Samidoun participates in Native Liberation conference organized by The Red Nation

15 August 2018

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network participated in the Third Annual Native Liberation Conference convened by The Red Nation in Albuquerque on 11-12 August 2018. The Samidoun international coordinator, Charlotte Kates, participated in a session entitled “From the River to the Stars: Irish and Palestinian Anti-Imperialism” focusing on the struggles in Ireland and Palestine against colonialism and settler colonialism.

Watch the video of the workshop below:

The Native Liberation Conference focused “on global solidarity and decolonization in the heart of empire, bringing together Native, Black, undocumented, and Palestinian organizers. In this time of terrible danger, we must work together to build a better world — the future of the planet is at stake.” Workshops included events highlighting indigenous feminisms, challenges to celebrations of conquest, indigenous student organizing, border imperialism and Native peoples in struggle against police violence.

Workshops addressed “decolonization, land liberation and Third World solidarity economies” as well as envisioning a way forward for Native Liberation struggles. The rooms at the conference highlighted political prisoners of anti-colonial struggles: Little Feather (Michael Giron), Red Fawn Fallis, Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Khalida Jarrar and Tony Taylor.

Several Palestinian and Palestine solidarity organizations gave presentations at the conference, including Addameer, where David Joseph Deutch and Lana Ramadan were joined by Brad Parker of DCI-Palestine and Walaa Abu Ghussein, a Palestinian student from Gaza. The Adalah Justice Project, with Nadia Ben-Youssef and Sandra Tamari, focused on land, liberation and the links between U.S. settler colonialism and Zionist settler colonialism.

The “From the River to the Stars” workshop included a presentation by Micheailin Butler, an Irish American activist and organizer, as well as contributions from the Irish Republican Socialist Party and Anti Imperialist Action Ireland. Charlotte Kates from Samidoun spoke about the targeting of political prisoners as a means of targeting the resistance to colonialism and the importance of organizing to defend these prisoners as leaders of the movement. Her presentation focused on the case of Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as his imprisonment since 2002 by first the Palestinian Authority and, since a bloody raid in 2006, by Israel, also involved the United States and Britain. Indeed, some British guards charged with guarding Sa’adat and his comrades in Jericho prison had previously held Irish Republican prisoners as captives.

Melanie Yazzie, co-founder of The Red Nation, spoke about exchanges of solidarity and history between the Indigenous liberation struggle on Turtle Island and the Irish liberation struggle. She addressed the importance of reigniting these solidarities and joint struggle through mutual and material support. “Our national liberation struggle is a struggle for decolonization,” she said of the Indigenous liberation movement, connecting it to the Irish and Palestinian struggles for liberation.

The Red Nation, the organizers of the conference, describe their work in principles of unity, including the following:

“We are Indigenous revolutionaries. We are comrades and relatives first and foremost. We practice radical democracy and compassion for all relatives. Despite differences in organizational role or affiliation, we are equals in struggle.

We are anti-capitalist and anti-colonial. We are Indigenous feminists who believe in radical relationality. We do not seek a milder form of capitalism or colonialism—we demand an entirely new system premised on peace, cooperation, and justice. For our Earth and relatives to live, capitalism and colonialism must die.”

15 September, Gothenburg: Imperialism and International Solidarity – at Radikal Bokmässa 2018

13 August 2018

Saturday, 15 September
11:30 am
Kvinnofolkhögskolans Stödförening
Gothenburg, Sweden
At Radikal Bokmässa: https://www.facebook.com/events/2064587577191081/

Torkil Lauesen, member of Internationalt Forum and author of the recently published work The Global Perspective: Reflections on Imperialism and Resistance, and Charlotte Kates, international coordinator at Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, will discuss imperialism and international solidarity. After brief personal introductions, the panel is intended to deal with topics such as: imperialism as a concept for our history, present and future, and consequences of applications of the concept; the history of international solidarity and current challenges and possibilities; and what demands the concepts and realities of imperialism and international solidarity place upon those who wish to exterminate misery and its causes. In case there is time over the discussion will be opened up to questions from the audience, and the event will possibly be recorded for future use and spreading.

The panel is organized in collaboration with Emmaus Björkå and moderated by Samidoun Göteborg.

LÖRDAG – RADIKAL BOKMÄSSA
https://www.facebook.com/events/2064587577191081/
https://radikalbokmassa2018.tumblr.com

Torkil Lauesen, medlem i Internationalt Forum och författare till nyligen utkomna boken Det Globale Perspektiv, och Charlotte Kates, internationell samordnare i Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, samtalar på engelska om imperialism och internationell solidaritet. Efter kortare personliga introduktioner planeras samtalet att behandla frågor såsom: imperialism som begrepp för vår historia, samtid och framtid, och konsekvenser av begreppets tillämpning; den internationella solidaritetens historiska och nutida utmaningar och möjligheter; och vilka krav imperialismens och den internationella solidaritetens begrepp och realiteter ställer på den som vill utrota nöden och dess orsaker. I mån om tid öppnas samtalet upp för publikfrågor, och samtalet spelas eventuellt in för framtida bruk och ökad spridning.

July Prisoners’ Update: 520 Palestinians seized by Israeli occupation forces

13 August 2018

In July 2018, Israeli occupation forces arrested 520 Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territories, including 69 children, nine women and five journalists, according to Palestinian human rights and prisoners’ institutions that released their monthly report on 13 August. This translation was produced by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

The Israeli occupation authorities seized 122 Palestinians from the city of Jerusalem, 100 from Ramallah and El-Bireh, 75 from al-Khalil, 52 from Jenin, 48 from Bethlehem, 55 from Nablus, 15 from Tulkarem, 31 from Qalqilya, 7 from Tubas, 8 from Salfit and 8 from Jericho.

As of 31 July 2018, the number of Palestinian prisoners in occupation prisons was approximately 6000, including 53 women, among them three minor girls, while there were approximately 300 children in Israeli occupation prisons. The occupation authorities issued 86 administrative detention orders, 36 of which were new and 50 of which were renewals; the total number of administrative detainees jailed without charge or trial rose to 430.

Fines for child prisoners: Extortion and collective punishment for prisoners and their families

The military occupation courts do not restrict themselves to issuing unfair sentences against child prisoners, but also impose heavy fines on their families, on top of the lengthy years and months of detention. These fines can amount to tens of thousands of shekels for just one person. This is theft in the name of the law and a policy of extorting prisoners’ families with the aim of pressuring the prisoner and the families.

The prison administration also imposes fines for small reasons against the minors inside the prisons, such as being too noisy when calling for prayer, being late to daily roll call, posting pictures on the wall, hanging a clothesline to dry clothes inside the room and similar pretexts.

It is reported that the total fines on child prsioners in Ofer prison reached 85,000 NIS ($22,970 USD) in July 2018. The fines imposed on child prisoners each year are estimated at over 1 million NIS ($270,000 USD) each year.

The imposition of these fines is a form of long-term punishment for the family, obliging families to borrow the money or go without basic needs. In addition, the parents are told that their child is the cause of this debt, despite child prisoners’ arbitrary arrests and regardless of their innocence.

This material extortion against the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails is a systematic policy imposed by the occupation to pressure the entire Palestinian society by exploiting its difficult financial situation. This is far from any form of justice or credibility, especially given the dubious reasons for these fines. The aim of the policy is also to relieve the occupation of its material responsibilities toward the prisoners by forcing them to fund their own confinement.

Occupation renews its historic policy of arresting journalists

The Israeli occupation authorities carried out a string of arrests targeting five journalists in the month of July.

The Israeli occupation authorities continued their policy of attempting to silence the voices of journalists and violating the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, as the number of journalists in Israeli prisons rose to 23, including four women journalists.

Four of the arrested journalists were Alaa Rimawi, Mohammed Sami Alwan, Hosni Anjas and Qutaiba Hamdan, all from Ramallah and El-Bireh. Alaa Rimawi went on hunger strike for several days in protest of his arrest.

In addition, writer Lama Khater, 42, from al-Khalil governorate, was arrested on 24 July. Lawyers who visited her in detention reported that she was subjected to harsh, continuous interrogation lasting more than 10 hours each day, on the subject of her writings, which interrogators described as “time bombs.” She is a mother of five.

Individual hunger strikes by Palestinian prisoners in July

* Please note: Anas Shadid, Dirar Abu Manshar, Alaa Rimawi, Bassam Abidu and Mohammed al-Rimawi all suspended their hunger strikes in August 2018. For a current report on hunger strikers, please see this article.*

Five Palestinian prisoners and detainees conducted open hunger strikes in Israeli jails during July, including: Anas Shadid, 21, from al-Khalil, who began his hunger strike on 19 July rejecting his administrative detention. The Ofer detention center transferred Shadid to isolation in the Hadarim detention center after he launched his strike. This is the third strike Shadid has carried out in the past two years, one for 90 days in 2016. He has been detained since 22 June 2017 and has been issued three administrative detention orders, all for six month periods, prompting his hunger strike. He refrained from consuming salts or vitamins. During his strike in Hadarim prison, he was held in a small cell with no windows or screens and was very cold. He suffered from nausea and dizziness and fell unconscious on multiple occasions, as well as suffering from pain throughout his body and shortness of breath.

Hassan Shokeh, 30, from Bethlehem, carried out an open hunger strike for more than two months. Arrested on 27 September 2017, this was his sixth arrest. He was seized only 27 days after his last release on 31 August 2017 and ordered to administrative detention for 6 months. Shokeh went on an open hunger strike, which concluded with an agreement that he would be sentenced and released on 3 June 2018. Instead, he was issued a new administrative detention order for six months, accompanied by a claim that new secret material had entered ihis file. He immediately launched a hunger strike in Ofer prison.

He was strip-searched and put in isolation in Ofer prison before being transferred to Hadarim prison for 10 days and then back to Ofer for five days. His lawyer appealed to the Israeli occupation Supreme Court against his administrative detention given the deterioration of his health. His strike ended with an agreement for his release on 1 December 2018.

Bassam Abidu, 47, from al-Khalil governorate, launched a hunger strike on 22 July against his administrative detention. A former prisoner, he spent a total of seven and a half years in Israeli prison. He was rearrested on 30 May 2018 by Israeli occupation forces and ordered jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention. He is married and the father of six children.

In addiiton, Mohammed al-Rimawi, 27, from Ramallah governorate, began an open hunger strike on 19 July in protest of his arrest and the conditions of his interrogation in Ashkelon detention center. He was seized after being summoned for interrogation. A former prisoner jailed previously for three years, his father, Nimr al-Rimawi, was then seized by occupation forces in an attempt to pressure his son to confess.

Dirar Abu Manshar, 40, from al-Khalil, launched a hunger strike on 27 July against his administrative detention. Jailed since 7 June 2017, his imprisonment without charge or trial was renewed three times. He is the father of four children.

Alaa Rimawi, a 40-year-old journalist from Ramallah, began his open hunger strike on 30 July 2018 in rejection of his arrest for journalistic work. He is currently jailed in Ofer prison, and he is married with five children.

Israeli occupation keeps Palestinian journalist Alaa Rimawi jailed, writer Lama Khater under interrogation

13 August 2018

Even as four Palestinian journalists were released after paying a bail of NIS 5000 ($1350) each, an Israeli military court extended the detention of journalist Alaa Rimawi, the director of the Al-Quds TV office. Rimawi previously went on hunger strike for 6 days immediately following his arrest. In addition, the interrogation of Palestinian writer Lama Khater, seized by occupation forces from her home in Al-Khalil, was also extended by an Israeli military court.

The four journalists released are Mohammed Sami Alwan, Qutaiba Hamdan, Hosni Anjas and Ibrahim Rantisi. Alwan, Hamdan and Anjas all work for al-Quds TV, while Rantisi works for TRT World.

In an interview with Asra Media Center after his release, Rantisi said that “the interrogation was on the charge of incitement through my work with media outlets in the past, and I reiterated to the interrogators that this arrest was motivated by a policy of revenge against Palestinian journalists. While Palestinian journalists operate according to professional standards, they face charges of incitement through the arrest of journalists, subjecting them to interrogation and extracting confessions from them through threats or ordering them to administrative detention, imprisonment of unknown time and without charge.”

“Every media outlet is threatened with closure and the arrest of its employees on charges of incitement,” Rantisi said. “If their words, images and interviews do not meet the approval of the security forces, the journalist will be arrested and subject to interrogation and military prosecution.”

As Rantisi spoke, writer Lama Khater was ordered detained for 12 more days of interrogation. When Israeli occupation forces stormed her family home on 24 July, it came shortly after she had been summoned to interrogation and threatened to stop writing. Khater is being held under harsh interrogation in the Ashkelon detention center, restrained on a small chair for over 10 hours each day, deprived of sleep and cursed at and insulted by the interrogators. Her interrogation has been extended three times consecutively.

Her articles are published in a number of newspapers and websites, highlighting the struggle against normalization and the rights of Palestinian prisoners and the Palestinian people.

*Poster of Mohammed Mona. Photo: Asra Media*

In addition, as the number of journalists seized by Israeli occupation forces has escalated, Palestinian journalist Mohammed Anwar Mona of Nablus was ordered to administrative detention for six months. Mona, 35, from Zuwata near Nablus, has been jailed since 1 August when Israeli occupation forces invaded his home. He has been jailed on multiple occasions, with a total of six years in Israeli jails, mostly in administrative detention. He was first arrested as a journalism student in 2003, when he was jailed for 28 months. Mona directs a radio station in Nablus and serves as a correspondent for Quds Press.

Mona is not the only jailed journalism student; Ola Marshoud of an-Najah University and Istabraq Tamimi of Bir Zeit University are both imprisoned by Israel for their involvement in student activities on campus.

**

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network joins the call of Palestinian journalists for greater global solidarity against the ongoing attacks of the Israeli occupation. From the International Federation of Journalists to Reporters without Borders, international voices who are concerned with human rights of reporters have a responsibility to defend Palestinians facing colonial imprisonment for reporting the reality of apartheid, colonization and injustice. The imprisonment of Palestinian journalists can also not be separated from the killing of Palestinian journalists like Yaser Murtaja and Ahmad Abu Hussein in Gaza in the Great March of Return.

The attacks on Palestinian journalists – including student journalists – also underline the importance of the boycott of Israel, including the cultural and academic boycott. So long as Palestinians – including Palestinian journalists – are not free, the Israeli state and its associated institutions must be isolated by people of conscience and human rights defenders around the world. Freedom for all Palestinian prisoners – Freedom for Palestine!

Palestinian prisoners launch new hunger strikes against administrative detention

13 August 2018

Three Palestinian prisoners launched a new hunger strike on Sunday, 12 August inside Israeli jails, demanding freedom from Israeli administrative detention, where they are held without charge or trial. Saddam Awad, 28, from the village of Beit Ummar, Khaled al-Battat, 46, from the village of al-Dhahriyeh, and Abbas Abu Aliya, 21, from the village of Mughir, launched a hunger strike against their imprisonment without charge or trial.

Awad has been arrested several times since 2009, spending 7 years in Israeli prisons; he was released in 2011 as part of the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange. He was detained again for four years and then was seized once more by Israeli occupation forces in April of 2018, ordered jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention.

Abu Aliya, on the other hand, has been held under administrative detention without charge or trial for 14 months. His detention was suddenly renewed for another four months on Sunday, 12 August, as he had been preparing for his release.

Battat, a former prisoner who has spent 14 years in Israeli prison in the past, was seized by Israeli occupation forces on 6 July 2018. He suffers from heart weakness and underwent open heart surgery several years ago.

In addition, Omran Hashem Ahmed al-Khatib, 60, from Gaza, has been on an open hunger strike for the past 9 days to demand his early release. He is held in Ashkelon prison and, after his hunger strike began, he was denied family visits and access to the “canteen” (prison store) for the next two months. Al-Khatib has lost 6 kilograms of weight. He has been imprisoned since 20 July 1997, sentenced to life imprisonment, a sentence later changed to 45 years, and is demanding his early release after 21 years in Israeli prison.

Earlier, Anas Shadid, 21, suspended his hunger strike on Thursday, 10 August, after reaching an agreement for his release; he will be freed on 19 December 2018. This is the second time Shadid has won his freedom from imprisonment without charge or trial with a long-term hunger strike. Dirar Abu Manshar, 40, also suspended his own open hunger strike after 17 days, reaching an agreement for his release after four months from administrative detention without charge or trial.

Awad and Abu Aliya’s strikes come as part of the escalating protest by Palestinian political prisoners held without charge or trial under administrative detention. Administrative detainees are around 450 of the 6,000 total Palestinian political prisoners; they are held without charge or trial under indefinitely-renewable military orders on the basis of “secret evidence”. Palestinians can spend years at a time jailed under administrative detention.

Since February of this year, all administrative detainees have boycotted the Israeli military courts that confirm their detention orders, while a series of administrative detainees have launched hunger strikes. They are demanding the abolition of the policy which is frequently used to target Palestinian political leaders, community organizers and prominent activists. Among those jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention are Palestinian legislator, leftist and feminist Khalida Jarrar and French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri.

Israeli military occupation authorities renewed the detention of Palestinian administrative detainee and former long-term hunger striker Thaer Halahleh for the fifth time. Halahleh, 35, from al-Khalil, has been jailed under his current detention since 27 April 2017. Overall, he has spent over 90 months in administrative detention through multiple arrests and 14 years total in Israeli jails. In 2012, he conducted a 22-day strike against his administrative detention.

Palestinian student Ismail Najib Faraj, 26, was also ordered to another four months in administrative detention. A student at Al-Ahliyya Palestine University in Bethlehem, he was seized by Israeli occupation forces from his home in the town of Doha on 23 April 2017. His detention was renewed for the fourth time on the basis of a “secret file” alleging that he is a “threat to the security of the area” and a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

In addition, as the number of journalists seized by Israeli occupation forces has escalated, Palestinian journalist Mohammed Anwar Mona of Nablus was ordered to administrative detention for six months. Mona is among tens of Palestinian journalists jailed without charge or trial.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges the escalation of protests and actions in solidarity with the struggle to end administrative detention. Administrative detention is a colonial weapon used to separate effective leaders from the Palestinian people through arbitrary imprisonment without charge or trial. It is also a form of psychological torture for both prisoners and their families, denying them even the knowledge of when or if they will be released. We urge the immediate end of the practice of administrative detention and the release of all Palestinian prisoners. As the prisoners boycott the military courts, it is our responsibility to escalate boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns to isolate the Israeli state that confiscates Palestinian land, rights and freedom.

Mother of Palestinian youth killed by Israeli forces accused of “incitement” for posting on Facebook

13 August 2018

Susan Abu Ghannam, the mother of Mohammed Abu Ghannam, the Palestinian youth killed by Israeli occupation forces just over one year ago on 21 July 2017, was indicted in Israeli court in Jerusalem on Monday, 13 August. She was accused of making political posts on Facebook.. Her detention was extended until 13 September 2018, as Israeli occupation prosecutors listed 40 times that she posted on social media about politics.

She was seized from her home on 5 August by Israeli occupation forces, who invaded her home, confiscating cell phones and other electronics.Her son, Mohammed was killed by occupation forces as he joined in Jerusalem protests against the imposition of electronic gates outside Al-Aqsa Mosque.

After shooting him dead, Israeli occupation forces attempted to steal the body of Mohammed Abu Ghannam from Makassed hospital in Jerusalem. The Israeli occupation continues to hold the bodies of slain Palestinians hostage in an attempt to suppress Palestinian resistance as a general policy; while Palestinian families are struggling for the release of the bodies, Israeli high courts have upheld the occupation’s policy of holding them hostage.

In order to prevent occupation forces from seizing the body, his family and friends wrapped Mohammed in a sheet after he passed away, carried his body and passed it up over the hospital’s surrounding wall, several meters high. It was carried from there to the cemetery of al-Tur village; on the way, the car was stopped by police. While the occupation attempted to impose a rule of only seven people at the burial, hundreds joined in the funeral procession.

They acted just in time as dozens of military-armed Border Patrol swarmed the hospital, invading the area, forcing people donating blood to leave the hospital before they terrorized the crowds in the hospital’s courtyards by throwing stun grenades and tear-gas canisters at them.

The policy of the confiscation of bodies is, according to Gideon Levy, the brainchild of Gilad Erdan, the same Israeli minister charged with the global anti-BDS mandate and the creator of the “BDS Hate List” of international organizations in support of Palestine, including Samidoun and many others around the world.

The arrest of Susan Abu Ghannam is only the latest incident of Israeli harassment of the family; earlier, her husband, Mohammed’s father, Hassan Abu Ghannam, 47, was arrested days after Mohammed’s funeral.

Palestinian journalists under attack call for global solidarity

8 August 2018

*The four Al-Quds TV journalists. Photo: Quds News*

Tens of Palestinian journalists continue to be detained by the Israeli occupation, as the Israeli military refused on Wednesday, 8 August to release four Palestinian journalists seized last week. Palestinian journalists have urged international solidarity to free those targeted for their reporting about the crimes of the Israeli occupation.

The Ofer military court ordered four journalists from Al-Quds TV – Alaa Rimawi, Mohammed Sami Alwan, Qutaiba Hamdan and Husni Anjas – released on bail; however, the military prosecution refused their release and said it would appeal the decision to a higher military court.

Earlier, in a joint statement issued on Monday, 6 August, the four said that “the occupation practices a policy of intimidation and psychological torture against us in lengthy interrogation sessions,” saying that the interrogations are centered on the role of the media in occupied Palestine and the content of media broadcsts. They said that the goal of their arrest is to “silence the Palestinian media outlets and break them through a policy of detention.” They urged international actions from journalists’ associations and legal organizations to combat ongoing Israeli violations of Palestinian journalists’ rights.

Rimawi earlier carried out a six-day hunger strike in protest of his detention for journalism. He and his colleagues were seized from their Ramallah-area homes in pre-dawn raids, and he launched a hunger strike immediately upon his arrest, which he suspended on Saturday, 4 August at the advice of his lawyer.

The number of jailed Palestinian journalists rose to 23 on 6 August after Ibrahim Rantisi was seized from his hometown of Rantis near Ramallah. The detained journalists include: Mahmoud Musa Issa, Ahmad Hassan al-Saifi, Bassam al-Sayeh, Hammam Hantash (held in administrative detention without charge or trial), Musab Said, Radwan Qutani, Istabraq Tamimi (a journalism student at Bir Zeit University), Ola Marshoud (a journalism student at An-Najah University), Yassin Abu Lefah (held in administrative detention without charge or trial, Musa Salah Samhan (held in administrative detention without charge or trial, Musa Qadamani, Osama Shaheen ((held in administrative detention without charge or trial, director of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Center for Studies) Mahmoud Asida, Ahmad al-Arbid, Yousef Shalabi, Suzan Owawi (still held under interrogation), Lama Khater (still held under interrogation), Alaa Rimawi, Qutaiba Hamdan, Mohammed Alwan, Husni Anjas, Mohammed Anwar Mona and Ibrahim Rantisi, the latter two seized in the early days of August.

Dozens of journalists joined in a protest in Nablus on 8 August in the center of the city, carrying Palestinian flags and signs protesting occupation attacks on Palestinian journalists.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network joins the call of Palestinian journalists for greater global solidarity against the ongoing attacks of the Israeli occupation. From the International Federation of Journalists to Reporters without Borders, international voices who are concerned with human rights of reporters have a responsibility to defend Palestinians facing colonial imprisonment for reporting the reality of apartheid, colonization and injustice. The imprisonment of Palestinian journalists can also not be separated from the killing of Palestinian journalists like Yaser Murtaja and Ahmad Abu Hussein in Gaza in the Great March of Return.

The attacks on Palestinian journalists – including student journalists – also underline the importance of the boycott of Israel, including the cultural and academic boycott. So long as Palestinians – including Palestinian journalists – are not free, the Israeli state and its associated institutions must be isolated by people of conscience and human rights defenders around the world. Freedom for all Palestinian prisoners – Freedom for Palestine!

Women prisoners’ update: Susan Abu Ghannam, mother of young man killed by Israel, seized by occupation forces

8 August 2018

Susan Abu Ghannam, the mother of Mohammed Abu Ghannam, a 22-year-old man slain by Israeli occupation forces in Jerusalem on 21 July 2017, was seized by Israeli occupation forces who invaded her family home in Jerusalem on 5 August. Her detention was first extended for 24 hours and then for another five days as she faces extensive interrogation at the hands of occupation forces. They also confiscated the family’s phones and computers and are allegedly accusing her of “incitement” for posting about politics and about the killing of her son on social media.

Mohammed was shot by occupation forces as he joined in Jerusalem protests against the imposition of electronic gates outside Al-Aqsa Mosque.

After shooting him dead, Israeli occupation forces attempted to steal the body of Mohammed Abu Ghannam from Makassed hospital in Jerusalem. The Israeli occupation continues to hold the bodies of slain Palestinians hostage in an attempt to suppress Palestinian resistance as a general policy; while Palestinian families are struggling for the release of the bodies, Israeli high courts have upheld the occupation’s policy of holding them hostage.

In order to prevent occupation forces from seizing the body, his family and friends wrapped Mohammed in a sheet after he passed away, carried his body and passed it up over the hospital’s surrounding wall, several meters high. It was carried from there to the cemetery of al-Tur village; on the way, the car was stopped by police. While the occupation attempted to impose a rule of only seven people at the burial, hundreds joined in the funeral procession.

They acted just in time as dozens of military-armed Border Patrol swarmed the hospital, invading the area, forcing people donating blood to leave the hospital before they terrorized the crowds in the hospital’s courtyards by throwing stun grenades and tear-gas canisters at them.

The policy of the confiscation of bodies is, according to Gideon Levy, the brainchild of Gilad Erdan, the same Israeli minister charged with the global anti-BDS mandate and the creator of the “BDS Hate List” of international organizations in support of Palestine, including Samidoun and many others around the world.

The arrest of Susan Abu Ghannam is only the latest incident of Israeli harassment of the family; earlier, her husband, Mohammed’s father, Hassan Abu Ghannam, 47, was arrested days after Mohammed’s funeral.

Meanwhile, Palestinian writer Lama Khater‘s detention was extended again on Thursday, 2 August for another eight days of interrogation. Palestinian lawyer Firas al-Sabbah said that Khater is facing intense and escalating interrogation throughout the day and night. Seized on 24 July from her home in al-Khalil, Khater had previously been threatened with arrest by occupation forces if she continued to write.

Wounded prisoner Abla al-Aedam, 45, from the village of Beit Ulla in al-Khalil district, is being denied adequate health care treatment on the grounds that she will be released in October. She continues to suffer from the injuries she suffered when she was shot by Israeli occupation forces on 20 December 2015. She was seriously injured in the face and head, and she continues to suffer severe pain in the head; she has said that she receives painkillers and sedatives rather than treatment for her underlying conditions.

Al-Aedam is the mother of nine children, and her lawyers have noted that she needs medical care so that her health does not continue to decline and worsen. However, Israeli prison officials continue to refuse to provide her with proper treatment allegedly due to costs, citing her upcoming release. After she was shot by Israeli occupation forces she was accused of attempting to stab occupation soldiers in al-Khalil and sentenced to three years in occupation prison.

Nisreen Hassan, 43, is also suffering from an ongoing swelling in her right hand and thumb and has not received treatment, despite having diabetes. Palestinian lawyer Hanan al-Khatib said that she needs specialized orthopedic treatment which she has so far been denied. In addition, Hilweh Hamamreh, 25, also continues to suffer from her injuries sustained when she was shot by Israeli occupation forces. She lost a part of her liver and intestines as well as her pancreas and spleen and needs physical therapy, which continues to be denied her.

An Israeli military court continued the hearing of Bayan Faraoun, 24, a graduate of Al-Quds Open University from al-Eizariyeh in Jerusalem, on Thursday, 2 August. Her hearing was scheduled for 13 August; she has been detained since 11 March and has not been convicted or sentenced throughout that time. Faraoun is the fiancee of Ahmad Jamal Azzam, who is serving a sentence of 5 years and 8 months in Israeli prison.

On 1 August, the Ofer military court held a hearing in the case of Dina Said al-Karmi, 38, one of a series of Palestinian women, including City Council member Suzan Owawi and writer Lama Khater, seized from al-Khalil. Al-Karmi remains under interrogation at Ashkelon prison since she was seized by Israeli occupation forces on 3 July. Since that time, her interrogation has been repeatedly extended and she has not been charged. She has been subjected to harsh interrogation for many hours at a time and fainted more than once due to her extreme fatigue. Al-Karmi is the widow of Nashat al-Karmi, a leader in Hamas, killed by Israeli occupation forces on 8 October 2010 when they surrounded, invaded and attacked the home where he was staying. She is the mother of an eight-year-old daughter, who is now deprived of both of her parents.

The Israeli occupation military court also held another hearing on the case of Asiya Kaabneh, 41, from the village of Duma near Nablus on 1 August. She has been jailed since 24 April 2017 and her case has been continued repeatedly over a 16-month period with no ruling or sentence against her. She was arrested at Qalandiya checkpoint after Kaabneh says that a female Israeli soldier attacked her. She is the mother of nine children, ranging in age from 4 to 17.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military prosecution refused to release Palestinian prisoner Ataya Abu Aisha, 31, from Kafr Aqab near Jerusalem. Abu Aisha was ordered released by the Central Court after an appeal by her lawyer for early release after completing two-thirds of her sentence. However, the order was contingent on the approval of the military prosecution, which rejected it and continues to hold her in Damon prison. Abu Aisha has been jailed since 15 December 2015, when she was accused of intending to stab Israeli occupation soldiers. She is serving a four-year sentence in Israeli prison.

Palestinian prisoner Manal Da’na, 38, from Silwan in Jerusalem, was released on Sunday night, 5 August after she completed a 13-month sentence in Israeli prison. She was seized by occupation forces in September 2012; Israeli police accused her of attempting to stab them in Jerusalem. She was released under house arrest one month after her arrest and subject to confinement in her home for years on end, until she was finally sentenced on 2 July 2017.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network stands in solidarity with Palestinian women prisoners and demands their immediate release. From imprisoned mother Susan Abu Ghannam to parliamentarian Khalida Jarrar jailed without charge or trial, to city councillor Suzan Owawi, writer Lama Khater, to the students and journalists like Ola Marshoud and Istabraq Tamimi, to the minor girls who continue to struggle for creativity and learning despite its denial by Israeli occupation forces, Palestinian women are on the front lines of struggle – including the struggle inside Israeli prisons. Women’s movements and organizations around the world have an important role to play in defending Palestinian women prisoners and demanding their freedom and liberation. Free all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails!

Mohammed al-Rimawi and father freed after 20-day hunger strike

8 August 2018

*Photo: Mohammed Rimawi upon his release. Photo: Wattan TV*

Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Rimawi, 27, and his father, Nimer Rimawi, 54, from the village of Beit Rima, were released on the evening of Tuesday, 7 August after the younger Rimawi went through 20 days on hunger strike under intense interrogation. Rimawi launched his hunger strike as soon as he was seized by Israeli occupation forces on 19 July and was put under interrogation. During the strike, occupation forces then detained his father, Nimer. The detention of his father was used in an attempt to pressure the younger Mohammed to sign a “confession” and to end his hunger strike.

Rimawi, who had previously spent three years in Israeli prison, was released only six months before his re-arrest. He resisted the various attempts to pressure him to confess or end his hunger strike, and successfully won his release. He was taken immediately to a hospital in Ramallah in order to receive medical treatment after a 20-day hunger strike.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network congratulates Mohammed and Nimer Rimawi on their victory of steadfastness inside Israeli occupation prison, and we urge the immediate release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Two Palestinian prisoners continue hunger strike as Israeli military issues 49 administrative detention orders

8 August 2018

Two Palestinian prisoners, former long-term hunger striker Anas Shadid, 22, and Dirar Abu Manshar, 40, are continuing their hunger strikes in Israeli jails in protest of administrative detention. As Shadid entered his 21st day of hunger strike, he was taken to Ramle prison hospital after the further deterioration of his health.

Anas Shadid launched his hunger strike on 19 July after the renewal of his administrative detention; he has been jailed since 14 July 2017 after he was rearrested only a month after winning his release from a previous imprisonment without charge or trial. He previously conducted an 88-day hunger strike in 2016 to win his release. After nearly 20 days on hunger strike, Shadid’s health is deteriorating. He suffers from severe headaches, dizziness, lack of balance and has lost 15 kilograms in weight. He has been held in isolation since he launched his hunger strike.

*Dirar Abu Manshar (l) and Anas Shadid (r). Photo: Asra Media*

Dirar Abu Manshar launched his own hunger strike on 26 July to protest his administrative detention; he has been jailed without charge or trial since 9 June 2017 and launched his strike after the third renewal of his detention order. He has spent over 8 years in Israeli jails, many of them in administrative detention; in 2012, he was named the longest-held administrative detainee at that time as he had been jailed for three years without charge or trial. Abu Manshar is the father of four.

Hassan Shokeh, 30, suspended his hunger strike after 62 days on Friday, 3 August after reaching an agreement with the Israeli prison administration. In the agreement, Shokeh’s administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial – will be extended for two more months and he will be released on 1 December 2018.

He has been jailed since 1 October 2017, when occupation forces invaded his home. This arrest came only one month after he was released after 2 years in administrative detention without charge or trial. He launched his first hunger strike, which ended when his case was transferred to the military courts. However, after serving his sentence which expired on 1 June, he was ordered to administrative detention without charge or trial. He has spent over 8 years in Israeli jails in total, many of them under administrative detention.

In addition, Bassam Abidu, 47, from al-Khalil, suspended his own open hunger strike after reaching an agreement to end his administrative detention in January 2019. After 19 days of hunger strike, Abidu’s father said, he suspended the strike; his detention will be renewed on 25 September for a final four months. He is the father of six children and has previously spent around 7 1/2 years in Israeli jails. He has been held without charge or trial since 30 May 2018.

The hunger strikes form part of an ongoing collective protest against administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial. There are around 450 Palestinians held under administrative detention orders, which are issued on the basis of “secret evidence” for one to six months at a time. The orders are indefinitely renewable, and Palestinians can spend years at a time jailed under administrative detention orders. Administrative detention is frequently used to target political leaders like parliamentarian, feminist and leftist Khalida Jarrar and human rights defenders like French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri.

In protest, Palestinians have refused to attend the military court sessions which approve administrative detention orders or their renewals since February 2018. They are continuing the court boycott and escalating their protests through ongoing hunger strikes.

Nevertheless, the Israeli occupation continues to resort to administrative detention in order to imprison Palestinians without charge or trial. Palestinian lawyer Mahmoud Halabi said that the Israeli military courts renewed 49 administrative detention orders between 19 July and 31 July.

Among them was a three-month administrative detention order against 17-year-old child prisoner Laith Abu Kharma, who has been immprisoned without charge or trial since 20 September 2017. Laith, from Kafr Ein near Ramallah, is one of three minor children held in administrative detention; there are over 300 Palestinian children overall currently in Israeli jails. Ahmad Salah from Jalazone camp and Hussam Abu Khalifa from Bethlehem are both also minors jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention.

*Saleh al-Jaidi (l) and Tareq Mattar (r)*

The administrative detention orders against Palestinian youth activists Saleh al-Jaidi of Dheisheh Camp and Tareq Mattar of Ramallah were also renewed by occupation forces. Both Jaidi and Mattar are well-known Palestinian youth who seem to be held under administrative detention in an attempt to undermine or prevent youth organizing in Palestine.

Also among this group of administrative detention orders was a renewal order against Khaled al-Tabeesh, 28, from the village of Dura in al-Khalil. Khaled is the brother of Ayman al-Tabeesh, 36, who has been jailed without charge or trial since August 2016 and has engaged in multiple long-term hunger strikes through several arrest periods. During his current stint in administrative detention, he has spent an extensive amount of time in isolation. Khaled, on the other hand, was arrested on 25 July 2017 and has now joined his brother for over a year of imprisonment without charge or trial.

The 49 administrative detention orders issued in the second half of July 2018 targeted the following Palestinian prisoners:

1. Hamdi Marouf al-Atrash, Bethlehem, 6 months, new order
2. Hassan Hisham Hamdan, Nablus, 6 months, new order
3. Karim Ahmed Ayyad, Bethlehem, 4 months, new order
4. Ahmed Kayed Hamed, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
5. Ahmed Musa al-Khatib, Ramallah, 6 months, extension
6. Ribhi Talib Shahwan, Ramallah, 6 months, extension
7. Mohammed Imad al-Shahatit, al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
8. Muayad Rifat Kanaan, Jerusalem, 4 months, extension
9. Hani Mohammed Mafarjeh, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
10. Mohammed Nazmi Jamal, 4 months extension
11. Islam Omar al-Tamimi, al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
12. Mahmoud Jamil Shafar, Ramallah, 6 months, extension
13. Hammad Ahmed Abu Maria, al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
14. Marcel Adel Assi, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
15. Khader Mohammed al-Dalu, Bethlehem, 6 months, extension
16. Bassam Abdel-Rahman Abu Aker, Bethlehem, 4 months, extension
17. Khaled Jamal Farraj, Bethlehem, 6 months, extension
18. Uday Jihad Amour, al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
19. Mumen Ahmad Zeid, Ramallah, 5 months, new order
20. Adel Mohammed Khadour, Ramallah, 3 months, new order
21. Khaled Mohammed al-Haj, Jenin, 4 months, extension
22. Salem Mohammed Abu Eid, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
23. Thaer Yousef Hamdan, Ramallah, 6 months, new order
24. Hamza Abdel-Fattah Manasra, Ramallah, 4 months, new order
25. Mehdi Hassan Salah, Jenin, 6 months, new order
26. Abdel-Rahman Ayoub Adgheish, Ramallah, 3 months, new order
27. Sayel Saleh Rayyan, Ramallah, 6 months, new order
28. Khaled Jamil Daddou’, Bethlehem, 6 months, new order
29. Mohammed Jibril Omar, al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
30. Ahmed Ishaq Abu Hashhash, al-Khalil, 6 months, extension
31. Khaled Ali Suleiman al-Tabeesh, al-Khalil, 6 months, extension
32. Bassam Nabil Diab, Jenin, 4 months, extension
33. Yousef Mustafa Kaabneh, Jericho, 4 months, new order
34. Ahmed Jibril Makhamra, al-Khalil, 4 months, new order
35. Fahmi Hassan Zuhour, Ramallah, 3 months, extension
36. Mustafa Essam Mustafa, Ramallah, 4 months, new order
37. Emad Hamdi Abu Khalaf, al-Khalil, 6 months, extension
38. Montasser Issa Shedid, al-Khalil, 6 months, extension
39. Ahmed Qassem al-Sheikh, Bethlehem, 4 months, extension
40. Asid Mohammed Abu Aadi, Ramallah, 4 months, new order
41. Mehdi Mahmoud Hajjar, Ramallah, 6 months, extension
42. Laith Imad Abu Kharma, Ramallah, 3 months, extension
43. Tarek Yousef Matar, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
44. Saleh Mohammed Jaidi, Bethlehem, 6 months, extension
45. Musa Mustafa Najjar, al-Khalil, 4 months, new order
46. Tareq Fadel al-Sheikh, Ramallah, 4 months, new order
47. Timur Hisham Barghouthi, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
48. Ziad Mohammed Nawaja, al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
49. Yazan Eyad Hanisha, Jenin, 4 months, new order

Follow us on Instagram @samidounnetwork