Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are barred from 72 regulated professions, including medicine, public transit, farming and fishery, and the implementation of this Lebanese labor law barred Palestinians (and Syrian refugees) from working at all without costly and difficult-to-obtain work visas. These protests, led mostly by youth in the camps, which are home to nearly a half-million Palestinian refugees, also come in rejection of the harsh conditions that have impacted Palestinian refugees after the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. In fact, the situation of deprivation, repression and despair has forced many Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to migrate to Europe or elsewhere, seeking human dignity.
Palestinian organizations in Lebanon have expressed specific demands, including:
– the granting of clear legal status to Palestinian refugees with civil, economic and social rights;
– amending Lebanese labor law to cancel the work permit requirement for Palestinian refugees and end their exclusion from regulated professions
– ending ongoing discrimination against Palestinian refugees in a range of areas, including allowing them to own property.
They pledged to continue to protest until the dignity of Palestinian refugees was respected, emphasizing that this campaign is part and parcel of the struggle to return to and liberate the entire land of Palestine and reject all attempts to undermine the Palestinian cause. (The statement was signed by the Al Naqab Center for Youth Activities, Arab Palestinian Cultural Club, Palestinian Cultural Club – Beirut, Palestinian Cultural Club at AUB, Palestinian Cultural Club at LIU, Camps Boycott and the Palestinian National Theater – Lebanon.)
Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat is continuing to fight back against a political ban imposed on him by Germany, while Israeli officials are attempting to pressure the European Parliament over inviting Palestinian speakers to discuss the repression they face in Europe as well as under Israeli occupation. Barakat, who has filed an urgent appeal in German courts against the ban on his participation in political events and activities on Palestine, spoke in the European Parliament on 10 July about the repression faced by Palestinian activists, along with Samidoun international coordinator Charlotte Kates and European coordinator Mohammed Khatib.
Khaled Barakat, Manu Pineda, Charlotte Kates and Mohammed Khatib at the European Parliament. Photo: Izquierda Unida Europa
Not satisfied with the political ban in Germany, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan wrote a letter to the European Parliament’s president full of typical smear attacks, demanding that Barakat be barred from speaking to the parliament. During his presentation, Barakat specifically addressed Erdan’s role in promoting the censorship of Palestinian activists around the world.
Erdan even reportedly called for MEP Manu Pineda of Spain, who invited Barakat to speak, be removed from his position on the Commission on Foreign Affairs, despite the fact that the Israeli state has no authority or participation in the European parliament. The attack on freedom of expression at the European Parliament came at the same time that Erdan expressed his support for Israeli home demolitions targeting Palestinians in Sur Baher, Jerusalem, claiming that “we have the right to demolish any building or house that threatens our security.”
Even as Erdan and the Israeli state are intensifying their repressive attacks, people around the world are standing in solidarity with Khaled Barakat and the Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation. As part of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra delegation to Lebanon, parliamentarian Osama Saad expressed his support for Khaled Barakat’s struggle against the political ban and the campaign to fight repression in Germany, as did organizers of the Campaign to Free Georges Abdallah in Lebanon:
Lebanese MP Osama Saad. Photo: Collectif Palestine VaincraMembers of the Campaign to Free Georges Abdallah in Lebanon. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
Writer and activist Irene Clausen published an article in Danish left publication, Konfront.dk, focusing on the political ban on Barakat and other forms of repression in Germany. Earlier, on 6 July, activists with Boykot Israel in Copenhagen highlighted Barakat’s case and other repressive actions in Germany, including the Bundestag’s anti-BDS motion, as part of its monthly supermarket protest:
Photo: Boykot Israel Denmark
In Edinburgh, members of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign protested for freedom of expression on Palestine and highlighted the Khaled Barakat case. The Scottish PSC issued a statement of solidarity:
Photo: Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign sends warm greetings in solidarity with Khaled Barakat, and wish him and his comrades in Germany well in their struggle against increased repression by the German establishment and Bundestag.
Barakat is yet another victim of the Zionist sponsored attacks on Palestinian resisters, solidarity activists and supporters of BDS internationally.
We are facing unprecedented attacks by an Israeli state along with it’s allies, intent on silencing those who dare to speak out against its countless crimes and to tell the truth about its Apartheid structures and it’s increasingly barbaric racist practices.
Here in Scotland,we will continue to stand firm on our principles of support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, and defend free speech on Palestine. We will defy attempts by the political establishment, the powerful Zionist lobby and their media lackeys to smear us and others who speak out as anti-semitic.
They cannot and must not win this battle.
Stand strong Khaled Barakat and All who are lovers of justice and humanity.
The Portuguese Communist Party also affirmed its stand in support of Barakat and the Palestinian people’s struggle:
The Portuguese Communist Party expresses its solidarity with Khaled Barakat and with all other friends and supporters of the Palestinian people’s just struggle against Israeli occupation and repression, and for the creation of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, as reaffirmed by numerous UN resolutions.
The PCP condemns the mounting repression and persecution of supporters and activists of solidarity movements with the Palestinian people’s struggle, in numerous countries of the European Union and in the USA. It is intolerable that the struggle against Israel’s crimes and its permanent violation of International Law is outrageously being equated with antisemitism. This form of repression is not just a sign of increasing collaboration of governments with Israel’s criminal policy. It is also an expression of authoritarianism, which is inseparable from the deepening structural crisis of capitalism and from the ever stronger currents that are pushing for violence and war worldwide.
In reaffirming the PCP’s permanent solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people for their inalienable rights, we pledge to further strengthen the solidarity, namely in Portugal, with the Palestinian resistance and against Israel’s politics of oppression and occupation.
International Department of the Portuguese Communist Party
The Revolutionary Communist Group (RCG) in Britain also issued a statement of solidarity with Barakat, highlighting the connections to the repression of activists who defend Palestinian rights in Britain and emphasizing the importance of clear opposition to Zionism:
The RCG sends its solidarity and stands firmly against the latest actions of the imperialist and pro-Zionist German government to censure and silence comrade Khaled Barakat. As the crisis of imperialism deepens, European ruling classes have set their sights on stamping out any resistance and, under the guise of tackling antisemitism, seek to crush pro-Palestine and anti-Zionist sentiment. In this mission, they are aided by opportunist currents such as the British Labour Party and the German Social Democrats, who spuriously equate opposition to Israel with anti-Jewish racism. The same political forces are silent on the internment of Palestinian political prisoners, on the drive to war on Iran, and line up with the counterrevolutionary coup-plotters in Venezuela.
In the absence of a strong anti-imperialist current in Britain, we have seen a witch-hunt against critics of Israeli colonialism and local Labour MPs have stood on platforms alongside street fascists and Zionists. Meetings of the RCG and other groups such as the International Solidarity Movement have been attended by undercover cops as local councils, Labour and Tory, adopt pro-Israel motions. Rather than accepting self-censorship in the name of a form of BDS stripped of its principles, we fight for an anti-Zionist Palestine solidarity movement. The actions of the German state are outrageous and reactionary, and are a shape of things to come across Europe unless a new movement is built. We stand with comrade Khaled, Samidoun and all who campaign against this censorship.
Fraternally,
Revolutionary Communist Group/Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!
The Gruppe ArbeiterInnenMacht, the German section of the League for the Fifth International and REVOLUTION – international Communist youth organization, issued a statement in support of Khaled Barakat:
Defend Khaled Barakat, the freedom of speech and movement!
‘Oppose Germany’s and Israel’s racist offensive
To Khaled,
we stand next to you, we offer our solidarity and our support!
The order (see link: https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/riri-hylton/germany-threatens-journalist-prison-speaking-about-palestine) by the Federal Republic of Germany, which attempts to stop you from raising your voice against the atrocities against the Palestinian people by the Israeli state and with the support of the German government, which limits your freedom of movement in Germany, with the ultimate aim to deport you is a criminal act, which we vigorously condemn.
Nevertheless, this attack comes as no surprise. It is not the first attempt of the German state and Zionist nationalists to oppress the freedom of speech and solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement with all means necessary. It is part of an orchestrated campaign, which is orchestrated by the far right Netanyahu government, supported by the imperialist governments, build on lies and carried out with vicious repression.
The German state claims that “the public should be protected from your expected anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements.” We know you as a courageous socialist and humanist. Someone who fights with conviction not just against the oppression of the Palestinians by the Israeli state, but against all forms of oppression. The claim you are anti-semitic is as laughable as the claim “Trump and Netanyahu want peace in the Middle East.”
At the same time it is Trump, Netanjahu and the officials of the German government who actually cooperate openly with antisemitic governments such as in Hungary or Poland. While the German state is “blind on the right eye”, fascists murder and the antisemitic Alternative für Deutschland is preparing to capture provincial governments, it is internationalists like you who are the target of repression.
While the danger for Jewish people is growing under the threat of growing fascist street movements, it is not this actual danger but the Palestinian rights movement that is branded antisemitic. The basis on which this aggressive ideological advance is made, is the advance of the far-right in Israel and the ever more aggressive offensive by the Israeli state against the Palestinian population. The Israeli state is realising a one state solution based on Apartheid, and activists like you who fight for a democratic one state solution are branded antisemitic. This of course is only possible if one accepts the reactionary idea that anti-zionism is antisemitism.
Opposing the idea of an exclusionary Apartheid state, which aims to establish a “Jewish State” by oppression, expulsion and constant war against the Palestinians is as anti-semitic, as opposing Daesh is anti-muslim. Naming it as such, reveals the true agenda of the German state, its agenda is not the protection of minorities and the struggle for democratic rights. It turns reality on its head to further German imperialism’s foreign and domestic agenda.
Socialists, and in fact all democrats, have to vigorously oppose this campaign. This is not an isolated issue. Standing with you Khaled, means standing with all those who are victims of racism and imperialism. We call on all left and labour organisations to support your struggle and the struggle of the Palestinians and Jewish anti-zionists for justice. Everyone who wants to fight for justice in Germany has to take a clear stance against the racist endeavour Israel. This is not because Israel in itself is “special” because it claims to be a Jewish state, it is important because the partnership with Israel is a centerpiece for Germany’s industrial arms complex and German imperialism’s Middle East strategy.
It is a shame, and it is telling that the attack against you is happening in Berlin, where a Red-Red-Green alliance (SPD, LINKE, Grüne) are forming a coalition. The blame has to go directly to the interior minister Andreas Geisel (SPD) and the minister of justice Dirk Behrendt (Grüne), but also to the two Berliner staunch zionists Klaus Lederer who is Minster for Culture and Stefan Liebich, the Left Party’s speaker for foreign affairs. They have been two of the most prominent figures in oppressing any solidarity with Palestine in the Left Party, and supporting the smear campaigns in the broader left against anti-imperialists. They, alongside the Senate in general and the Israeli Embassy should be the recipients of protests in Berlin.
We call on all those who are disgusted by this attack on the freedom of speech in general, and the racist context in particular to build a united front in defence of democratic rights both in Germany and in Palestine. We urge you to sign the resolution “Antizionism is not Antisemitism” (set link: http://arbeiterinnenmacht.de/2019/06/13/internationale-solidaritaet-gegen-die-angriffe-der-sogenannten-antideutschen-antizionismus-ist-kein-antisemitismus/) which was firstly signed by a series of internationalist organisations in Germany, and supported in particular by the comrades Charlotte Kates and Khaled Barakat. Every organisation which claims that “Such issues dont matter in Germany” does not deserve to call itself left. Indeed it does not deserve to be called democratic.
A clear line has been drawn now, and we are proud to stand on the righteous side, together with comrades like Khaled Barakat.
Immediate withdrawal of the orders against Khaled Barakat, for an unlimited extension for his and Charlotte Kates right to stay!
Withdraw or acquit all pending cases against activists who are criminalised for their solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement!
The PFLP is not a terrorist organisation, BDS is not anti-semitic! For an end of all criminalistion of the Palestinian liberation movement, Jewish anti-zionists and anti-imperialist activists!
Let us come together to fight for a the only viable solution, a united, socialist and secular Palestine from the river to the sea!
Workers of the World Unite!
Gruppe ArbeiterInnenmacht, German section of the League for the Fifth International
REVOLUTION – Internationale Kommunistische Jugendorganisation
Earlier, in Toulouse, France, activists with the Collectif Palestine Vaincra painted a mural in solidarity with Palestine, with “Solidarity as a weapon” followed by calls to support Khaled Barakat and the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign:
The Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member organization of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, recently completed a delegation to Lebanon, where members visited the Palestinian refugee camps and participated in several events to demand freedom for Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. Abdallah is a Lebanese Arab revolutionary for Palestine who has been jailed in France for 35 years, despite being eligible for release since 1999.
Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
A full report of the delegation is available in French at the Collectif Palestine Vaincra website. On the first day of the delegation, Friday, 12 July, a representative of the collective spoke at a packed hall in Saida, Lebanon, where over 200 people came to the Maarouf Saad Cultural Center to demand freedom for Georges Abdallah.
They were joined by Osama Saad, a Lebanese parliamentarian and a Nasserite, who also expressed his support for Khaled Barakat, the Palestinian journalist and leftist confronting a political ban on his speeches in Germany.
Delegates also participated on Saturday, 13 July in a cultural festival organized by te Lebanese Communist Party, where many people expressed support for Georges Abdallah, demanding his immediate release by the French state.
Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
On Sunday, 14 July – the French national day – over 100 protesters gathered outside the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon to call for freedom for Georges Abdallah.
Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
There was a heavy police and security presence keeping protesters away from the location, but participants rallied for over an hour. Anwar Yassin, a former prisoner of the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon released in a prisoner exchange after 17 years of detention, spoke to demand Abdallah’s liberation.
Delegates met with the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon on Monday, 15 July. The campaign is a major part of the struggle against normalization in Lebanon, carrying out a number of campaigns targeting multinational corporations as well as cultural boycott efforts.
Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
They interviewed Samah Idriss of the Campaign about the relationship of boycott to all forms of struggle to liberate Palestine:
They also visited Qubaiyat, a village in Northern Lebanon where Georges Abdallah grew up as a child. The delegates met with the Abdallah family who expressed their ongoing commitment to the struggle to liberate their beloved brother imprisoned for 35 years in France.
Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
The delegates also met with artist Hind Nehme in Tripoli, who painted a mural for Georges Abdallah on one of Tripoli’s main streets.
Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
The delegation coincided with a rise in protests throughout the Palestinian refugee camps in response to the repressive attacks by the Lebanese labor minister against Palestinian workers and businesses in the camp.
Delegates were able to join Palestinian refugees in Ain el-Helweh for the ongoing strike and protests against the repression directed at “foreign workers,” including the Palestinian refugees denied their right to return to Palestine since 1948, when they were forced to flee to Lebanon by Zionist occupation forces during the Nakba.
During the visit, delegates met with a number of political organizations, including the Lebanese Communist Party and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and social organizations, such as the Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation, the Social Solidarity Association and many others, during which they shared copies of Collectif Palestine Vaincra’s charter in Arabic.
Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
On the final day of the trip, the delegates traveled to south Lebanon and the border with occupied Palestine, where they visited the Museum of the Resistance in Mleeta, commemorating the victories of the Lebanese resistance in the 2006 war against the Israeli attack on Lebanon. They closed the visit with a declaration: “Support for the resistance for the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea!”
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses its strongest solidarity with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon struggling for their civil and human rights as well as their right to return to their occupied homeland, Palestine. In the past days, thousands of Palestinian refugees have taken to the streets of the refugee camps under banners demanding dignity and justice, a struggle that is continuing now.
The protests were sparked by the actions of the Lebanese Minister of Labor, Kamil Abu Sleiman, to impose new registration requirements on Palestinians working in Lebanon or operating their own businesses. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, who have been present since 1948 when they were expelled from their homeland, Palestine, in the Nakba, have long faced severe discrimination and repression by the Lebanese state and, in particular, right-wing political parties and militias. It should be noted that Abu Sleiman represents the Lebanese Forces party, a right-wing political movement long known for its anti-Palestinian and anti-Syrian policies.
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are barred from 72 regulated professions, including medicine, public transit, farming and fishery, and the implementation of this Lebanese labor law barred Palestinians (and Syrian refugees) from working at all without costly and difficult-to-obtain work visas. These protests, led mostly by youth in the camps, which are home to nearly a half-million Palestinian refugees, also come in rejection of the harsh conditions that have impacted Palestinian refugees after the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. In fact, the situation of deprivation, repression and despair has forced many Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to migrate to Europe or elsewhere, seeking human dignity.
The signing of the Oslo accords and the creation of the Palestinian Authority, only 11 years after the massacres of Palestinian refugees carried out at Sabra and Shatila by Phalangist militias in alliance with Zionist occupation forces, led to even deeper deprivation among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. From the center of the Palestinian revolution, they were pushed to the side and their demand for the right to return – the key struggle of the Palestinian liberation movement – marginalized by the official Palestinian leadership under the rubric of “state-building,” leaving Palestinian refugees with few resources with which to confront a multifaceted attack led by Israel and the United States and backed up by the most reactionary sectors of Lebanese politics and capital.
It is no coincidence that the latest attack on Palestinians in Lebanon comes amid ongoing Israeli threats of war against Lebanon; U.S. plans to restructure the region; intensified drives to normalization with the Israeli state by the reactionary Arab regimes in partnership with the U.S.; cuts to the funding of organizations like UNRWA, providing support to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon who are excluded from government services; the ongoing siege on Gaza and the massacres against Palestinian refugees marching there for their right to return and imperialist war drives against Iran. Much the same, the rising of Palestinian refugees is essential to the resistance against Zionism, imperialism and Arab reaction.
Mohammed Khatib, Samidoun coordinator in Europe and a Palestinian refugee from Ain el-Helweh camp in Lebanon, writes:
“The uprising in the camps is a clear protest against the continuous and prolonged state of oppression, exclusion and siege imposed on our people living in the camps in particular, an expression of the rejection of injustice, racism and government policies that deal with the Palestinian presence in Lebanon as a “security file.”…The protests that we witness in the camps of Beirut, in the North and the South reflect the long-term struggle of our people in Lebanon to defend their rights and to confront the policy of racism and marginalization practiced by the Lebanese sectarian regime against the Palestinians and against foreign workers and refugees on a sectarian and reactionary basis. These serious and angry protests in Lebanon remind us of the fact that the Palestinian camps, the reservoir of the revolution, have become miserable enclaves for the most oppressed and impoverished classes in Lebanon, of all nationalities. And these classes today are ready for uprising and even revolution, confronting these realities and regaining their role in the Palestinian national movement and in the resistance, in order to complete the project of return and liberation.”
Palestinian organizations in Lebanon have expressed specific demands, including:
the granting of clear legal status to Palestinian refugees with civil, economic and social rights;
amending Lebanese labor law to cancel the work permit requirement for Palestinian refugees and end their exclusion from regulated professions
ending ongoing discrimination against Palestinian refugees in a range of areas, including allowing them to own property.
They pledged to continue to protest until the dignity of Palestinian refugees was respected, emphasizing that this campaign is part and parcel of the struggle to return to and liberate the entire land of Palestine and reject all attempts to undermine the Palestinian cause. (The statement was signed by the Al Naqab Center for Youth Activities, Arab Palestinian Cultural Club, Palestinian Cultural Club – Beirut, Palestinian Cultural Club at AUB, Palestinian Cultural Club at LIU, Camps Boycott and the Palestinian National Theater – Lebanon.)
Samidoun urges all supporters of Palestine and the struggle of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands to support the protests taking place in Lebanon. These protests reflect an ongoing mobilization to defend Palestinian rights and the Palestinian people against a comprehensive attack – and to support their steadfastness to move towards victory and liberation.
Take Action:
1. Organize events or actions in your area to support Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Hold a protest, gathering or event in a public square. You can also include support for the Great March of Return in Gaza as part of these events. Please contact samidoun@samidoun.net to tell us about your events!
2. Call the Lebanese embassy in your country to say that you support Palestinian refugees and that you want to see an end to unfair labor laws restricting Palestinian refugees from working or requiring expensive permits. We have included below a call from the Palestinian Youth Movement with one suggestion – if you are in the United States, call the Lebanese embassy at 202-939-6300. You can find the phone number for your local Lebanese embassy at this link.
Statement of Palestinian Youth Organizations in Lebanon
Palestinian camps in Lebanon have witnessed popular movements in response to the implementation of the discriminatory labor law which aims to “limit foreign labor” as the Lebanese Ministry of Labor calls it. This campaign has targeted our interests and work as Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, increasing our suffering due the deprivation our most basic civil and social rights. Most of the successive Lebanese governments have not spared any effort in increasing the suffering of our steadfast people in Lebanon. The Lebanese government has not yet defined the legal status of the Palestinian refugee in Lebanon and as such is treated sometimes as a refugee and others as a stateless individual.
As such, our people in the camps of Lebanon have moved in demand of the following:
The Lebanese state must release a law granting clear legal status to Palestinian refugees, guaranteeing them their civil and economic and social rights to live in dignity.
Amending Labor Law 129/2010 to cancel the work permit and grant Palestinian refugees the right to practice free professions and releasing the necessary implementary decrees.
Amending the laws regulating free professions in accordance with the Labor Law to complete the exemption from the condition of reciprocity and the condition to stop practicing in country of origin.
Stopping the composite discrimination against Palestinian refugees and releasing a legal amendment allowing them to own property.
We reaffirm that our protests will continue until our rightful demands are met.
Additionally, we call upon Palestinian factions to unite around the demands of our steadfast people in Lebanon. We call upon the Lebanese people who are the first supporters of Palestine and its people to support these popular movements and to stand with our rightful demands.
We call upon our people in occupied Palestine and in the Arab nations and in Europe and the United States and across the globe to support us in our demands by organizing events and mobilizations.
We as Palestinian people reaffirm our right to return to Palestine, all of Palestine, and reject resettlement and all conspiracies aiming to eliminating our Palestinian cause.
One united impenetrable front for the rights of our Palestinian people
Beirut 20-7-2019
Signatories:
Al Naqab Center for Youth Activities
Arab Palestinian Cultural Club
Palestinian Cultural Club in Beirut
Palestinian Cultural Club at American University of Beirut
Palestinian Cultural Club at Lebanese International University
Janna Jihad, the 13-year-old journalist from Nabi Saleh in occupied Palestine, spoke in New York City at Pearl Studios with Marc Lamont Hill on Thursday, 18 July. The event, organized by Existence is Resistance and Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine, was also supported by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
Janna, the cousin of Ahed Tamimi, began reporting on the occupation when she was seven years old after two of her family members were murdered by Israel. She is one of the youngest recognized journalists in the world. Hill, who was fired from CNN after giving a speech at the United Nations supporting Palestinian rights, is a professor at Temple University. Both speakers shared an informative exchange about the Black and Palestinian movements, their similarities, differences, histories and trajectories.
Turnout for the event was overwhelming, requiring organizers to set up an overflow room for people to watch a live video feed at the last minute. In addition, members of the far-right, extreme Jewish Defense League attempted to enter the event, but were prevented from doing so after they were spotted by activists in the crowd. The event was attended, among others, by former political prisoner of the Black Liberation Movement, Sekou Odinga, jailed in U.S. prisons for over 33 years.
The event comes as part of Janna Jihad’s U.S. tour, which is also taking her to New Jersey, Florida, Washington, DC, Northern and Southern California, Oregon and more. For more information, see Janna’s Facebook page: https://web.facebook.com/Janna.Jihad/
Seven Palestinian prisoners are continuing their open hunger strikes against Israeli administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial, despite intensified repression and worsening health situations. In particular, Jafar Ezzedine and Huzaifa Halabiya are suffering from serious health problems after 37 and 22 days of hunger strike, respectively.
The seven prisoners currently on hunger strike are:
Jafar Ezzedine, on hunger strike for 37 days
Ahmad Zahran, on hunger strike for 30 days
Mohammed Abu Aker, on hunger strike for 22 days
Mustafa Hasanat, on hunger strike for 22 days
Huzaifa Halabiya, on hunger strike for 22 days
Hassan al-Zaghari, on hunger strike for 14 days
Sultan Khalaf, on hunger strike for 5 days
Halabiya, 28, from Abu Dis near Jerusalem, is on strike to protest his imprisonment without charge or trial under Israeli administrative detention. He suffered burns over 60% of his body in childhood and is a leukemia survivor with heart and liver problems. He is being held in the Ela detention center in isolation, where he was transferred in retaliation for his hunger strike.
Ezzedine, 48, has been on hunger strike for 37 days after he was arbitrarily transferred to administrative detention after completing a five-month prison sentence on 16 June 2019. He is being held at the Ramleh prison clinic after losing over 22 kg (45 pounds) of weight and suffering from dizziness, weakness and severe headaches. He has carried out several long-term hunger strikes in the past while held in administrative detention. He suffers from severe and persistent insomnia and vomiting of stomach acids.
All of the strikers have been subjected to serious repression and retaliation for their hunger strikes, including denial of family visits, transfer from one prison to another, a particularly harsh situation for prisoners not receiving nutrients, and solitary confinement and isolation. The strikers face round-the-clock harassment, room invasions and loud noises from prison guards as a form of sleep deprivation. Abu Aker was tranferred to isolation in Ashkelon prison while Mustafa Hasanat was transferred to isolation in Ohli Kedar prison. Halabiya, Abu Aker and Hasanat were all transferred one day before their lawyers’ scheduled visits, preventing them from meeting with their lawyers.
Jafar Ezzedine has been detained since 30 January 2019. Sentenced to a five-month prison sentence by an Israeli military court, he was instead transferred to imprisonment without charge or trial under administrative detention on the day of his announced release. He has carried out three previous long-term hunger strikes. He is married and the father of eight children.
Ahmad Zahran, 42, from Deir Abu Mashal village near Ramallah, has spent a total of 15 years in Israeli prison; he has been jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention since March 2019 and is held in the Ramla prison clinic. He is married and the father of four children.
Mohammed Abu Aker, 24, from Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, is a former prisoner, student activist and organizer in the camp. He has been jailed without charge or trial since 1 November 2018; he is the son of Nidal Abu Aker, who has himself frequently been jailed under administrative detention.
Mustafa Hassanat, 21, from Dheisheh refugee camp, has been jailed without charge or trial by the Israeli occupation since 5 June 2018. He is also a youth activist and organizer in Dheisheh camp.
Huzaifa Halabiya has been jailed without charge or trial since 10 June 2018 despite a need for serious health treatment and follow-ups following his cancer treatment.
Hasan al-Zaghari, from Dheisheh camp, was also scheduled to be released after completing a seven-month prison sentence. Instead, he was ordered jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention on the day of his release. He is being held in isolation in Ofer prison.
Sultan Khalaf, 38, from Burqin near Jenin, was ordered to administrative detention on 18 July 2019. He immediately launched an open-ended hunger strike to reject his imprisonment with no charge or trial on the basis of so-called “secret evidence.” He was arrested by occupation forces on 8 July and is a former prisoner who spent four years in Israeli prisons. He is married.
Several other administrative detainees, including Ihsan Othman, Fidaa Damas and Jamal Tawil, suspended their hunger strikes after reaching agreements to end their imprisonment without charge or trial.
Lawyers from Addameer visited Ezzedine and Zahran at the Ramle prison clinic on 17 July. Both noted that immediately after announcing their hunger strikes, they were transferred to filthy, humid cells in the summer heat and subjected to ongoing invasions by prison guards, especially at night. Addameer lawyers were scheduled to meet with Abu Aker, Halabiya and Hasanat but were prevented from doing so due to the sudden transfers to isolation imposed on the three hunger strikers.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all to stand with these courageous prisoners who have put their lives on the line to seek freedom and an end to the unjust system of administrative detention. International solidarity can help them win their struggles, so all of our participation, protests, petitions and phone calls can play a role in helping them to seize victory for justice and freedom.
Nasser Taqatqa’s mother with a photo of her son. Photo: Asra Voice
Torture and medical neglect have once again had dire consequences for imprisoned Palestinians, as a Palestinian prisoner was found dead inside Israeli prison while being held under interrogation on 16 July. Nasser Taqatqa, 31, from Beit Fajar near Bethlehem, was found dead of acute pneumonia in an isolation cell in Nitzan Ramle detention center. He had been held under Israeli interrogation since 19 June in Jalameh detention center, after he was arrested by Israeli occupation forces from his home. After ongoing harsh interrogation, he was sent to solitary confinement in Nitzan prison.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission noted that signs of his pneumonia were visible , but rather than being transferred to a civilian hospital, Taqatqa was instead thrown into solitary confinement. As he was weak and ill with visible signs of disease, he was held in isolation rather than given proper treatment. Even though he had reportedly been taken to the Ramle prison clinic on 14 July, he was not even kept in the inadequate prison facility but instead returned to Nitzan prison to die in isolation.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society noted that he had been restrained on a bed earlier in his detention and that Israeli prison authorities had refused to remove him from solitary confinement on multiple occasions, claiming he was being “punished.” He was subjected to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment amounting to torture under interrogation, the PPS noted.
During the autopsy, his hands and feet also showed clear signs where they had been shackled during his interrogation. They noted an ongoing crisis with medical neglect and mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners, especially those being subject to harsh, extended interrogation.
Taqatqa’s family learned about the loss of their son not by direct notification by the Israeli forces that imprisoned him, but rather through social media posts.
Taqatqa is the 220th Palestinian prisoner to lose his life in Israeli prisons, and medical neglect and abuse has been a consistent factor in the illness and death of Palestinian prisoners, along with torture and mistreatment under occupation. In February 2019, another isolated prisoner, Fares Baroud, died after medical mistreatment and 18 years of denial of family visits by the Israeli occupation.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network mourns the loss of Nasser Taqatqa, his life taken under interrogation and in isolation, under Israeli medical neglect and mistreatment. We note that his death is part of the systematic violence of medical mistreatment and abuse in Israeli prisons, including the poor conditions in Ramle prison clinic and the repeated administrative detention orders imposed on Palestinian prisoners with severe health problems. The Israeli state holds full responsibility for the death of Taqatqa and must be held accountable. We urge all supporters of justice in Palestine to organize and demand freedom and justice for nearly 6,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails – and freedom and justice for Palestine.
International, European and German lawyers issued statements in support of Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat, subjected to a political ban in Germany since 22 June, when he was prevented by Berlin police from speaking at a community event on Donald Trump’s so-called “Deal of the Century.” Barakat has filed an urgent appeal against the political ban, demanding it be lifted immediately. He was threatened with up to a year in prison if he participated in events, demonstrations or even gatherings.
The political ban imposed on Barakat comes amid other repressive German actions targeting Palestinian and Palestine solidarity organizing, such as the anti-BDS resolution passed by the Bundestag in May; the criminal prosecution of activists for interrupting a member of the Knesset speaking; the ongoing threats of funding cuts against community organizations hosting Palestine events; the closure of bank accounts of organizations supporting Palestine, including Jewish Voices for a Just Peace; the deportation of former prisoner and torture survivor Rasmea Odeh; and the forced resignation of the director of the Jewish Museum following Israeli official pressure.
Organizations and activists around the world have denounced the political ban imposed on Barakat as a severe attack on freedom of expression and fundamental human rights. Several legal organizations have joined in the call to lift the political ban, including the International Association of Democratic Lawyers. The IADL, founded in 1946, has consultative status as an NGO with the United Nations. It has individual and organizational members from more than 50 countries.
The European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights, headquartered in Düsseldorf, has members across Europe. It joined with the Association of Democratic Lawyers in Germany (VDJ) and the International League for Human Rights to issue a statement demanding the immediate end of the political ban, which was also published in Junge Welt newspaper.
The lawyers’ organizations’ statements emphasized that the political ban on Barakat violates his human rights under the German constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), urging that it be lifted immediately.
The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) a non-governmental organization founded in 1946 with consultative status with ECOSOC, opposes in the strongest terms the German government’s imposition of “political ban” on German resident Mr. Khaled Barakat, a Palestinian activist and writer. This ban was imposed on June 22, 2019.
IADL has been informed that the stated bases for the political ban are Mr. Barakat’s opinions regarding Palestine and his open support for Palestinian self-determination. IADL has no illusion regarding the source of this ban. It reflects a disturbing trend by the State of Israel to pressure governments such as Germany to isolate and quiet critics of Israel by equating criticism of the State of Israel or its government with anti-Semitism. IADL fundamentally rejects this equivalency and notes that many of the people who have spoken out against Israeli violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and who generally oppose Zionism are members of the Jewish community. Advocating against oppression of Palestinians or for Palestinian self-determination is neither anti-Semitic nor advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred.
IADL views this “political ban” as an impermissible and illegal restriction on the rights of all persons to freedom of opinion and expression, in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which guarantees everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference; the right to freedom of expression which includes the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. IADL notes that to be permissible restrictions placed on these rights must be justified by a finding they are “necessary” to protect national security, public ordre public health or morals. (General Comment 10 paragraph 4). The ICCPR also in Article 2 prevents discrimination on many bases including on the bases of political or other opinion, or national or social origin.
IADL is aware that Germany has ratified the ICCPR but placed reservations on its ratification which conditioned its ratification on its right to interpret ICCPR Article 19 and Article 2 consistent with Article 16 of the European Convention on Human Rights which exempts aliens from provisions of Article 10 and 14. Article 10 and 14 correspond to ICCPR Articles 19 and 2. This reservation ostensibly allows Germany to restrict the freedom of expression of aliens and to discriminate against them on the basis of their political or other opinion or national or social origin.
IADL rejects these reservations as being contrary to the purposes and objects of Articles 2 and 19 of the ICCPR, and states affirmatively that such reservations destroy the right of people not to be discriminated against on the basis of their national or social origin. The Human Rights Committee which interprets the ICCPR has also confirmed that such reservations would not permitted by Article 19(3) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. (General Comment 24 paragraph 6 of the Human Rights Committee.)
IADL further states that political bans were widely used in South Africa during the Apartheid era to stifle opposition to Apartheid. They were widely imposed and were part of the actions universally condemned by the United Nations. IADL opposed the use of such bans to restrict freedom of thought, expression and conscience by the anti-Apartheid activists. At that time South Africa was not a democracy as it prevented its African majority population from participating in any elections. The use of these political bans were desperate attempts by the South African government to stave off the day when it would have to change to a democratic state. Germany is a democratic state already. There is no political necessity for aliens to suffer restrictions on their freedoms of speech, expression or conscience.
Therefore, IADL publicly calls upon German officials to lift the political ban on Mr. Barakat.
The journalist Khaled Barakat was forbidden to take part in an event in Berlin with the topic, “Palestine and the Arabs – American Deal of the Century from Compromise to Liquidation” under threat of imprisonment by decision of the Foreigners’ Office on 21.06.2019. He was also barred from participating in any other events with reference to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Khaled Barakat is a Canadian citizen who has been in Germany for 4 years. The refusal to extend his residence permit after 31.07.2019 was also announced in the document.
In the detailed but not very substantial statement of reasons of the German Foreigners’ Office it is alleged, among other things, that Mr. Barakat is a functionary of the PFLP. The PFLP is on the EU terror list, as it is in Israel and in the USA. In Germany it is not classified as a terrorist organization. In Great Britain it has not been listed since 2014. Neither the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution nor Berlin’s report mentions the PFLP. There is no evidence that Khlaled Barakat is an official of the PFLP, which he denies by the way.
The Foreigners’ Authority bases the prohibition of lectures on § 47 para. 1 sentence no. 1 AufenthG. Through his lectures, the Foreigners Authority alleges that the peaceful co-existence of Germans and foreigners or of different foreign groups in Germany is imperiled. It refers to the unproven assessment of the Berlin Anti-Semitism Research and Information Centre (RIAS) that anti-Semitic propaganda had been carried out at the event “STOP APARTHEID – Decolonise Palestine.” RIAS here regards the depiction of Palestinians throwing stones on a poster as a visual element “glorifying violence.” Therefore, the statement alleges peaceful coexistence between non-Jewish and Jewish citizens in Germany may be impaired. There is no evidence of this presented either. After his multiple past lectures, there were never any such conflicts. The reason for any conflict is rather the “smouldering political conflicts between Jews and Arabs/Palestinians”, as the Foreigners’ Office itself declares.
However, the Foreigners’ Office wrongly equates Jews with the Israeli government. Numerous prominent Jews in Israel, Germany and other countries are rather very critical of the policies of the the Israeli government. The Foreigners’ Office also justifies its decision by reference to a threat to public safety and order. They also mention forbidden meetings of other organizations. However, Mr. Barakat never gave lectures at any forbidden gatherings. Listing of the PFLP as a terrorist organisation in the USA, Israel and the EU is alleged to be sufficient for the Foreigners’ Office to claim that public safety and order, and Germany’s good relations with the state of Israel, are at risk due to his lectures.
This decision of the Foreigners’ Office intervenes massively against the fundamental rights of Khaled Barakat. The justified and necessary fight against anti-Semitism is not facilitated by such decisions, but in fact made more difficult. Equating criticism of the Israeli government with anti-Semitism distracts from the danger of real anti-Semitism.
The prohibition means that his rights under Art. 5, 8 of the German constitution, Art. 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) are injured. The core of freedom of expression consists precisely in being critical of the policy of one’s own government and to the policies of other governments. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are fundamental for a democratic community.
The ELDH, the VDJ and the International League for Human Rights call on the Berlin authorities to cease these unlawful practices without delay and also to annul their decision on the extension of Mr. Barakat’s residence permit on the basis of speculation and defamation.
Khaled Barakat and Charlotte Kates with Manu Pineda, MEP Photo: Izquierda Unida Europa
On 22 June, Barakat was stopped as he went to deliver a speech on the so-called “deal of the century” and the U.S. attack on Palestinian rights in Berlin. He was taken to a police station, where he was given an eight-page document prohibiting him from taking part in any type of political activity until 31 July, including meetings, events and gatherings. He was threatened with up to one year in prison if he failed to comply. The document listed many speeches delivered by Barakat in Berlin and warned that his speech could lead to “tension” between Jews and Palestinians and Arabs in Berlin, despite no evidence that such a thing had ever occurred. It further attempted to equate anti-Semitism with opposition to the Israeli state. People in Germany and around the world are expressing growing solidarity against the political ban, noting the severe danger that this poses not only to Barakat’s human rights and freedom of expression, but that it could also set a precedent for the ongoing suppression of Palestinians in Germany.
In his remarks at the European Parliament, Barakat emphasized that Palestinians have been fighting colonization for over 100 years – and that resisting these types of attacks is also a critical part of resisting colonization. He also noted that the Israeli government has heavily funded its “Ministry of Strategic Affairs” to take the repression of Palestinian activism to a global level. He also noted that Gilad Erdan, the Minister of Strategic Affairs, is also the minister of internal security, responsible for the repression targeting Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Therefore, Palestinians and solidarity organizations working to support the freedom and justice of Palestinian prisoners have been particularly targeted.
Khaled Barakat, Mohammed Khatib and Charlotte Kates with Manu Pineda, MEP Photo: Izquierda Unida Europa
In her presentation, Kates noted that the repression targeting Palestinian writers and activists also reflects the rise of the extreme right in Europe. She noted that the Bundestag’s anti-BDS resolution was initially prompted by a proposal from the AfD, the far-right party in Germany. In addition, she also linked these repressive attacks to anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism. She noted that pro-fascist forces are escaping responsibility for actual anti-Semitism, while the term is instead being used to smear activists working for justice and liberation in Palestine. Instead, Israel and the European extreme right are developing a stronger alliance than ever.
Khaled Barakat, Charlotte Kates and Mohammed Khatib with Pernando Barrena, MEP
Manu Pineda noted that “For several years now some European governments, pushed by the Israeli state, have begun to try to drown any kind of initiative and movement of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Khaled’s case, which is not the first of its kind in Germany, is very worrying because of what it means for freedom of expression in an EU country and because it also coincides with the decision of the German Parliament to classify the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign as anti-Semitic.” He condemned this resolution, calling it “reprehensible for equating anti-Semitism with the legitimate demand that the Israeli government must be compelled to comply with international law.”
“We show our full solidarity with organizations and activists like Khaled Barakat, who, despite repression and persecution, continue to lead and press forward the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people to live in peace and freedom,” Pineda said.
Khaled Barakat and Charlotte Kates at the European Parliament. Photo: Izquierda Unida Europa
Commenting on EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini’s comments emphasizing that the EU views BDS advocacy as part of freedom of expression, Pineda said that “it is clear that Mogherini’s words are not enough, because at the moment of truth, Israel, with which the EU continues to maintain a privileged trade relationship, is able to pressure member states to repress BDS or solidarity activists and movements that demand the end of violence against the Palestinian people.”
Member of Bundestag Diether Dehm of Die Linke. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The visit to the European Parliament came one day after Diether Dehm, Member of Bundestag for DIE LINKE (The Left Party) expressed his support for Barakat’s right to speak. “The arrest of Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat and the conditions imposed on him by the immigration office are a blatant restriction on freedom of expression,” Dehm said.”The accusation that Barakat’s talks could aggravate tensions between Jews and Palestinians in Germany is absurd in view of the topic he wanted to speak about….criticisms of the policies of the Israeli government are covered by the right to freedom of expression. That people should be silenced with pressure on their residence permit is scandalous,” Dehm said, noting that the political ban confirmed fears that the Bundestag’s anti-BDS motion would lead to further political silencing.
Peoples’ movements based in New York and the Global South invite you to Ground Level Peoples’ Forum (GLPF) – a counter-space to the United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF).
Interactive and full of exciting cultural workers and mobilisation, the GLPF will bring together civil society and peoples’ movements to share our struggles and resistances, and hold our governments accountable for the commitments that they have made for sustainable development.
The High Level Political Forum, to be held this July 9 to 18, is a gathering of world leaders to monitor the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. This year, HLPF will discuss the issues on decent work, economic growth, education, inequalities between and within countries, financing, climate change, wars and conflict, human rights, among others. 47 countries – both from global north and global south – will present their national report on the progress of SDGs, including Philippines, Indonesia, Fiji, Cambodia, UK, Israel, Timor Leste, Guatemala, Ghana, etc.
Meant to address structural inequalities, SDGs still fall short in confronting the root problems of working class and grassroot peoples of the world. Under the guise of SDGs, the United Nations continues to perpetuate neoliberal and imperialist policies, facilitating the expansion of the corporations and paving the way for unaccountable public-private partnerships that cement corporate power rather than serve the interests of the majority of people.
Today, as attacks against the working class and human rights defenders worsen under increasingly macho-fascist governments; and as neoliberal capitalism reinforces patriarchy, perpetuate wealth inequalities, climate crisis, land and resource grabbing, trade wars, militarism and proxy-wars – it is increasingly important to build solidarity between movements – feminists, migrants, dalits, refugees, trade unions and workers, indigenous peoples, farmers, urban poor, diaspora, etc – in the US and abroad, sharing our collective struggles to demand for development justice!
Don’t miss this opportunity to envision the world we want with local and international grassroots activists!
***Event Details***
10.00 A.M- 3.00 P.M: Discussion at the People’s Forum
3.00 P.M – 4.00 P.M: Rally from People’s Forum to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
4.00 P.M-5.30 P.M: Action at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
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If you are interested to co-organise, join our event and mobilisation, please RSVP to rina@apwld.org and ahc27hk@gmail.com
The 
International, European and German lawyers issued statements in support of 
Peoples’ movements based in New York and the Global South invite you to Ground Level Peoples’ Forum (GLPF) – a counter-space to the United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF).