Palestinian student Ola Marshoud sentenced to 7 months in Israeli prison; female students receive arrest threats

30 July 2018

Palestinian student Ola Marshoud, 21, from the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, was sentenced to seven months in Israeli prison by the Salem military court on Monday, 30 July, for her involvement in student activism on the An-Najah University campus. Marshoud has been detained since March, when she was summoned to interrogation at the military base near Huwwara. When she arrived, she was transferred the interrogation center at Petah Tikva.

She was accused in the military court of involvement in student organizing at An-Najah University. Active Palestinians involved in the student movement are repeatedly targeted for Israeli arrest, imprisonment and persecution, including Omar Kiswani, the student body president at Bir Zeit University. Statistics indicate that there are over 300 Palestinian university students imprisoned in Israeli jails.

*Threatening notice against student activists in al-Khalil. Photo: Quds News*

This policy of colonial military repression of student activism is continuing; in the pre-dawn hours of Monday, 30 July, a number of families in al-Khalil reported that armed occupation forces posted notices on the walls of the area, particularly the homes of female students, threatening them against participating in student elections and activism with the Islamic Bloc on their campuses. Several young women’s family homes were raided and letters presented to their parents by occupation soldiers accusing them of participating in “illegal activities” through student activism.

One such letter, directed at students’ parents from Israeli occupation intelligence, said: “If you get this message, it means that you are the parents of one of the activists of the Islamic bloc, which is an illegal activity. We alert you that any such involvement may lead to the arrest of your daughter, damaging her academic life and future, wasting your money and causing concern and indignation in the hearts of your family. We turn to you to follow up on the activities of your daughter and lead her away from such actions. You have been warned of the consequences.”

Four journalists among 28 Palestinians seized by Israeli occupation forces

30 July 2018

Israeli occupation forces seized 28 Palestinians on Monday morning, 30 July, including four Palestinian journalists who work for al-Quds TV: Alaa al-Rimawi, Mohammed Sami Alwan, Qutaiba Hamdan and Hassani al-Najas. Rimawi directs the al-Quds TV Ramallah bureau and his home in the al-Masayef neighborhood in Ramallah was raided by occupation forces, while Mohammed Alwan was also seized from his home.

Qutaiba Hamdan was seized from Beitunia and Husni Anjas from Kharbata Bani Harith, and his vehicle and work equipment were seized by the Israeli occupation. Quds News reported that Israeli occupation forces accused the four journalists of “incitement,” based on their reporting about the realities of Israeli colonization in Palestine. Just days ago, Palestinian writer Lama Khater was seized from her home in al-Khalil. Khater and the four journalists seized today make up some of the 29 Palestinian journalists imprisoned by Israel. These imprisoned journalists include student Istabraq Tamimi and a number of journalists detained without charge or trial, including Hammam Hantash, Abdullah Shatat and Abdel-Mohsen Shalaldeh., noted the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission.

The Palestinians seized on Monday included the freed prisoners Mohsen Hardan Shreim, Bilal Maskawi, Nidal Nofal, Fadi Hourani, Khaled Wajih Sabri, Mohammed Wajih Sabri, Nour Daoud and Hussam Hatem Abu Libdeh in Qalqilya. In Bethlehem, occupation forces seized former prisoners Fahad As’ad and Atta al-Hreimi as well as Mohammed Ali al-Muti. In addition to the four journalists, they also seized Wassim Jadallah and Moataz Abu Rahmah from the Ramallah and el-Bireh area; Khaled Sidqi Daraghmeh and Nasr Mohammed Nasrallah Daraghmeh from Tubas; and Shadi Riyad al-Harb from Dura village in al-Khalil.

In addition, occupation forces raided a number of homes in al-Khalil, including the home of Nada Dweik, the daughter of Palestinian Legislative Council speaker and former prisoner Abdel-Aziz Dweik, ransacking it. They posted on the walls of houses in the city warning students against activism with the Islamic bloc on campuses.

20 Freedom Flotilla sailors still held in Israeli jail; Italian artists deported from Palestine

30 July 2018

Twenty international solidarity activists on board the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza are being held in Israeli prisons, report the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The first boat in the flotilla, “Al-Awda,” was hijacked by Israeli occupation forces in international waters on Sunday, 29 July. The next boat in the flotilla, the “Freedom,” is still on the approach to Gaza. The Flotilla aims to break the Israeli naval siege on Gaza, Palestine.

Two activists with Israeli citizenship on the boats, Zohar Chamberlain Regev and Yonatan Shapira, were released on bail and charged with attempting to enter Gaza and conspiracy to commit a crime. The 20 international solidarity activists remain detained in Givon prison and were scheduled to begin meeting with their lawyer on Monday.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition noted that:

“Although the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) claim that the capture of our vessel happened ‘without exceptional incident’, eye-witness Zohar Chamberlain Regev reports that at the time of boarding: ‘People on board were tasered and hit by masked IOF soldiers. We did not get our passports or belongings before we got off the boat. Do not believe reports of peaceful interception.’ We urgently need to know the details of who was injured and how seriously, and what treatment they are receiving, if any. A military attack on a civilian vessel is a violent act and a violation of international law. Taking 22 people from international waters to a country which is not their destination constitutes an act of kidnapping, which is also unlawful under the international Convention of the Law of Sea.”

*Mural on Apartheid Wall by artist Jorit Agoch.*

In addition, two Italian artists, including well-known muralist Jorit Agoch, were ordered deported from Palestine on Monday, 30 July after they were seized by Israeli occupation forces for painting a large mural of Ahed Tamimi, 17, on the Apartheid Wall. The 13-foot-high painting was part of the celebration of Ahed’s release from over seven months in Israeli prison on Sunday, 29 July, along with her mother, Nariman.

The portrait was the focus of global media attention before the artists and the Palestinian driver who accompanied them were seized by occupation forces as they completed work on the portrait. The Palestinian man was reportedly released, as were the two artists, after their tourist visas were cancelled and they were ordered to leave the country within 72 hours. They were also banned from entering occupied Palestine for 10 years, much like other activists who have been denied entry to Palestine at Ben-Gurion airport or the Karameh/Allenby crossing.

Israeli occupation forces arrest hunger striker’s father as prisoners keep up battle against administrative detention

30 July 2018

*Mohammed al-Rimawi (l) – Photo: Addameer*

Mohammed al-Rimawi, 27, has been on hunger strike for 12 days in Israeli occupation prisons, while his father, Nimer al-Rimawi, 54, was seized on Sunday, 29 July by Israeli occupation forces near Ramallah. The younger Rimawi is held under interrogation at the Ashkelon interrogation center. His detention was just extended for another eight days to continue his interrogation.

A Palestinian lawyer with the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said that the arrest of Rimawi’s father was part of the harsh campaign of pressure exerted against the hunger striker and attempt to force him to end his strike. He has been jailed since 19 July, when he was arrested when summoned to meet with the Israeli occupation intelligence. A former prisoner, he was jailed for three years and was only released six months ago.

Rimawi’s hunger strike joins that of Hassan Shokeh, from Bethlehem, who has been on hunger strike for nearly two months. His health condition has continued to deteriorate as he is held in isolation in the Ramle prison clinic; he must use a wheelchair to move around and is in constant pain, according to the most recent reports from his lawyer. Surviving only on water, he is repeatedly vomiting the liquid. He has been transferred on multiple occasions to Israeli hospitals due to his severe health crisis.

Shokeh has conducted a hunger strike before; he has been detained since 28 August 2017, only one month after he was released from his previous imprisonment without charge or trial. He ended his 35-day hunger strike that he launched upon his arrest with an agreement to transfer his case to the military courts. However, after his sentence expired in June 2018, he was once again ordered jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention. He is demanding his freedom.

Also on hunger strike are Anas Shadid, Basem Abidu and Dirar Abu Manshar, all from al-Khalil. Mahmoud Ayyad suspended his strike after an agreement to finalize his administrative detention order. Shadid, 21, is on his third hunger strike in two years against imprisonment without charge or trial. He has refused food for 11 days and was transferred from Ofer prison to isolation in Hadarim prison. He launched his strike when his administrative detention was renewed once more in June 2018; he has been jailed since June 2017. He was re-arrested shortly after winning his release from administrative detention through an 85-day hunger strike.

Basem Abidu, 47, from al-Khalil, has also been on strike for 11 days against his administrative detention order. He has been jailed since 30 May and was ordered to four months imprisonment without charge or trial. On 26 July, Abu Manshar, 39, joined the strike in protest of his own imprisonment without charge or trial; he has been jailed since June 2017 and his administrative detention order was recently extended once more for the third time. He has spent over 8 years in prison, including multiple terms of administrative detention.

Out of the 6,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails, 450 are held without charge or trial under administrative detention orders. These orders are indefinitely renewable, and Palestinians have spent years at a time jailed under these orders. Administrative detention was first imported to Palestine by the British colonial mandate before being adopted by the Zionist occupation.

Since February of this year, all of the Palestinian prisoners held without charge or trial have boycotted the military courts that rubber-stamp their administrative detention orders. The ongoing hunger strikes among Palestinian prisoners jailed without charge or trial are part of the campaign to bring administrative detention to an end.

8 August, San Francisco: Rally to support academic freedom and Professor Rabab Abdulhadi

30 July 2018

Wednesday, 8 August
1:00 pm
Philip Burton Federal Building
450 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/248247629297399/

********************

RALLY – 1PM OUTSIDE SF FEDERAL BUILDING
HEARING – 2PM IN COURTROOM 2, 17TH FLOOR

To help plan or for more information, contact defendrabab@gmail.com

********************

In June 2017, the right-wing and Israel-aligned Lawfare Project filed a frivolous lawsuit against SFSU and Professor Rabab Abdulhadi, attempting to use the courts to silence scholarship and activism for Palestine.

The court dismissed the lawsuit in March 2018 for failing to make a single legitimate claim. “Out of an abundance of caution,” the court gave Lawfare a chance to fix the complaint and provided very specific instructions. Lawfare ignored the court’s instructions and re-filed its lawsuit. Dr. Abdulhadi’s laywers have once again asked the judge to dismiss the case. The court should dismiss the lawsuit for good and not allow for another chance.

JOIN US IN COURT ON AUGUST 8 to stand up to Lawfare’s self-professed attempt to inflict “massive punishments” on scholars like Dr. Abdulhadi for daring to speak against Zionism and advocate for justice in/for Palestine and an indivisible sense of justice.

Freedom Flotilla Boat to Gaza, Al-Awda, hijacked by Israeli occupation forces

29 July 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 29 July, 2018 13:15pm CESTThe motor vessel Al Awda (The Return), traveling in international waters towards Palestinian waters, 49 nautical miles from the port in Gaza City, has been contacted by the Israeli Occupation Forces navy and warned. The Israeli navy claims our ship is breaking international law and threatens that they will use “any measures necessary” to stop us. In fact, the only “necessary measures” would be to end the blockade of Gaza and restore freedom of movement for all Palestinians. At last news from on board, Al Awda maintains her course towards Gaza, where the crew and participants hope to arrive this evening around 21:00 local time.

A number of warships have appeared, so an attack, boarding and capture appear to be imminent, and we anticipate that all communications with the vessel will be lost shortly.

Al Awda is sailing under a Norwegian flag, carrying 22 people and a cargo of medical supplies, including #Gauze4Gaza. Passengers and crew on board are from 16 nations, including human rights supporters, journalists and crew, along with €13,000 worth of urgently needed medical supplies. The boat itself, a former fishing vessel from Norway, is a gift to Palestinian fishers in Gaza.

Four boats left Scandinavia in mid-May and have since stopped in 28 ports building support for a ‘Just Future for Palestine’, that demands Israel end its ongoing breaches of international law and the twelve-year blockade of Gaza, thereby enabling the only closed port in the Mediterranean to open and for people to have their right to freedom of movement.

Al Awda is being followed by the Swedish-flagged yacht.

Freedom, which is also carrying medical supplies along with people from a number of nations. We anticipate that it will reach a similar area where the IOF attacked Al Awda within the next two days. Two smaller sailing boats that traveled from Scandinavia and sailed through the canal system in Netherlands, Belgium and France visiting inland ports, participated in the mission until Palermo.

“The Freedom Flotilla Coalition calls on the Norwegian Government, the national governments of those aboard Al Awda and the Freedom, other national governments, and relevant international organizations to act immediately.” said Torstein Dahle of Ship to Gaza Norway, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. “The international community must assume its responsibilities and demand that Israeli authorities ensure the safety of those on board, the speedy delivery of our gifts to the Palestinian people in Gaza, an end to the illegal blockade of Gaza, and to stop impeding our legal right of innocent passage to Gaza to deliver our gift of much-needed medical supplies”.

More information about the ‘Right to a Just Future for Palestine’ flotilla and the FFC:

Web: https://jfp.freedomflotilla.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreedomFlotillaCoalition Twitter: @gazafflotilla

For US citizens, please call the US Department of State and demand that the State of Israel be held accountable for piracy–and demand that the medical supplies for Gaza on Al Awda be sent from Ashdod harbor to Gaza as provided by international law.

Call/email/tweet for release of US participant Joe Meadors

Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State

Tel: +1 202 647 4000 (ask for Israel & Palestine desk, and American Citizen Services, and/or Operations Center

Email: pompeom@state.gov

Website: http://state.gov

Twitter: @SecPompeo

Also call:

US Embassy in Israel

U.S. Embassy Jerusalem

14 David Flusser

Jerusalem 9378322, Israel

Phone: 02-630-4000 (ask for Ambassador, American Citizen Services and/or Duty Officer)

@usembassyjlm

Branch Office Tel Aviv

71 HaYarkon Street

Tel Aviv 6343229, Israel

Phone: 03-519-7575 (ask for Ambassador, American Citizen Services and/or Duty Officer)

30 July: Protest for Ship to Gaza

29 July 2018

Monday, 30 July
5:00 pm
Brunnsparken
Gothenburg, Sweden
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/258278298287187/

The two Ship to Gaza boats, Al Awda and Freedom, are approaching Gaza. (The others have had technical problems and could not continue.)

UPDATE: The Norwegian Al-Awda has been boarded by the Israeli military. The Swedish boat Freedom is still on its way and is expected to reach Gaza on Monday or Tuesday.

Come along, mobilize all you know who solidify with Palestine and come to Brunnspaken on Monday at 5:00 pm, with flags if you have them.

De två Ship to Gaza-båtarna, Al Awda och Freedom, närmar sig Gaza. (De andra har fått tekniska problem och kunde inte fortsätta).

UPPDATERING: Den Norska Al-Awda har blivit bordad av israelisk militär. Svenska Freedom är fortfarande på väg och väntas nå mot Gaza under måndag eller tisdag.

Kom med, mobilisera alla ni känner som solidariserar sig med Palestina och kom till Brunnspaken måndag kl 17.Med flaggor om ni har.

Därefter sprider vi oss. Ta kort/ filma och sprid. En bra plats att stå med våra flaggor och flygblad är vid fontäner stora som små. En skriande kontrast med läget i Gaza. Här flödar vattnet rikligt trots torkan.

29 July, Madrid: Support the Freedom Flotilla! Protest against Israeli piracy!

29 July 2018

Sunday, 29 July
7:00 pm
In front of the Foreign Affairs Ministry
Plaza de las Provincias
Madrid, Spain

Demonstration against this new act of Israeli piracy! While we celebrate the release of Ahed and Nariman, the Freedom Flotilla is approaching the shores of Gaza and an attack by Israeli occupation forces is imminent.

Mientras estamos celebrando la liberación de Ahed y Nariman, la #FlotillaDeLaLibertad se aproxima a las costas de #Gaza y su abordaje por parte de las fuerzas israelíes de ocupación puede ser inminente
Os pedimos que difundais y participéis en las movilizaciones que se convoquen para denunciar este nuevo acto de piratería de la entidad sionista

6 August, Amsterdam: Benefit dinner for Jalazone playground project

29 July 2018

Monday, 6 August
7:00 pm
Joe’s Garage
Pretoriusstraat 43
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/186509688877956/

SRP are back in Joe’s Garage for our sixth benefit dinner. Part of our fundraising campaign for Jalazone, a project to support building a playground for the children in the camp.

Last summer SRP visited Jalazone camp during one of our annually organised trips to Palestine. The living circumstances of the Palestinians in this refugee camp left a lasting impression on the group. Motivated by what they had seen they asked the local women’s collective for advice. Out of this conversation, a fund-raising project for the building of a children’s playground was formed.

Come and join us for a delicious meal and bring along your friends, family and neighbors. It will be a night of good company and great food!

Dinner includes starter + main for €4!

SRP is terug in Joe’s Garage voor onze zesde benefietdiner. Onderdeel van onze campagne voor Jalazone, een project waarbij we de bouw van een speeltuin ondersteunen.

Afgelopen zomer is SRP als onderdeel van ons jaarlijks georganiseerde reis naar Palestina in Jalazone geweest.
De leef omstandigheden van de palestijnen in deze vluchtelingen kamp heeft een blijvende indruk gemaakt op de groep.
Gemotiveerd door wat ze hadden gezien hebben zij de lokale vrouwenbeweging om advies gevraagd. Zo heeft het idee om geld op te halen voor de bouw van een speeltuin vorm gekregen.

Kom genieten van een heerlijke maaltijd en breng je vrienden, familie en buren mee. Een avond met fijn gezelschap en lekker eten!

Het diner is inclusief voorgerecht + hoofdgerecht voor € 4!

Warm welcome greets Ahed and Nariman Tamimi upon their release from Israeli prison

29 July 2018

*Ahed, Nariman and Bassem Tamimi reunite upon the women’s release.*

Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi, 17, and her mother, Nariman Tamimi, were released from Israeli occupation prisons in the morning of Sunday, 29 July 2018 after serving eight-month prison sentences. Ahed and her mother were arrested on 19 December 2017 after a video of Ahed confronting occupation soldiers on the family’s land in the village of Nabi Saleh, including slapping one soldier, went viral on social media. Ahed and her family are leaders in the anti-colonial indigenous land defense movement in Nabi Saleh, where the village’s land and even springs are targeted for confiscation and theft by the neighboring illegal, Jewish-only settlement of Halamish.

A crowd of friends and family awaited the Tamimis’ release as the Israeli occupation repeatedly changed the designated location, from the Jabara checkpoint to Rantees to Jabara again, leaving them to travel the one-hour distance between the locations repeatedly. Ahed and Nariman were greeted with joy upon their actual release; they will hold a press conference at 4:00 pm in their village of Nabi Saleh.

One day before Ahed’s release, Israeli occupation forces arrested three artists involved in the painting of a massive mural on the Apartheid Wall saluting the teen’s struggle and celebrating her liberation.

Two of the detained artists are Italian and one Palestinian, including the lead artist, Jorit Agoch (Agostina Chirwin) a street artist from Naples known around the world for his massive, realistic murals.

An occupation spokesperson accused them of having “damaged and defaced the defense barrier in the Bethlehem area.” The Wall is well-known as a location for a number of famous graffiti murals saluting the Palestinian struggle. The mayor of Naples, Luigi de Magistris, called for the artists’ immediate release, saying that this was a matter of freedom that concerned everyone.

As the Tamimi family and Palestinians celebrate Ahed’s release, their joy is, of course, not complete – among the over 6,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails is Ahed’s 21-year-old brother, Wa’ed, seized in May by the Israeli occupation and accused of “participation in popular terror activities” such as organizing demonstrations. A number of Ahed’s cousins, including Mohammed and Osama Tamimi, are also behind bars, targeted for their involvement in the defense of Palestinian land from confiscation, theft and colonization. The village of Nabi Saleh itself was closed by occupation forces last Thursday, preventing inhabitants from entering or leaving.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes, congratulates and welcomes Ahed and Nariman Tamimi upon their release. They are not only symbols of protest, but leaders in an anti-colonial, indigenous movement to defend their land from occupation, colonization and confiscation. Ahed’s case drew the attention and support of thousands – indeed millions – of people around the world, with protests in global cities and over 1.5 million people signing a petition demanding her freedom. That support had an important role to play in the freedom of Ahed and Nariman today. It also reminds us how critical it is to escalate our organizing for the freedom of all Palestinian political prisoners.

There are over 6,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including over 450 jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention. There are over 350 Palestinian children in Israeli jails and 60 Palestinian women and girls. They are leaders, teachers, organizers, workers, farmers, students and beloved family members, and they represent the true leadership of the Palestinian people targeted by the Israeli occupation for isolation. Of course, there are also prisoners of the Palestinian struggle in imperialist jails around the world – from the Holy Land Five in the United States to Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, jailed for 34 years in French prisons. Their freedom is critical to achieving the goal for which they struggle and sacrifice – freedom for the land and people of Palestine.

Free all Palestinian prisoners! Free Palestine!

Follow us on Instagram @samidounnetwork