Collectif Palestine Vaincra member denied entry to occupied Palestine

29 April 2019

The following statement is translated from the French-language original at the site of Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member organization of the Samidoun Network: https://palestinevaincra.com/2019/04/un-membre-du-collectif-palestine-vaincra-refuse-dentrer-en-palestine-occupee/

On Wednesday, 24 April 2019, a member of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra was denied entry to occupied Palestine after he arrived at Ben Gurion airport.

Last Wednesday, even before he checked in at the French airport, a private security agent from the “HubSafe” airport security company asked M. about the reasons for his trip, his knowledge of the country, etc., and stuck a check number on the back of his passport.*

“When I arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening at 6 pm, at the time of the first check, an immigration officer confiscated my passport and asked me to go to a room “for further questions.” These rooms are occupied by Israeli intelligence services. The wait was relatively long and I was called for an initial interrogation. After a series of rather classic questions, the interrogations, which lasted around 6 hours, took a different term and became clearly intrusive. The agents were obviously seeking to gather information on my knowledge, my previous visits, etc. They asked to have access to my phone, contacts, photos, emails and many other intimidation attempts.

At midnight, an agent picked me up and took me to an immigration control office of the Israeli Minister of the Interior. Without details, an official informed me of a 10-year ban for “security reasons” (no other explanation was given despite my protests), took my fingerprints and a photo of me before informing me that I will be expelled as soon as possible to France. While waiting for my flight (24 hours later), I remained under the supervision of airport agents. I was escorted to a plane to Paris, where I was greeted by agents of the Border Police.”

These interrogations and denials of entry regularly affect people, activists or not, arriving in occupied Palestine. These practices are more broadly part of an aggressive policy of criminalizing support movements for the Palestinian people, including the BDS (Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions) campaign. In this sense, the Israeli state has created a “working group” tasked with identifying, expelling or denying entry to internationals involved in these movements. For example, this was the case with Charlotte Kates, international coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, who was denied entry, banned and returned to Jordan on 15 August 2016.

The Collectif Palestine Vaincra denounces this attempt to criminalize the movements to support the Palestinian people as well as all forms of intimidation directed against opponents of Israeli colonization!

Palestine will win! (Palestine vaincra!)

*Regarding pre-boarding checks to Tel Aviv, it should be remembered among other examples that in 2012, EasyJet refused to allow pro-Palestinian activists to board flights to Tel Aviv.

*The anonymized denial of entry/ban form given to the activist.</u<*

Take Action: Six Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike against administrative detention!

29 April 2019

*Nablus protest in support of the hunger strikers. Photo: Palestinian Prisoners Committee*

There are currently six Palestinian prisoners engaged in hunger strikes inside Israeli prison. They are striking against administrative detention, imprisonment without charge and without trial, indefinitely renewable for periods of up to six months at a time. These prisoners have been on hunger strike for weeks and are suffering from severe health consequences; their bodies and lives are on the line to demand their freedom. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all supporters of freedom and justice to take action and join the campaign to support Hossam al-Ruzza and his fellow hunger strikers for justice and liberation.

See below for flyers, posters and campaign materials that you can use in your community!

Hossam al-Ruzza, 61, from Nablus, has been on hunger strike for 42 days, since 19 March. He is imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention. During his strike, his weight has dropped from 86 kg (189 lbs) to 61 kg (134 lbs) and is continuing to decline. His family reported that he had been transferred to a hospital due to deterioration in his health condition after earlier being moved to isolation in Nitzan Ramleh.

He has been imprisoned without charge or trial for a year and launched his hunger strike on 19 March. He already suffers from a number of serious health concerns, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Over the years, he has spent 18 years in Israeli prisons, 11 of those years in administrative detention.

Mohammed Tabanja, 38, also from Nablus, has been jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention since 28 June 2018. His strike was launched on 25 March, 35 days ago, after his detention was renewed once again by the Israeli occupation military courts. He is married with two children.

Hassan al-Oweiwi, 35, from al-Khalil, has been on hunger strike for 29 days, since 2 April against his imprisonment without charge or trial. Israeli occupation forces invaded his home on 15 January before ordering him to administrative detention. He is married with three children, and his family have been desperate for information about his condition and whereabouts. They noted that some released prisoners reported that he was being held in isolation in the Ramle prison clinic. He has previously spent time in administrative detention and was imprisoned for three years by the Israeli occupation.

Odeh al-Hroub, 32, from Dura, al-Khalil, has also been on hunger strike for 29 days, since 2 April. He has been jailed without charge or trial since December 2018, and the renewal of his imprisonment on the basis of secret evidence led him to launch his hunger strike for freedom. He is a former prisoner who has spent several years in Israeli jails.

Mohammed al-Himouni, 36, from al-Khalil, has been imprisoned by the Israeli occupation since 25 Febuary, when armed occupation soldiers invaded his home. He was handcuffed, blindfolded and beaten while being taken to the detention center and, shortly thereafter, he was ordered to four months in administrative detention without charge or trial. During his interrogation, he was accused of communicating with his own brother, Basil, a former prisoner released to Gaza in the Wafa’ al-Ahrar prisoner exchange.

He has been on hunger strike for his freedom for 33 days since 27 March, his family reports. He is the father of two children and his wife is currently pregnant. He has lost 16 kilograms (34 lbs) of weight so far during his strike; he was previously jailed for over six years over separate sentences.

Mohammed Mteir, 24, from Qalandiya refugee camp, launched his hunger strike 9 days ago, on 20 March. He hs been jailed without charge or trial since 12 January, and he was previously detained for over three years before his current stint in administrative detention.

Earlier, Khaled Farraj, 31, a Palestinian refugee from the Dheisheh camp, carried out a hunger strike for 23 days before reaching an agreement for the end of his administrative detention. He suspended his strike after concluding an agreement for his release from imprisonment without charge or trial on 23 October 2019; he has been imprisoned since 23 January 2018.

*Photo: Palestinian Prisoners Committee*

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.

Take action!

1) Organize or join an event or protest for the Palestinian prisoners. You can organize an info table, rally, solidarity hunger strike, protest or action to support the prisoners. If you are already holding an event about Palestine or social justice, include solidarity with the prisoners as part of your action. Send your events and reports to samidoun@samidoun.net.

2) Write letters and make phone calls to protest the violation of Palestinian prisoners’ rights. Demand your government take action to stop supporting Israeli occupation or to pressure the Israeli state to end the policies of repression of Palestinian political prisoners. In particular, demand that your political officials put pressure on Israel to end the policy of administrative detention, the imprisonment of Palestinians without charge or trial.

Call during your country’s regular office hours:

• Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne: + 61 2 6277 7500
• Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland: +1-613-992-5234
• European Union Commissioner Federica Mogherini: +32 (0) 2 29 53516
• New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters: +64 4 439 8000
• United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt: +44 20 7008 1500
• United States President Donald Trump: 1-202-456-1111

3) Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Join the BDS campaign to highlight the complicity of corporations like Hewlett-Packard and the continuing involvement of G4S in Israeli policing and prisons. Build a campaign to boycott Israeli goods, impose a military embargo on Israel, or organize around the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. Learn more about the BDS campaign at bdsmovement.net.

Downloadable materials:

Flyer on the hunger strikes: Download PDF

https://samidoun.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/hungerstrike2019.pdf

Download: Poster/Sign – Free All Palestinian Prisoners

https://samidoun.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SAMIDOUNsign-FreeAllPalestinianPoliticalPrisoners-FreePalestineFromTheRiverToTheSea-4-6-16.pdf

Download: Poster/Sign: Free Hunger Strikers and All Prisoners

https://samidoun.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SAMIDOUNsign-FreeHungerStrikersAndAllPoliticalPrisoners-4-6-16.pdf

Download: Poster Sign: End Administrative Detention

https://samidoun.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SAMIDOUNsign-EndAdministativeDetentionDismantleTheIsraeliPrisonRegime-4-6-16.pdf

27 April, Jacksonville: Black Power and Palestine

22 April 2019

Saturday, 27 April
5:00 pm
1401 Grunthal Street
Jacksonville, Florida
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/322255001799435/

Join the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, and the Palestinian Youth Movement for an event on joint struggle! We’ll be hearing from the recent PYM delegation to South Africa, as well as historical and contemporary examples of joint struggle, and what it means for us in the fight for liberation.

Don’t miss this event! Refreshments provided.

Beyond the Frontlines: Tales of Resistance and Resilience from Palestine U.S. film tour

21 April 2019

“Beyond the Frontlines” is a remarkable documentary about Palestine from France, directed by Alexandra Dols. The Jerusalem-based psychiatrist Dr. Samah Jabr is the subject of a remarkable documentary film which has already achieved renown in many countries internationally.

She is a member of the USA Palestine Mental Health Network Advisory Council, and the Network is working with Jewish Voice for Peace and other organizations to bring the director, Alexandra Dols, and psychiatrist Samah Jabr, to the United States for screenings of the film.

The film will be featured at the opening of the Houston Palestine Film Festival later this month, where Dr. Jabr and Ms. Dols, the director, will be present for a discussion following the showing.

https://beyondthefrontlines.com

Please join us for one of these screenings with Dr. Jabr and Ms. Dols:

Friday, April 26th, 7-9pm ~ the Museum of Fine Arts
1001 Bissonnet St., Houston Texas
Presented by the Houston Palestine Film Festival

Sunday, April 28th, 1-4:30pm ~ St. Andrew’s Presbyterian
Church, 14311 Wells Port Drive, Austin, Texas
co-sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace-Austin
and the Council for American Islamic Relations.

Monday, April 29th, 4-7pm ~ University of Virginia,
Nau Hall #101, 1540 Jefferson Park Ave Charlottesville, Virginia
co-sponsored by the University of Virginia Research
Initiative on Religion, Politics & Conflict.

Tuesday, April 30th, 7pm ~ St. Stephen Episcopal Church
1525 Newton St. NW, Washington DC
co-sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace-DC Metro
Facebook event : https://www.facebook.com/events/350333475591258/

To host a screening in your city, please contact the film’s team at: hybridpulse8@yahoo.fr

Call to Action to Defend the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, DC: The Embassy Protection Collective

21 April 2019

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network supports the following statement from the Embassy Protection Collective (Colectivos Por La Paz), a grassroots movement of people who are staying in the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC to protect it from takeover by the opposition.

Individuals and organizations are invited to sign on to the Declaration of the Embassy Protection Collective. You or your organization can join us by signing on here: http://bit.ly/EPCDeclaration.

The Collective will have important events coming up in the next few days. For details of events at the embassy see Acton: 24/7 Protection Of DC Venezuelan Embassy or visit the Facebook page. The crucial days for people to be at the embassy and spend the night in Washington, DC, will be April 24-25. This is when the opposition has openly said they will seek to take the embassy.

Please join us and show solidarity with Venezuela and its people, who continue to show solidarity with Palestine while actively resisting an imperialist-led coup attempt.

Declaration of the Embassy Protection Collective (Colectivos Por La Paz)

We have joined together as the Embassy Protection Collective to show solidarity with the people of Venezuela and their right to determine their elected government. We are staying in the Venezuelan embassy with the permission of the legitimate Venezuelan government under President Nicolas Maduro. We seek to provide a nonviolent barrier to the threatened opposition takeover of their embassy in Washington, DC by being a presence at the embassy every day of the week for 24 hours a day.

The Collective is working from the embassy, located in the heart of Georgetown in Washington, DC during the day and holding seminars and cultural events in the evenings, as well as sleeping in the embassy. Events include forums on Venezuela, its government, economy and the ongoing attempted coup. We are also holding seminars on US foreign policy toward Africa, Honduras and Iran, the prosecution of Julian Assange and other issues.

There is great cause for us to be concerned about a hostile takeover of the DC Embassy. On March 18, 2019, the Venezuelan opposition took over the military attaché building on 2409 California St in Washington DC, with the help of the DC Police and Secret Service. On that same day, the opposition also took over the Venezuelan Consulate in New York City. They have publicly threatened to take over the embassy itself.

International Law Protects Foreign Embassies Located In The United States

According to Article 22 of the 1961 Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations, foreign embassies should be protected by the United States government and their space should not be violated by the US government. Specifically, international law requires:

1. The premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them, except with the consent of the head of the mission.
2. The receiving State is under a special duty to take all appropriate steps to protect the premises of the mission against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the mission or impairment of its dignity.
3. The premises of the mission, their furnishings and other property thereon and the means of transport of the mission shall be immune from search, requisition, attachment or execution.

The Trump Administration is violating the Vienna Convention by not only allowing the illegal seizure of diplomatic premises but by facilitating it. The Election Protection Collective is supporting the people of Venezuela by taking responsibility to ensure that Article 22 of the Vienna Convention is followed.

The Elected Government of President Maduro Remains In Power

The government of President Nicolás Maduro was re-elected on May 20, 2018 in response to the opposition demanding an early election. The election was held consistent with the Venezuelan Constitution, in consultation with opposition parties and as determined by the National Electoral Council, an independent branch of the Venezuelan government.

Sixteen parties participated in the election with six candidates competing for the presidency. President Maduro won by a wide margin, obtaining 6,248,864 votes, 67.84%; followed by Henri Falcón with 1,927,958, 20.93%; Javier Bertucci with 1,015,895, 10.82%; and Reinaldo Quijada, who obtained 36,246 votes, 0.39% of the total. A total of 9,389,056 people voted, 46% of eligible voters.

The electoral process was observed by more than 150 election observers. This included 14 electoral commissions from eight countries among them the Council of Electoral Experts of Latin America; two technical electoral missions; and 18 journalists from different parts of the world, among others. According to the international observers, “the elections were very transparent and complied with international parameters and national legislation.”

In a letter to the European Union correcting some of the false statements made about the election, election observers wrote: “We were unanimous in concluding that the elections were conducted fairly, that the election conditions were not biased, that genuine irregularities were exceptionally few and of a very minor nature.”

Voting machines were audited before and immediately after the election. Venezuela does something no other country in the world does, a public Citizen’s Audit of a random sample of 52 to 54% of voting machines. The Citizen’s Audit is observed by the media, the public, and all opposition parties, who sign the audits.

The Invalid Self-Appointment of Juan Guaidó Violated Venezuelan Law

Juan Guaidó’s self-appointment as interim president violated the Constitution of Venezuela. The language of the Venezuelan Constitution is clear regarding when the president of the National Assembly can become president and none of the conditions in the Constitution have been met.

The opposition relies on Article 233 of the Constitution, which allows the National Assembly president to serve as interim president only if the president-elect has not yet been inaugurated. Guaidó’s self-appointment occurred after President Maduro had been inaugurated.

Article 233 allows the president of the National Assembly to become president only if the president-elect:

“become[s] permanently unavailable to serve by reason of any of the following events: death; resignation; removal from office by decision of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice [equivalent of impeachment]; permanent physical or mental disability certified by a medical board designated by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice with the approval of the National Assembly; abandonment of his position, duly declared by the National Assembly; and recall by popular vote.”

None of these conditions were met.

If Guaidó had met the above conditions, Article 233 allows him to serve for only 30 consecutive days pending election and inauguration of the new President. Guaidó’s self-appointment and fraudulent inauguration occurred more than 30 days ago and no election has been scheduled.

In a press briefing, Elliot Abrams, the US Special Representative for Venezuela, could not explain these violations of law by Guaidó and admitted that Guaidó is not “able to exercise the powers of the office because Maduro still is there.” Even Abrams admits that Guaidó is not the president. Therefore, he has no authority over the Venezuelan embassy.

The Role of the Embassy Protection Collective

The Embassy Protection Collective is in the embassy with the permission of the Venezuelan government. We are upholding international law and the Venezuelan Constitution and opposing a coup attempt against the legitimate government of Venezuela on behalf of the people of Venezuela who elected their government.

The Embassy Protection Collective is made up of civilians, United States citizens, who are peacefully defending the embassy. If the opposition enters, they will be trespassing. We call on the DC police, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security and any other law enforcement agency to uphold the law and prevent the opposition from trespassing.

The Collective feels a responsibility to hold our government to a standard of respecting the rule of law as well as a responsibility to stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela.

Signed

The Embassy Civilian Protection Collective

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah’s statement for Palestinian Prisoners’ Day 2019

20 April 2019

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah issued the following statement on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day 2019. The imprisoned Arab Communist struggler for Palestine has been jailed in French prisons for 34 years, despite being eligible for release since 1999. The U.S. government has repeatedly intervened in an attempt to prevent his release from prison, while a growing movement in Lebanon, France and internationally demands his liberation.

Translated from the French at Collectif Palestine Vaincra:

Dear comrades, dear friends;

The conditions of detention of the Palestinian Resistance strugglers in Zionist jails have been worsening in recent times.

Since the beginning of the year, Gilad Erdan, the Israeli Minister of Internal Security, seeks to impose a “new reality” upon our fellow prisoners with the aim of reversing or simply extinguishing the rights that they have acquired through multople, courageous struggles in past years. Raids, searches and other forms of repression are escalating in the various Israeli prisons. The special units, heavily armed for repression, are engaged in the worst excesses during these various invasions. There were over 120 prisoners wounded in Ketziot in the repression of protests since February, as well as in Ofer, the Negev prison and elsewhere in the other detention centers….

All of this is meant to intimidate and to multiply the difficulties of our comrades as they are unable to break them: confiscation of personal items, isolation, cancellation of family visits, transfers. And many comrades are beaten during each invasion of these repressive units. This is not to mention the “bosta” and all the suffering of our female comrades, especially during transfers…

Following this situation, our comrades announced the launch of a collective hunger strike in Israeli jails. Key leaders of the prisoners’ movement and the national liberation movement as a whole joined the strike, and hundreds planned to join the strike in the coming days. It was expected that the strike would escalate just today, 17 April, in Palestine and internationally, on Palestinian prisoners’ day. However, the Zionist authorities found it useful to back down for the moment in face of the growing movement and its potential, especially in light of the latest developments in the Arab wold, namely the promising movements in Algeria and Sudan. As you see comrades, the revolutionary strugglers, often in particularly difficult circumstances, seek by all means to defeat the policies of destruction they are subjected to in the enemy’s jails. However, the outcome of this confrontation, the outcome of these hard battles, is always a function of the solidarity of the masses and the unwavering commitment of the vanguard in the field of ongoing struggle.

In 1974, the Palestinian National Conference declared 17 April to be Palestinian Prisoners’ Day. This was not only meant to denounce on this occasion the barbarism of the Zionist occupier nor was it only intended to honor the captive resistance by reminding the masses of their sacrifices and their unwavering willingness to stand up against the Zionist military forces. The commemoration of this Palestinian Prisoners’ Day is intended, above all else, to affirm loudly and strongly the determination to tear our comrades from the claws of their criminal jailers. Indeed, on several occasions, the vanguards of the Palestinian revolutionary struggle took on this task with great courage and self-sacrifice, forcing the enemy to release thousands of imprisoned comrades without any concessions on their part.

Today, comrades, here we are gathered again, in different countries of the world, to commemorate Palestinian Prisoners’ Day and especially to express our unwavering solidarity with the resistance in the Zionist jails and our complete confidence in the determination of the Palestinian revolutionary vanguards and their firm resolve to do what is necessary to tear our resisting comrades from the clutches of the Zionist criminal jailers.

May a thousand solidarity initiatives blossom in support of our flowers and cubs imprisoned in the Zionist prisons!

May a thousand solidarity initiatives blossom in favor of the strugglers of the right of return initiatives!

Solidarity, all solidarity with the resistance in Zionist jails and isolation cells in Morocco, Turkey, the Philippines and everywhere around the world!

Solidarity, all solidarity with the resisting revolutionary comrades in the jails in Greece!

May a thousand solidarity initiatives blossom in support of the Algerian, Sudanese and Yemeni masses!

Solidarity, all solidarity, with the young proletarians of the working-class neighborhoods!

Capitalism is nothing but barbarism. Honor to all those who oppose it in the diversity of their expressions!

Together, comrades, and only together, we will win!

To all of you, comrades and friends, my warmest revolutionary greetings.

Your comrade, Georges Abdallah.

Successful rally for Palestinian prisoners in Toulouse

20 April 2019

The following report is translated from the original French at Collectif Palestine Vaincra:

On Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, 17 April, La Temps du Palestine Toulouse organized a unified rally in the city center of Toulouse, France, in which Collectif Palestine Vaincra played a major role in organizing and building. Collectif Palestine Vaincra is an anti-imperialist organization involved in the struggle for Palestine and a member of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

Over 100 people visited the booth during the protest, which went on for around two hours. Participants distributed leaflets, painted a banner, chalked on the ground and wrote letters to send to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Around 50 postcards of solidarity were written to be sent to the prisoners. People distributed tea and cakes throughout the afternoon of solidarity. The organizers noted that the event was a great success, inspiring many future actions.

The speaker for Collectif Palestine Vaincra delivered the following speech:

I am speaking today on behalf of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra.

On 8 April, a hunger strike began in the occupation’s jails under the name of the Battle of Dignity 2. It follows last Dignity Strike, in April 2017. The strike was very quickly joined by hundreds of prisoners and ended on Monday, 15 April with an agreement with the occupation forces, recognizing the rights of the for prisoners.

From the beginning, this movement was met by harsh repression of the security forces: intrusion into the prisoners’ cells, beatings, use of tear gas in confined spaces, confiscation of books and prohibition of family visits.

Several Palestinian leaders initiated the hunger strike. The General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmad Sa’adat, imprisoned by the occupier, took part in the movement with his comrades. Last Wednesday, he and several Palestinian leaders had their cells invaded in an attempt to weaken the prisoners’ struggle.

Throughout occupied Palestine and around the world, demonstrations of solidarity with the strikers have been organized. As we stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people, we must redouble our efforts to express our full solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners in their struggle against the repressive regime of the Israeli state.

Because Palestinian prisoners represent the resistance of an entire people who face the oppression of the Zionist state. This oppression takes many forms: the theft of Palestinian lands and homes, the military occupation of the West Bank aimed at gradually taking all territory to the Palestinians, the creation of an open-air prison in Gaza and the massacres that accompany this daily violence.

The Palestinian prisoners represent the path of struggle against the capitulation of the Oslo Accords in 1993, against the collaboration of the Palestinian Authority with the colonial state and for the only fair and lasting project of justice: a free and democratic Palestine from the river to the sea.

We also recall that Israel has used imprisonment as a strategy to suppress the Palestinian people and their resistance organizations. Since 1967, more than 850,000 people have been imprisoned. Today, almost half of Palestinian men over 18 have already been locked up. Palestinians are judged by Military Courts who convict them in 99.7% of cases. Prisoners are often tortured or badly treated. As of 2018, 210 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons.

In France, solidarity with Palestinian prisoners has a particular resonance. In the prisons of the French state is one of the 5,400 Palestinian prisoners: Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. Imprisoned since 1984 – despite being eligible for release since 1999 – for his involvement in the Palestinian resistance, France continues to refuse to release this resistance struggler.

On Thursday, 11 April, Georges Abdallah and his Basque co-detainees and other prisoners spent three days on hunger strike in solidarity.

So, we must strengthen our solidarity and build the BDS movement and the fight for the release of Georges Abdallah and all Palestinian prisoners! Let us also support the Palestinian Resistance fighting for the liberation of Palestine, all of Palestine, from the river to the sea! This is the heart of our struggle as Collectif Palestine Vaincra, member of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

Freedom for Ahmad Saadat, Georges Abdallah and all Palestinian prisoners!
Palestine will live, Palestine will win! (Palestine vivra, Palestine vaincra!)

Palestinian prisoners reach agreement to achieve demands, end hunger strike

16 April 2019

Palestinian prisoners have reached an agreement with the Israeli prison administration to achieve their demands and suspend their hunger strike, the Battle of Dignity 2, on Monday, 15 April. The agreement came as hundreds of Palestinian prisoners were engaged in their eighth day of a collective hunger strike.

According to the leadership of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, the agreement includes the installation of public telephones in the prison sections, which prisoners would be allowed to use three times a week for 15-minute calls, as well as stopping the installation of cell-phone jamming devices. In addition, the repressive measures and sanctions imposed in the past year upon the prisoners will also be lifted, while fines imposed on prisoners in recent struggles inside the prisons would be reduced. Hundreds more prisoners have been set to join the hunger strike in the coming days, especially 17 April, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said that the agreement also included provisions to transfer the women prisoners from Damon prison to another detention center; the prisoners have repeatedly cited harsh, difficult conditions unsuitable for human life in the Damon prison. In addition, sick prisoners would be returned to the previous section in the Ramleh prison clinic, an area that was considered better than their current location.

The National and Islamic Forces held a press conference in Gaza City to highlight the prisoners’ final statement. “The battle is not over; the hardest phase of this struggle is to implement what has been agreed upon,” the prisoners wrote, noting that previous agreements have been repeatedly broken by the Israeli prison administration.

They saluted the prisoners in section 4 of the Negev desert prison and section 1 in Ramon prison who were attacked by Israeli repressive forces, noting that “their great sacrifices underline that freedom and dignity are…human rights that cannot be denied.” They saluted Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, occupied Palestine ’48 and exile and diaspora, as well as supporters of freedom around the world, journalists and prisoners’ centers, that stood with the prisoners in their struggle. The statement particularly saluted “the people and leadership in Gaza,” noting their unity in commitment to the struggle.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses its strongest salutes and greetings to all of the Palestinian prisoners on this occasion of victory. These achievements follow on many historical accomplishments of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, on the front lines of the Palestinian liberation struggle, extracting their victories through great sacrifice, with their bodies and lives on the line. As Palestinian Prisoners Day approaches, we emphasize our continuing dedication to work for the freedom of all Palestinian prisoners and the freedom of Palestine from the river to the sea.

*Mohammed Tabanja, Hussam al-Ruzza, Khaled Farraj*

In addition, we urge people around the world to continue their solidarity activities to support the Palestinian prisoners, throughout the coming days, months and years, until their freedom is achieved. In particular, we emphasize the cases of three Palestinian prisoners who remain on hunger strike: Hussam al-Ruzza (61), Mohammed Tabanja (40) and Khaled Farraj (31). Al-Ruzza has been on hunger strike since 19 March – nearly one month – while Tabanja and Farraj have been on hunger strike since 25 March. All are held without charge or trial under administrative detention orders, and their detention has been repeatedly and arbitrarily renewed.

They are among nearly 500 Palestinians out of approximately 5,500 Palestinian prisoners jailed with no charges and no trial for indefinitely renewable periods under administrative detention. The end of administrative detention is a long-time demand of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement and supporters of justice and liberation around the world. Join the call to free Hussam al-Ruzza, Mohammed Tabanja, Khaled Farraj and all Palestinian prisoners!

19 April, Berlin: Rally to support Palestinian prisoners

16 April 2019

Friday, 19 April
3:00 pm
Hermannplatz
Berlin, Germany

The alliance of Palestinian and Arab organizations in Berlin is calling for a solidarity sit-in on Palestinian Prisoners’ Day and to show solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in the Battle of Dignity 2.

17 April, Paris: Rally for the liberation of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah

15 April 2019

Wednesday, 17 April
6:00 pm
Metro Chateau Rouge
Place du Chateau-Rouge
Paris, France
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2143138409111104/

On Monday, 8 April 2019, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners went on hunger strike, from all political organizations. There are now more than 400. This strike comes in response to the many repressions that these prisoners have suffered under the Zionist prison administration. Among their demands are improving the conditions of detention, stopping isolation, receiving medical care and the right to family visits.

On 11 April 2019, Georges Abdallah began a three-day hunger strike in support of the Palestinian prisoners’ resistance, with around 20 of his fellow detainees including 12 Basque comrades.

On Wednesday, 17 April, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, we call for a rally at 6 pm at Metro Chateau-Rouge, in Paris 18th, to demand the release of our comrade Georges Abdallah and express our support and unconditional solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in struggle.

Depuis lundi 08 avril 2019, des centaines de prisonniers Palestiniens, de toutes les organisations de la résistance, sont entrés en grève de la faim et à l’heure d’aujourd’hui, ils sont désormais plus de 400. Cette grève vient en réponse aux nombreuses répressions que ces prisonniers subissent de la part de l’administration pénitentiaire sioniste. Parmi les revendications, sont réclamés l’amélioration des conditions de détention, l’arrêt des mises en isolement, les descentes de contrôle à tout heure dans leur cellule, le droit au soin et de visite.

Le 11 avril 2019, Georges Abdallah a entamé une grève de la faim de trois jours en soutien à cette résistance des prisonniers Palestiniens, avec une vingtaine de ses codétenus dont une douzaine de camarades basques.

Mercredi 17 avril 2019, journée des prisonniers Palestiniens, nous appelons à un rassemblement, à partir de 18h00, au métro Château-Rouge, à Paris 18ème, pour exiger la libération de notre camarade Georges Abdallah et pour exprimer notre soutien et notre solidarité inconditionnelle avec les prisonniers Palestiniens en lutte.

Downloadable materials:

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