of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in 1967, and before its real renewal (as a united party) in February 1969, and he was subjected to prosecution, imprisonment, injury, financial deprivation and the loss of his job. He was forced to clash with friendly forces, sometimes with comrades. He tested many other experiences and challenges, and he developed a leader’s personality, which combined firmness with goodness, intelligence and flexibility.

***

This young worker was not in great need of the books of Constantine Zureik and Michel Aflaq to convince himself that he was a colonized Arab citizen. He did not need Karl Marx and Lenin to know that the poor worker was forced to sell his labor power for bread, and it was not necessary for Mao Zedong to convince him that the peasant must carry weapons to liberate his land from colonialism, oppression and subordination. But his devotion to his people pushed him beyond the “school and university” learning of which he was deprived, so that he could turn to the deep, quiet reading. The phrase “Abu Ali worked on his condition and built himself” is a common phrase in the Popular Front, especially on the tongues of those who knew and lived with him.

This young peasant from Jenin discovered that what he and all the young Arabs needed was a revolutionary youth wing: a vigilant student group that studied in Beirut and announced the launch of an Arab project that promised Arab change and unity. It was the “Arab Nationalist Movement,” which embraced various groups, but its focus was on the masses of refugees who had been displaced from their homeland. This was the natural response to the Nakba of 1948. This movement was discovered by Abu Ali Mustafa in Amman in the early 1950s and he joined its ranks without hesitation, and became one of its cadres, costing him 5 years of torment in the cells of the Jordanian regime without any reason or crime committed.

Abu Ali addressed the big guerrilla missions: transferring equipment and weapons to the occupied territory, building cells, providing money to fighters, direct supervision of training camps, building a network of secret contacts and other heavy and dangerous daily tasks that led him to become the military commander of the PFLP forces in Jordan. These tasks gave him more experience in the field each day; the more the enemy camp would close doors in front of his comrades, he would open new doors, roads and fields with determination and cleverness, in their vast Arab homeland, in exile and in distant lands.

This secret and solid effort, which was founded by Abu Ali and his colleagues, transferred the movement of the Palestinian people and its cultural and political elite from the stage of preaching the revolution to the stage of actual implementation of it by fire, speech and popular organization, and by building bases for the establishment of the revolution around occupied Palestine, especially after the defeat of 1967. His focus was on the path of the long-term popular liberation war, through its revolutionary apparatus, represented by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

***

Abu Ali was not looking for fame. The Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Rai Al-Aam, interviewed Palestinian leaders on the 16th anniversary of the launch of the Palestinian revolution. Among them was Abu Ali Mustafa: “… the man who does not like the spotlight and is known in the Palestinian circles for his silent, hard work, far from the noise and clamor.” (Al- Hadaf magazine, 17/1/1981, p. 16). However, his choice to stay away from the lights and noise in order to build the organization did not prevent him from reading and researching in order to develop his perception, culture and Arabic language skills. His presence in Iraq, when he was in charge of “the rear command in Baghdad,” allowed him to read more, to engage with Arab forces and figures and to balance politics and culture.

In that period he wrote an important economic and political study in 1975 on the “economic foundations of the coming settlement project” and presented it at a political symposium in Baghdad. In this symposium Abu Ali predicted the inevitability of the collapse of the Sadat regime, and that the Egypt of Sadat cannot be the Egypt of Nasser, but is on the road inevitably to a “peace deal” that will have serious implications for the whole region, because what determines the direction of systems and their relationship to the United States and Israel is, in his view, the nature of the political, economic and social system.

As for the Jordanian regime, he considered it a reactionary power and an agent of colonial powers. He believed that this regime had specific functions: protecting the Israeli occupation in order to preserve the power of the ruling class and the authority of the financial tycoons of Jordan, and that this regime will continue to work for a peace deal with Israel along the lines of the Sadat approach. Abu Ali said to his colleagues in a graduation ceremony of the Ghassan Kanafani Officers Course at the Military College of the Popular Front in Beirut in response to those who claimed that the Jordanian regime has changed and that the relationship between it and the Palestine Liberation Organization must be rearranged:

“On what do we agree with the Jordanian regime? Is the Jordanian regime a partner in determining the fate of our people? Is it permissible to have a single military base there? It is an actual partner in the second stage of Camp David.” (Al- Hadaf magazine, 5 April 1980).

Of course, Comrade Abu Ali did not expect in his worst nightmares that the leadership of the PLO would sign agreements with Israel and “precede” the Jordanian regime, albeit in a formal and public sense. But this step did not break the spirit of will in this stubborn revolutionary worker, and did not prevent him from being aware of its potential effects in the organization. So he wrote to us, his comrades at the Front, in an internal message:

“Comrades, as a people, a cause and a party, we are facing and living in the midst of a difficult and complex stage that dictates harsh challenges to us, and this stage has its political, intellectual, social, cultural and military problems which are constantly moving and changing. If we do not understand our diversity of views on the basis of preserving unity and cohesion, the leadership bodies will suffer from the vibrations and tensions that will affect them and their work,” he said.

***

The martyr Abu Ali Mustafa did not leave us a book to read. However, his experience in struggle is a living book that no one can confiscate. We must read it time and time again. In his experiences, you find most of his thoughts, observations and convictions, which he confirmed with blood and did not retreat for one moment. Indeed, reading this leader’s experience is a true introduction to the experience of the entire PFLP and its reality between yesterday and today, and helps us understand the very meaning of revolutionary leadership.

15 September, Philadelphia: Register Now — Running Down the Walls 2024

27 August 2024

Sunday, September 15, 2024
11 am sharp (Yoga warm-up at 10am)
FDR Park

Register here before Sept 1: https://phillyabc.org/rdtw/

Philadelphia Anarchist Black Cross invites you to our seventh annual Running Down The Walls (RDTW)! This year marks the 25th anniversary of this non-competitive 5K and political education event in support of political prisoners and prisoners of war. Every year we split the proceeds between the ABCF Warchest —which has provided over $240,000 in stipends and other material support to prisoners with little or no other financial means—and a specific political prisoner, organization, or movement we want to uplift. This year we’ll be supporting and amplifying the voices of people struggling for freedom in Gaza, the world’s largest open-air prison.

Resistance is a continuous endeavor.

– Bassel Al-Araj, Palestinian scholar and former political prisoner, martyred

How will proceeds go to support Palestine? If you’ve participated in previous years, you know that we announce the recipient from day one. We have to take a slightly different approach this year due to how rapidly the situation is changing in Palestine. Given the unpredictability, the exact recipient(s) are subject to change. For example, in our initial planning meeting we were in touch with people in Cairo gathering funds for evacuations. With Rafah crossing since closed, other potential beneficiaries include vetted mutual aid groups in the Gaza Strip, and we will coordinate with trusted folks on the ground to distribute resources appropriately after the event. More information will be made available in the reportback.

Running is not required! You can also walk, roll, or cheer. We’ll begin with warm-up stretches at 10am (bring a mat if you can). At 11am, those who want to participate in the 5k will take two loops around the park; at a walking pace, this takes about 45-60 minutes. Afterwards, stay for socializing with speakers, tabling, and light refreshments.

Remote participation is encouraged! Every year we are joined by incarcerated comrades who take part in this by running, walking, or otherwise exercising at the same time as us–from behind bars. If you can’t attend the event at FDR Park for any reason, leave your shipping address in the comment box at registration, and we’ll mail you a t-shirt. If you would like to make an additional contribution beyond your own registration, please sponsor a participant either outside prison, inside prison, or one of each. Contact us for more information on sponsoring.

Due to the abominable conditions that political prisoners and freedom fighters are subjected to, let’s drum up support now more than ever. Join us as we celebrate our successes this last year, including the releases of Veronza Bowers and Eric King, and build momentum for the struggles ahead!

Palestinian Prisoner Escapes

Inside the Prisons: Confronting the Occupier

The Freedom Tunnel and The Resistance

Internationalism and the Freedom Tunnel

The Freedom Tunnel prisoners

Mahmoud al-Ardah

Mohammed al-Ardah

Yaqoub Qadri

Munadil Nafa’at

Ayham Kamamji

Zakaria Zubaidi

Samidoun statements on the Freedom Tunnel

INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF ACTION

OCTOBER 4-13, 2024

RESISTING GENOCIDE: BOYCOTT FOR PALESTINIAN LIBERATION

END THE GENOCIDE NOW!

Organizations click here to endorse the Week

Click here to register your event as part of the Week

Stay tuned for the calendar of events

Pan-Arab struggler of the Palestinian working class

Developing the Palestinian revolution

Returning to resist, not to compromise

Confronting, resisting and defeating the assassination policy

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