15-25 January 2026: Join the Week of Action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian Prisoners!

15 January 2026

15 January 2026 marks the 24th anniversary of the abduction of Palestinian liberation movement leader Ahmad Sa’adat, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, by the so-called “Palestinian Authority” under its “security coordination” with the Zionist regime. For four years, Sa’adat and his comrades were imprisoned by the PA — and held under U.S., British and Canadian guard — before they were abducted, once again, on 14 March 2006 by the Zionist occupation forces. Since then, Sa’adat and his comrades, leaders of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, have been held inside the notorious Zionist prisons, and subjected to isolation, torture and medical abuse and neglect. Today, they are among the leadership prisoners threatened with assassination daily inside the occupation prisons.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all who stand with Palestine — Palestine solidarity groups and collectives, Palestinian, Arab and Muslim community organizations, anti-imperialist organizations, political parties and liberation movements — to join between 15 and 25 January 2026 in a week of action to free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners in Zionist dungeons, in PA jails, and in the prisons of imperialist and reactionary regimes.

>> Endorse the Week of Action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian Prisoners. <<

The Week of Action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian Prisoners has been marked annually for nearly 15 years. This year, the dates also coincide with a day of media action on 15-16 January 2026 by the Red Ribbons Campaign/Save Palestinian Prisoners Campaign, which focuses on the struggle to free Palestinians in occupation prisons, including medical workers like Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, and all imprisoned Palestinians — as well as campaigning to stop the dangerous “execution law” being promulgated by ultra-Zionist, racist “Israeli” national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. We urge all to participate in this day of media action, as well as activities organized as part of this campaign on 31 January 2026 for the Palestinian prisoners and their liberation.

The call to action is particularly urgent this year. Since 7 October 2023, amid the Al-Aqsa Flood and the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, at least 87 identified Palestinian prisoners have already been assassinated inside the Zionist jails, either directly under torture or due to deliberate medical neglect and abuse. In almost all cases, the occupation continues to imprison the bodies of the martyrs — in addition to the bodies of hundreds of martyrs held hostage by the Zionist regime. Palestinian prisoners are subjected to a starvation policy, denied family and even legal visits, and subjected to repeated raids and attacks inside the prisons — all under the guise of a “state of emergency” — perpetuated for over two years and renewed only yesterday.

Liberated prisoner Georges Abdallah marks the anniversary of the abduction of Ahmad Sa’adat in Beirut, 15 January 2026

The leadership of the prisoners’ movement, of which Ahmad Sa’adat is a prominent figure, alongside Marwan Barghouti, Abdullah Barghouti, Ahed Abu Ghoulmeh, Anas Jaradat, Hassan Salameh, Abbas al-Sayyed, Ibrahim Hamed, Jamal Abu al-Haija, Muammar Shahrour, Muhannad Shreim, and other leaders of the prisoners’ movement, are particularly targeted for abuse. They have been repeatedly assaulted and beaten by occupation jailers, threatened with assassination, denied medical care, starved, and thrown in isolation. At the same time, Ben-Gvir, who oversees the condition of the prisoners, and the entire Zionist government, are pushing a new “execution law” to legalize the assassination of Palestinian prisoners, particularly those designated as “elite prisoners.” Just two days ago, this bill passed its first reading in the Zionist Knesset. Now, more than ever, we must organize and speak out to save, protect and liberate all Palestinian prisoners — and support these leaders of the Palestinian resistance and liberation movement under attack.

In addition, this anniversary draws attention to the dangerous role of the treacherous so-called “Palestinian Authority,” created by the Oslo accords, and its “security coordination” regime, serving as an agent of the occupation and of imperialist powers, rather than acting to protect and defend the Palestinian people from the genocidal occupation regime. The abduction of Ahmad Sa’adat and his comrades is not a historical anecdote two decades later; instead, it has become standard practice.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been arrested and are currently held in Palestinian Authority jails because they are accused of resisting the occupation; PA prisons operate as “revolving doors” with the occupation jails. In the besieged refugee camps of the West Bank, such as Jenin, Tulkarem and Nour Shams, the PA’s “homeland protection” campaign came as a precursor to the ongoing Zionist invasions that have displaced tens of thousands. In Gaza, not only did the PA fail to act against genocide, but PA officials such as Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) have joined in the U.S.-Zionist demands to disarm the resistance, while the Rada’ (Deterrence) Force issued a statement just today warning of the PA’s role in supporting gangs of collaborators in occupied areas of the Strip.

Further, the PA has, in recent months, escalated its financial collaboration with Zionist and imperialist demands, and cut the salaries of the families of prisoners and martyrs, creating hardship and crisis for the families of those who have given the most in defense of Palestine. This anniversary is an open call to speak out, to expose and to confront this dangerous attack on the Palestinian prisoners and the Resistance.

The case of Ahmad Sa’adat highlights imperialist complicity and full involvement in Zionist genocide — and the imprisonment of the Palestinian resistance. When he was abducted by the Palestinian Authority, he and his comrades were held under U.S., British, and Canadian guard in the PA-run Jericho prison. Today, there are dozens if not more Palestinian and Palestine solidarity prisoners in imperialist jails and facing persecution, in the United States, Britain, Canada, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Austria, France, the Netherlands, and elsewhere, as well as in Arab reactionary regime prisons.

These same powers, led by the United States, are currently also attacking Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution by imprisoning President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, and threatening further war, aggression, and economic coercive measures against Iran, targeting the nations and peoples that continue to resist imperialist domination and plunder.

This week of action coincides with important hearings in Italy in the cases of Anan Yaeesh, Mansour Doghmosh and Ali Irar, as well as in the case of the seven imprisoned Palestinians including Mohammed Hannoun, and in the case of Ahmed Salem, on 16 and 20 January. It also coincides with an ongoing hunger strike by the Prisoners for Palestine in British jails that seeks to end British complicity in the genocide and challenge the criminalization of Palestine Action and the Palestine movement broadly. While Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmad and Lewie C ended their strike yesterday with the announcement that Elbit Systems would be denied a £2 billion training contract with the British military, Umer Khalid is continuing his hunger strike to demand a full shutdown of Elbit, release on bail, ending censorship of communications, a fair trial, and the deproscription of Palestine Action. We urge participants in the week of action to highlight and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian and international prisoners for Palestine held in imperialist jails everywhere, as well as in anti-imperialist demonstrations and actions against war and aggression.

Palestinian prisoners are Resistance leaders, on the front lines for justice and liberation, struggling relentlessly, with an unbreakable will, toward freedom amid the most dire conditions of torture, abuse, medical neglect and deliberate killing. This is a critical moment to take action, escalate, and make their voices heard — for justice, return and liberation.

24 years after his arrest, it is long past time for freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat, his fellow Resistance leaders and all Palestinian Prisoners in Zionist, imperialist, reactionary and Palestinian Authority jails.

33 years after Oslo, it is long past time to expose the so-called Palestinian Authority and bring down its “security coordination” and treachery against the Palestinian people.

78 years after al-Nakba, it is long past time for the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea!

We call for an international week of actions from January 15th to January 25th, calling for the liberation of Ahmad Sa’adat, his fellow resistance leaders and all Palestinian prisoners, confronting the “state of emergency” and the “execution law,” demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza and throughout occupied Palestine, highlighting the malevolent role of the “Palestinian Authority,” and challenging the imperialist enemy. Take action to escalate against the zionist genocidal colonial entity, organize for justice in Palestine!

What can you do at you local level?

Endorse the Week of Action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian Prisoners.
Organize or join a protest or demonstration against the ongoing Zionist-imperialist genocide in Palestine, or against ongoing imperialist wars and aggression against Venezuela, Iran and around the world, with a contingent, signs or banners for Ahmad Sa’adat and the Palestinian prisoners
Educate through your networks: organize a discussion on Resistance leaders and political prisoners, share resources about Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners on social media and in your community
Organize an event, protest, teach-in stand or letter-writing meeting for the Week of Action.
Organize events, actions and protests to demand freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian Prisoners. Protest in public spaces, campuses and community spaces.
Take direct action to confront the war machine: From Elbit Systems to Microsoft to Maersk, take direct, confrontational, escalatory or labor action to stop the profiteers of genocide.
Share our resources online, and/or print the posters and flyers linked to above and distribute them in your local communities or neighborhoods.
Join the Red Ribbons/Save Palestinian Prisoners social media campaign, as well as protests and local actions, from 16-31 January 2026.

“The Palestinian struggle for national liberation is part and parcel of the international movement of peoples for national liberation, international racial and economic justice, and an end to occupation, colonialism and imperialism.” – Ahmad Sa’adat

Statements and Writings by Ahmad Sa’adat

Ahmad Sa’adat: Prisons, the Black Liberation Movement, and the Struggle for Palestine (Jadaliyya, 24 January 2019)
Ahmad Sa’adat, “Echoes of the Shackles” (English translation)
Letter from Ahmad Sa’adat to Georges Abdallah: “You remain a symbol and a model for us” (Samidoun, 4 September 2017)
Ahmad Sa’adat issues statement to Resistance Festival in Greece (4 October 2017)
International Workers Day: On May 1, Ahmad Sa’adat’s message from prison to the international left. (Free Ahmad Sa’adat, 30 April 2017)
Interview with Ahmad Sa’adat: Prisoners’ struggle is critically important for the Palestinian liberation movement (Free Ahmad Sa’adat, 19 April 2017)
Call to action from Ahmad Sa’adat: Boycott Israel! (Samidoun, 29 July 2015)
Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa’adat from prison: We are struggling for democracy, liberation and justice for all (Samidoun, 11 December 2015)
Interview with Ahmad Sa’adat: Leading from Prison, Ending Negotiations, and Rebuilding the Resistance (Journal of Palestine Studies, Summer 2014)
Ahmad Sa’adat’s message to the Landless Workers’ Movement congress: Full Text (Free Ahmad Sa’adat, 13 February 2014)
Ahmad Sa’adat’s Message to the World Social Forum – Free Palestine (Free Ahmad Sa’adat, 29 November 2012)
Sa’adat from Isolation: Security Cooperation and PA Political Detention Must End (Free Ahmad Sa’adat, 29 January 2012)
Ahmad Sa’adat greets Conference in Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners in Morocco (Free Ahmad Sa’adat, 25 January 2011)
Ahmad Sa’adat Greets the US Social Forum (Free Ahmad Sa’adat, 18 June 2010)
Ahmad Sa’adat speaks from isolation in Asqelan: The so-called “Two state solution” is a threat to the Palestinian people and the right to return (Free Ahmad Sa’adat, 1 June 2009)
Ahmad Sa’adat statement before sentencing (Free Ahmad Sa’adat, 25 December 2008)
Ahmad Sa’adat’s statement to Ofer military court (Free Ahmad Sa’adat, 14 January 2007)
Interview with Ahmad Sa’adat in his Jericho prison cell (Solidaire, 15 June 2006)
Interview with Ahmad Sa’adat (Mireille Terrin, Chris den Hond, 5 January 2005)
Creating a Pole of the Democratic Left: Interview with Ahmad Sa’adat (Mireille Court, Chris den Hond, August 2004)
The Popular Palestinian Intifada – Where is it heading? (Free Ahmad Sa’adat, 28 September 2003)
Interview With Imprisoned PFLP General Secretary Ahmad Saadat (Fight Back News, 1 June 2003)

Resources and Articles on Ahmad Sa’adat

The Case of Ahmad Sa’adat: Resistance Without Compromise (Abu Riad, 15 January 2025)
On 17 October: Palestinian Resistance confronts colonial assassinations, imprisonment and genocide (Samidoun, 17 October 2025)
Imprisoned Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa’adat attacked in isolation by Zionist guards (Samidoun, 22 November 2025)
Free Sa’adat, Free Palestine: 23 Years of Injustice and Resistance, by Benay Blend (Palestine Chronicle, 15 January 2025)
Georges Abdallah’s message to the International Week of Solidarity to Free Ahmad Sa’adat (Samidoun, 17 January 2022)
13th anniversary of the sentencing of Palestinian left leader Ahmad Sa’adat: Take action for liberation! (Samidoun, 25 December 2021)
Free Ahmad Sa’adat, imprisoned leader of the Palestinian liberation movement (Samidoun, 19 April 2020)
Ahmad Sa’adat: An exceptional revolutionary leader in challenging times by Khaled Barakat (Samidoun, 20 January 2019)
Georges Abdallah calls for action to free Ahmad Sa’adat, confront normalization, in statement from French prison (Samidoun, 14 January 2019)
Ahmad Sa’adat: Palestine will be freed by the people, not the elites (Samidoun, 11 December 2018)
9 Years Later: My Journey to see my Father; 45 Minutes, a Window and a Telephone by Sumoud Sa’adat (Samidoun, 25 August 2015)
Palestinian Authority Security Cooperation and the Internationalization of Occupation: The Case of Ahmad Sa’adat by Charlotte Kates (Jadaliyya, 27 January 2015)

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Three hunger strikers end their strike after Elbit denied British contract; Umer Khalid continues his strike for the 6th day

15 January 2026

On 14 January 2026, three of the Prisoners for Palestine — Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmad and Lewie C. — announced that they were ending their hunger strike (as they approached imminent death), following the announcement by the British government that Elbit Systems had been denied a £2 billion army training contract with the Ministry of Defence, after widespread reporting that Elbit would receive the contract. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes the Prisoners for Palestine and all of the hunger strikers on this important achievement and upon their sacrifice in the struggle for Palestinian liberation.

At the same time, Umer Khalid, another Prisoner for Palestine and one of the Brize Norton 5, has resumed his hunger strike. He has been repeatedly held in solitary confinement and denied his religious rights, while being held on remand for a trial that is not scheduled until January 2027. Umer says, “We must now continue to crush the protective skull of Zionism, which is the UK’s political and military support, under the weight of our collective mobilisation and action. Are you on the outside afraid of consequences when this life is so short? So let them keep us here as long as they want, because you can’t imprison resistance and you can’t kill a revolution. Liberation is a promise and victory is coming insha’Allah.” Umer previously conducted a hunger strike from 4-16 December 2025. It is urgent that we continue to support Umer Khalid and all of the prisoners for Palestine in British and other imperialist jails, imprisoned as part and parcel of imperialist complicity with Zionist genocide in Palestine.

STATEMENT – PRISONERS 4 PALESTINE – 14 JANUARY 2026

After 73 days of hunger strikes which began on Balfour Day, 2 November 2025, as some prisoners are facing imminent death, Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed, and Lewie have ended their hunger strikes.

The decision to end their hunger strikes came as it was revealed that Elbit Systems UK was denied a vital £2 billion army training contract with the Ministry of Defence, a key demand of the hunger strikers.

The contract, which would have seen Elbit Systems provide training to the British Army over ten years, was lost despite the best efforts of officials in both the Ministry of Defence and the British Army, who it was revealed had been colluding with both Elbit Systems UK and its parent company Elbit Systems in backroom meetings and ‘tours’ to the capital of Palestine, Jerusalem, in a desperate attempt to further entrench their genocidal alliance and help them win the contract.

The abrupt cancellation of this deal is a resounding victory for the hunger strikers, who resisted with their incarcerated bodies in order to shed light on the role of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, in the colonization and occupation of Palestine. Since 2012, Elbit has won 25 public contracts in the UK totaling more than £333 million; the loss of this £2 billion contract marks a significant shift in this sordid “strategic alliance.” With this victory, it has never been clearer that Elbit’s days in Britain are numbered.

In addition to this key demand being met, we want to take this opportunity to celebrate the various victories achieved throughout the duration of the hunger strike:

In the past few weeks alone, hundreds of people have signed up to take action against the genocidal military-industrial complex, more than the number of people who took action with Palestine Action over its five-year campaign. During that five-year campaign, Israeli weapons factories were shut down. Elbit Systems is living on stolen time—we will see it shut down for good, not because of the government, but because of the people.

Heba Muraisi’s transfer to HMP Bronzefield has been accepted by HMP New Hall, where she is currently being held in intentional isolation from her family and friends.

T. Hoxha has been offered a meeting with the head of JEXU (Joint Extremism Unit) at her prison, the very same organization that orchestrates the prisoners’ treatment as ‘terrorists’.

Despite the cruel and constant medical neglect of the hunger strikers, including not logging food refusals, refusal of ambulances in life-threatening emergencies, and degrading treatment in hospitals, the national heads of prison healthcare have met with us at the behest of the Ministry of Justice.

During the hunger strike, some of the prisoners started receiving bulk packages of withelped mail, and in one case received an apology from prison staff for a letter that was delayed by six months. Books on topics of Gaza and feminism have also been given after months of waiting.

In pursuit of a fair trial, the hunger strikers demanded disclosure of export licenses for the last 5 years from Elbit Systems. After repeated requests, this information was disclosed to an independent researcher by the Department of Trade during the hunger strike.

The continued printing of the blood will remain on the stain on Britain’s facade of being a “democratic” country, with no sliver of law and order.

This pathetic and cowardly British government cannot resist authoritarianism; it uses fear to deter rightful protest and dissent, echoing the use of administrative detention against the Palestinian people.

The hunger strike has cemented this fact to the country, and across the world: Britain has political prisoners in service of a foreign genocidal regime. In a time of worsening political repression and widespread propaganda about a non-existent ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza, the hunger strike stands as a testament to continued defiance.

The hunger strikers have allowed those of us who were fearful of state repression to be brave—to go out once again onto the streets and fight for justice. The government should know they cannot ban a concept. Cowardly banning one group cannot stop a belief, a movement, a people. This is only the start of our collective fight to free us all, and the road to freedom runs through Palestine.

At the end of his hunger strike, on Elbit losing the £2 billion contract, Lewie said:

It is definitely a time for celebration. A time to rejoice and to embrace our joy as revolution and as liberation… We do this because of Palestine, because we’ve been inspired, because we’ve been tempted to take action and to try to realize our dreams for a free Palestine, for an emancipated world.

As these victories are declared, we turn our efforts and attention to Umer Khalid, the last remaining hunger striker, who continues to use his body as a weapon against the state in pursuit of justice.

Samidoun statement on the German state of NRW ordering its website blocked

10 January 2026

The Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network rejects and condemns in the strongest terms the repressive decision issued by the official media bodies in the German state of North Rhein-Westphalia, to block the Samidoun website (samidoun.net), in yet another outrageous step that expresses full adherence to the Zionist project and German imperialist repression against the Palestinian people and the growing international solidarity movement with their just liberation struggle.

This decision, announced in Dusseldorf and extending to all internet service providers and data transfer companies, is not an administrative or technical measure, as it is claimed. Rather, it is a hostile act aimed at stifling the Palestinian voice and criminalizing anyone who exposes the crimes of the Zionist occupation, particularly those committed against Palestinian prisoners in Zionist occupation jails.

The accusations leveled by the German state about “hostility to the democratic system”, “incitement” — namely, by rejecting “Israel’s right to exist,” are nothing but obvious, thin pretexts used to suppress any liberated discourse that exposes the colonial and racist nature of the Zionist entity. Our position rejecting the legitimacy of an implanted colonial settler entity based on ethnic cleansing and military occupation throughout occupied Palestine is not a crime, but rather a moral and political duty.

We also renew our rejection of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior’s decision to ban the activities of the Samidoun Network in November 2023. We consider this to be a critical moment in the escalation of the open assault against the Palestinian resistance and its supporters, as well as the Palestinian people as a whole, and a continuation of the policies of the German state, which has never ceased its political, military, and media support for the illegitimate “Israeli” entity, at the expense of the rights of the Palestinian people, international law, and freedom of organization and political action. Further, it is a direct contribution to Germany’s full participation in genocide in Gaza and throughout occupied Palestine, alongside its arms trade and supply to the Zionist regime.

Defending Palestinian prisoners is defending Palestinian rights and the just Palestinian cause. Attempts to silence the Samidoun Network will not end the voice of the prisoner movement or break the will of free peoples. Rather, they will increase the pace of political and popular confrontation against supporters of the genocide in Gaza and imperialist regimes of oppression and complicity.

Protest actions demand freedom for imprisoned Palestinians in Italy

5 January 2026

In the wake of the Italian government’s attack on the Palestinian community and Palestine solidarity movement in the country, in which it arrested seven Palestinian activists and leaders, including Mohammed Hannoun, the president of the Associazione dei Palestinesi in Italia(API, Association of Palestinians in Italy), protests have grown against the so-called “Operation Domino.” The next announced protest for the freedom of the imprisoned Palestinians will take place on Wednesday, 7 January in Milano at 6 pm outside Piazzale Aquileia (S. Agostino M2), outside San Vittore prison, where Raed Dawoud, one of the 7 imprisoned Palestinian organizers, is being held as a political prisoner.

On Saturday, 3 January, protesters gathered in Piazza Scala in Milano with signs calling for the liberation of Hannoun, Dawoud, Yaser El-Assaly and their fellow Palestinian prisoners — both in Italy and in Palestine. Simultaneously, another protest was organized in Genova — Hannoun’s hometown in Italy — calling for their freedom; protests have also been organized in Brugherio, outside the Monza prison, and in Napoli.

On New Year’s Eve, the API published an open letter to the prisoners from the families of the seven arrested Palestinians, highlighting that they are beloved and missed, with a call to return them home:

While everyone else celebrates with the affection of their fathers
and loved ones, our homes have seven empty seats.

Seven smiles we missed at the stroke of midnight. Seven presences that, even if far away, are the center around which our thoughts revolve.

We begin 2026 with our hearts split in two: proud of your
commitment, of your courage, and of the duty you are serving, but with a knot in our throats that does not loosen.

Every bell, every firework, will sound a little quieter without you.

Know that our love reaches you. Our new year will truly begin
only when you once again cross the threshold of our doors.

With all our love and nostalgia,

Your families

Hannoun has already been denied family visits; in an action highly reminiscent of the Zionist entity’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners in its occupation jails, his family members were told that they were also “suspected” and therefore, for security reasons, they would be denied visitation. His lawyer also noted that he has been denied a Qur’an and prayer mat, and that he was ordered transferred to a “high-security” prison — itself reminiscent of the U.S.’ treatment of its Palestinian political prisoners, Ghassan Elashi and Shukri Abu Baker, who, like the Palestinians in Italy, were accused and sentenced solely for humanitarian activity and support.

In what appears to be an attempt to cause widespread intimidation and fear, the state further announced that 25 more people are “under investigation” in the case, including journalist and InfoPal editor Angela Lano, who spoke out publicly about the raid and invasion of her home and confiscation of years of documents and materials.

According to the documents and intensive media campaign unleashed against the Palestinian activists and organizers, the arrests and accusations rely solely on the statements and allegations by “Israel” itself, including repeated reliance on a dossier provided by pseudonymous “Israeli” intelligence agent, codenamed “Avi.”
This includes, more broadly, its organizational bans, allegations of political affiliation, and attempts to deny humanitarian aid and independent support to the Palestinian people under occupation. Further, the charges — which have been combined with a pretrial detention order — openly equate humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people with “support for terrorism” as well as utterly disregarding the fact that Palestinians, like all people facing colonialism and foreign occupation, have the absolute right to resist that occupation by all means, including armed struggle.

In fact, the Italian state’s charges against the imprisoned Palestinians are, quite clearly, an attempt to aid and abet “Israel’s” genocide of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, by denying them access to independent support and aid. Notably, these charges and arrests come precisely as the Zionist occupation banned 37 organizations, including prominent international organizations such as Medicins sans Frontieres, Oxfam Netherlands, and the American Friends Service Committee, from operating in occupied Palestine by denying them licenses.

The media campaign against the targeted Palestinians has relied increasingly on dubious allegations that reflect a colonialist and Zionist framework, including attempting to frame as “accusations” things such as having photographs of martyrs and prisoners on one’s phone, subscribing to Telegram or WhatsApp channels receiving news, updates and pictures from Palestine, or possessing flags and banners associated with Palestinian resistance groups. Of course, none of these things are illegal under Italian law; they are, however, the sort of allegations under which Palestinians under occupation are routinely jailed without charge or trial in Zionist prisons.

Further, it is clear that the Palestinian Authority has been instrumentalized to advance the persecution of Palestinians in the diaspora as well as those in occupied Palestine. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni practically presaged the campaign of arrests just a week before at the conference of her far-right Brothers of Italy party, where she attacked the API and the Palestinian Youth of Italy (Giovani Palestinesi Italia, GPI) for speaking out against her meeting with PA president Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen. Right-wing media have repeatedly spread reports that Hannoun and the targeted associations were “investigated by the PA” in an attempt to legitimize the prosecution, and at the same time that the PA is cutting all funds to the families of martyrs and prisoners, the Italian prosecutors declared that funding the families of martyrs and prisoners amounts to “supporting terrorism” — when, in reality, it is supporting the victims of terror.

The GPI further noted that Meloni’s party and the far-right media have used the case not only in an attempt to terrorise the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities and the broader Palestine solidarity movement, but also to attack the parliamentary opposition and attempt to pressure them to rescind their support for Palestinian freedom and opposition to Italian complicity in Zionist genocide. GPI’s statement specifically criticized parliamentary “leftists,” who, rather than defending the targeted political prisoners and intensifying support for Palestine, are engaging in the politics of disassociation, denial and abandonment.

At the same time, the Italian state continues its persecution of Palestinians Anan Yaeesh, Ali Irar, Mansour Doghmosh and Ahmed Salem. On 16 January, Anan, Ali and Mansour are facing a final hearing in court on their case, which accuses them of supporting the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the armed wing of the Fateh movement, in the occupied West Bank of Palestine. Yaeesh has been imprisoned continuously for the past two years. The Free Anan committee and other organizations are arranging group transportation to L’Aquila to stand with the three Palestinians in court, as well as support rallies on that date.

**

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network reiterates our solidarity with and call for the immediate release of all of the imprisoned and targeted Palestinians and fellow activists, an end to the persecution of Palestinians and Palestine solidarity organizers, and full recognition of the legitimacy of Palestinian resistance:

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network demands the immediate release of Mohammed Hannoun, Raed Dawoud, Yasser el-Assaly, and all the detained Palestinians in Italy — including Anan Yaeesh, Ali Irar, Mansour Doghmosh and Ahmed Salem — and the return of the funds of the targeted organizations, as well as a full end to Italian support, complicity, trade and military commerce with the Zionist regime. This is a moment when independent, community-based support for the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, is more urgent than ever, as the Zionist regime, with full U.S. and European imperialist support, is aiming to accomplish what it could not through its genocidal bombs through siege, starvation, the continued closure of the Rafah crossing, and the denial of fundamental needs. The work of these organizations is most desperately needed now — and this is precisely why they have been targeted.

As we noted at the time of Samidoun’s designation:

“Like the Zionist entity fears the Palestinian resistance, so do the imperialist powers fear the Palestinian diaspora and their supporters that have been rising up again and again, especially since the start of operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the Zionist genocide. They fear a strong, popular movement that threatens their economic and political interests in Palestine and the region.”

Once again, the imperialist powers are making clear that they are more than willing to carry out intense repression, criminalization and imprisonment in order to aid and abet genocide. We urge the movement for Palestine — in Italy, throughout Europe, and internationally — to rally around all of the targeted individuals and organizations, and to not allow the tactics of state terror and fear to divide us.

Further, it is long past time for all Palestinian, Lebanese and regional resistance organizations — let alone charitable, community, activist and humanitarian initiatives — to be removed from so-called “terrorist lists” — in Italy, in Europe, in the U.S. and around the world. The Palestinian people, and all occupied peoples, have the right to resist their occupation, to defend themselves, to liberate their land, and to organize to achieve those goals.

For the solidarity movement’s work to be meaningful and effective, it must act to support the Palestinian Resistance organizations — and, indeed, to coordinate with them on the broadest possible level. We must redouble our efforts to escalate our resistance and globalize the intifada in the streets of the cities of the world, for the freedom of all of our prisoners in Zionist and imperialist jails, and for the freedom of Palestine, from the river to the sea.

Palestinian and regional resistance organizations and popular movements stand with Venezuela against U.S. imperialism

3 January 2026

As the U.S. attacked and invaded Venezuela, kidnapping the legitimate president Nicolas Maduro, and openly seeking control over Venezuela’s politics, oil and resources, Palestinian and regional resistance organizations and popular movements spoke out in condemnation of U.S. imperialism and in support of the Venezuelan people and their government.

The Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, said:

We condemn the military aggression perpetrated by the United States of America against the sovereign territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The affected areas thus far include the capital, Caracas, and the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.

This brutal US imperialist behavior constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and a clear embodiment of the logic of aggression and criminal annihilation.

This attack aims solely to seize Venezuela’s strategic shared resources, particularly oil and minerals, in an attempt to forcibly break the political sovereignty of the Bolivarian Republic and pave the way for military incursions into other Latin American territories.

The “fight against drug trafficking” is merely a pretext for imperialism, a threat not only to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela but to the entire region. This was explicitly stated in the recently published “US National Security Strategy” (NSS).

We recognize that American imperialism is the primary enemy of peoples struggling for national and social liberation. Therefore, we call upon all social, political, and freedom-loving forces worldwide—just as we took to the streets in support of the Palestinian people’s struggle—to mobilize and act in support of the Venezuelan people in the face of US aggression. We endorse the sovereign decision of the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela, based on international law, to respond through armed struggle.

As in Palestine… in Venezuela, they shall not prevail!

Long live the resistance of the Venezuelan people… towards global mobilization and a global uprising!

Let us demonstrate our popular outrage at every embassy of US imperialism!

The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine stated:

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful

We condemn the vicious American aggression against the Republic of Venezuela and the attacks targeting its capital, Caracas, and its loyal people. These aggressive actions, which have escalated from naval blockades to direct military strikes, reveal intentions of hegemony, occupation, and forcible domination, and constitute a flagrant violation of international law and national sovereignty. They are an extension of imperialist policies aimed at subjugating peoples and plundering their resources.

Today’s targeting of Venezuela is a punishment for its steadfast international positions, particularly its historic and unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and resistance forces in our region, and its standing with our people against war crimes and genocide. The Venezuelan people’s struggle for freedom and sovereignty is part of our nation’s own battle against hegemony and neocolonialism.

We affirm our full solidarity with the Venezuelan people and their legitimate government, led by President Nicolás Maduro, in confronting this aggressive campaign. We call on all liberation forces and free peoples of the world to reject this aggression and stand with Venezuela in defense of the principle of state sovereignty and the right of peoples to self-determination.

Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
Saturday, Rajab 14, 1447 AH, January 3, 2026 AD.

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, issued the following statement:

We condemn in the strongest terms the American aggression against the Republic of Venezuela, and the kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife. We affirm that it represents a serious violation of international law, by attacking the sovereignty of an independent state.

The aggression is an extension of the unjust American policies and interventions that hide behind them imperialist ambitions, which have plunged several countries into conflicts that pose a direct threat to international security and peace.

We call on the international community, the United Nations and its institutions, particularly the Security Council, to take decisions to confront the aggressive policies pursued by Washington, and to immediately stop the military attack on Venezuelan territory.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine stated:

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine condemns in the strongest terms the brutal American imperialist aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which has taken the form of air strikes and missile attacks targeting the capital, Caracas, vital and civilian installations, military bases, and residential complexes; the Front considers this aggression a new chapter in the organized American terrorism against sovereign states.

The Front expresses its full and unlimited support for Venezuela, its leadership, government, and people, led by the courageous President Nicolás Maduro, and emphasizes that Venezuela, which has always sided with the oppressed, particularly the Palestinian cause, is now facing the consequences of its principled stance against hegemony and colonialism.

This American attack on Venezuela is fundamentally similar in its nature and objectives to the brutal Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people; the criminal is the same, and the colonialist mentality that seeks to break the will of resistance is the same.

The US administration’s pretexts of “combating smuggling” or “protecting democracy” are merely a cover for imperialist piracy aimed at plundering the Venezuelan people’s wealth and confiscating their independent political decision-making; this bullying by Washington in the Caribbean represents organized state terrorism unleashed from its chains, exceeding all international conventions, norms, and human values.

We affirm the inalienable right of the Venezuelan people to resist in all forms and defend their existence and national sovereignty, and we stress that internal unity is the best response to attempts at intimidation and infiltration.

We call on all free and progressive forces in Latin America and the world to form a unified international position to confront this aggression that threatens global stability and peace, affirming that imperialist arrogance will inevitably collapse in the face of the consciousness and courage of peoples who stand for their freedom.

We warn that the US’s continuation of this military madness will spark new conflict hotspots in the world; the aggression on Venezuela is an attack on every country that upholds its independent national decision-making.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese Islamic Resistance, issued the following statement:

Hezbollah strongly condemns the terrorist aggression and American thuggery against the Republic of Venezuela, which targeted the capital, Caracas, vital and civilian facilities, and residential complexes, and involved the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife—an unprecedented and blatant violation of the national sovereignty of an independent state, international law, and United Nations charters, based on flimsy and false pretexts.

This attack constitutes a renewed affirmation of the approach of domination, arrogance, and piracy practiced by the U.S. administration without any restraint, and a stark proof of its disregard for international stability and security. It entrenches the logic of the law of the jungle, detonates what remains of the structure of the international order, and hollows it out of any substance that could serve as a guarantee or safeguard for peoples and states.

The United States of America, which continues to live in a frenzy of control and hegemony—especially under its current president—persists in its aggressive policies aimed at subjugating free states and peoples, plundering their wealth and resources, and leading war projects designed to redraw state borders. While it falsely claims to spread peace in the world and support democracy and the freedom of peoples to determine their destiny, it repeatedly exposes its true criminal face—from Afghanistan to Iraq, Yemen, and Iran—through the manufacturing of terrorism and its support for its protégé, “Israel,” with which it shares the same criminal, aggressive, and colonial behavior. Meanwhile, the international community retreats into shameful silence instead of rising up and sounding the alarm to reject and curb this American aggression and thuggery. Today’s assault on Venezuela represents a further escalation of the direct threat to every independent, sovereign state that refuses domination and submission.

As Hezbollah affirms its full solidarity with Venezuela—its people, presidency, and government—in the face of this American aggression and arrogance, which will inevitably collapse before the will of the free Venezuelan people—who have rejected all forms of hegemony and colonialism on their land and have consistently stood with just causes and the oppressed worldwide, foremost among them the Palestinian cause—it calls upon all states, governments, peoples, and free forces around the world to condemn this aggression and to stand alongside Venezuela, its people, and its right to fully defend its sovereignty and independence.

The Political Bureau of Ansar Allah, in Yemen, issued the following statement:

“We strongly condemn the brutal US military aggression against Venezuela.

What the US is doing against Venezuela, including the preceding blockade, reflects the extreme level of American savagery and criminality.

The American aggression provides further evidence of a US policy based on destroying countries, killing peoples, and plundering resources.

What the US is doing to Venezuela confirms once again that America is the head of evil and the mother of terrorism.

We affirm our solidarity with Venezuela and its President Nicolás Maduro, who has refused to submit to American domination.

We stress Venezuela’s right to defend its sovereignty, its people, and its resources against ruthless American aggression.

We call on the international community to take urgent action to stop the US aggression and respect international principles and charters.”

Tariq el Tahrir Youth and Student Movement said:

Heroic people of Venezuela! Soldiers of the fatherland! Sons and daughters of Bolivar! Tariq El-Tahrir expresses our most steadfast solidarity in this moment of renewed and intensified American aggression.

After weeks of piracy and naval blockades on Venezuelan shipping, and years of economic warfare and imperialist aggression, today the US empire has committed terrorist attacks against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The bombings of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and the surrounding Venezuelan states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira are nothing less than terrorist bombings of a sovereign country by an empire who feels threatened by the courageous path of self-determination which has been undertaken by the Venezuelan people, under their government led by Nicolás Maduro.

The kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores is part of a larger history of attacks against anti-imperialist and anti-colonial leaders, from Palestine’s Saleh Al-Arouri, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, Patrice Lumumba in the Congo, Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso, and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. It is a continuation of imperialist policy aimed at subjugating the power of the Third World’s people and plundering their resources. In Latin America, this has taken the form of veiled and overt aggressions, economic and military, against Colombia, Cuba and Nicaragua, and countless others. In the wider international sphere, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Palestine and the forces of the Axis of the Resistance are targeted.

The Venezuelan people have, since the Bolivarian Revolution of 1999, held firm in protecting their sovereignty in the face of imperialist aggression led by the US empire. Since the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7th, 2023, they have demonstrated historic and unwavering support to the Palestinian cause, the resistance forces, and have been faithful in denouncing the US-Zionist war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against our people. Their struggle for freedom and sovereignty is our struggle for liberty and self-determination. The bombs which were dropped this Saturday, Jan 3 are built by the same corporations whose bombs fall onto Palestinian children, women and men in Gaza and villages in Lebanon. These are acts of international terrorism.

We call on all our supporters, friends and sympathizers to join in the demonstrations and raise the flag of Palestine at protests, picket lines and militant actions in your cities and localities. Where such actions are still not being mobilized, we encourage you to lead the organization of rallies, support groups, solidarity committees, and to summon allied forces for a grand mobilization of the global camp of resistance against the empire of death. The call from Palestine to lay siege to the military and imperialist infrastructure inside the imperialist nations remains one we have yet to fully answer and it is our obligation to build our own popular forces as true partners of the resistance in Caracas and Gaza. Let us apply our energies, which brought millions to the streets of every world capital in solidarity with Palestine, to stop the imperialist aggression and war against the free and sovereign Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and impose a cost on the profiteers of genocide and the representatives of the modern Holocaust. And let it be a warning to the imperialist mercenaries and terrorists who attempt to usurp the sovereignty of Venezuela – do not underestimate the power of a people’s guerrilla army fighting for their survival and homeland. Venezuela will be another grave for the imperialist invader.

This is a clear and unified stance: with Venezuela, its government and its people, and against the murderous crimes of U.S. imperialism. We reiterate our call to action:

This is a moment for resistance and for action. It is clear that the U.S. sees the slaughter of even the appearance of international law under imperialism in its imperialist-Zionist genocide in Gaza as an open door to expand its aggression everywhere in the world, without even an attempt to manufacture other than the thinnest pretext and while openly declaring their thirst for the resources of the people of the world.

It is an urgent responsibility for everyone and every organization in the United States and in the international core to stand now for Venezuela, to escalate, to protest, to take direct action — as we stand simultaneously against the ongoing genocide in Palestine, the attack on Lebanon, and the aggression against all the peoples of the region and the world who confront and resist imperialism. We must not allow business as usual or content ourselves with mild condemnations.

The Palestinian liberation movement is fundamentally an anti-imperialist movement; the Palestinian people confront not only Zionism in Palestine and its entity “Israel” but the imperialist powers — if this was not clear before Al-Aqsa Flood, it is more clear than ever now. The front to defend Venezuela is a front to defend Palestine, for the liberation of land and people, and to confront our collective imperialist enemy.

Defend Venezuela, defend Palestine: International call to action against U.S. imperialism

3 January 2026

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network declares its full and complete solidarity with the people and government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which today confronts not only over a decade of U.S. imposed coercive economic measures and economic warfare, nor imperialist military assaults on its trade and citizenry at sea, but a full-fledged ground and air aggression by the United States, targeting the capital Caracas, as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira. U.S. President Donald Trump is even boasting of kidnapping the legitimate President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro Moros. At this moment, it is urgent for all who stand against imperialism, particularly in the United States and throughout the imperial core, to stand with Venezuela against U.S. imperialism and its criminal military aggression.

The aggression against Venezuela is cut from the same cloth as the ongoing U.S.-Zionist assault on Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, and throughout the region, including the ongoing and escalated war threats against Iran. As the U.S. bombs and invades the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela — notably, just days after Trump’s meeting with fellow war criminal, Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the Zionist regime is threatening yet more attacks on Lebanon, as it continues to bomb the South on a daily basis, and on Gaza, where it continues its genocide, even amid the one-sided “ceasefire.”

The U.S. has even attacked the mausoleum of Venezuelan leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chavez, who famously declared in 2009 that the Zionist entity was guilty of genocide in Gaza and expressed his strong support for the Palestinian people’s liberation struggle. As in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Iran, once again, it is imperative to affirm full solidarity with Venezuela’s right to defend itself and to resist U.S. imperialist assault.

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is being targeted today for its resources and its oil, which war criminal Trump openly boasts of demanding for U.S. control, domination and exploitation. However, more than simply for its oil, Venezuela is being targeted because the Bolivarian Republic stands, clearly and firmly, for the right of the people and government of Venezuela to control its own destiny and future, and for the rights of the people of the world to do so. This includes breaking all ties with the Zionist entity and repeatedly standing in international forums for Palestine.

In 2018, Ahmad Sa’adat, imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a prominent leader of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, wrote:

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been a stalwart friend of the Palestinian people. In all international arenas and forums and through practical support and material solidarity, the Venezuelan people and state have stood with the Palestinian people, confronting imperialism and Zionism. Venezuela’s rejection of diplomatic ties with the Israeli colonial regime stands as an example in the world of principled solidarity and boycott, especially as the Palestinian movement, including the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, urges international boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel… We know well the words and actions of Hugo Chavez in support of the Palestinian people and his clear condemnations of the Zionist attacks on the Palestinian people. ‘The State of Israel has become a murderous lackey at the service of imperialism…It’s a genocidal government. I condemn that Zionist government that persecutes the heroic Palestinian people,’ Chavez said. His words on Palestine and in support of the struggle of our people have bolstered the strength and resolve of Palestinians everywhere.

Venezuela has been, for over a decade, targeted by sanctions and siege — illegal unilateral coercive measures — imposed by the United States. This has formed a fully fledged hybrid economic war on Venezuela, for the purpose of “regime change” to a Venezuelan “opposition” that is fully in the pocket of U.S. imperialism and allied with Zionism. It has also birthed creative and resilient responses to U.S. coercion, in alliance with other targeted states, such as Iran, as well as expanded trade with China, Russia, and other BRICS powers. This is the same policy of siege and starvation that has been intensified and focused for the past 17 years upon Palestine and its Resistance in Gaza. It is extended to the policy of “anti-terror” designations and individualized sanctions imposed upon every identified individual in the world involved in confronting U.S. imperialism, which the U.S. demands be treated as global edicts.

This refusal to allow the U.S. to control the trade in Venezuela’s world-largest oil reserves is part of the global effort to shatter the hegemony of U.S. imperialism and dollar domination of international trade. Venezuela is targeted today, alongside its leaders, because, like Simon Bolivar, from whom the Bolivarian Republic takes its name, it defends sovereignty, freedom, self-determination and the entire global South against imperialism; because Venezuela has dared, since its Revolution, to say ‘NO’ to empire.

The kidnapping of legitimate Venezuelan President Maduro is yet another egregious adventure by U.S. imperialism, following failed efforts to use collaborators and bribes to secure their goals. Before being subjected to this invasion and kidnapping, he was targeted with a $15 million U.S. bounty on his head. The kidnapping and assassination of leaders is a strategy used by the imperialist-Zionist alliance in Palestine, in Yemen, in Lebanon, in Iran and throughout the region, as is the posting of extensive bounties seeking to market the lives of those who refuse U.S. imperialism. In fact, many of the Resistance leaders targeted by the occupation (often with U.S. intelligence as well as nearly always with U.S. weaponry) have been targeted by such bounties, including the martyrs Saleh al-Arouri (martyred two years ago yesterday), Haitham Ali Tabataba’i, assassinated just 40 days ago in Lebanon, and, of course, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, assassinated with 80 tons of U.S.-made explosives. The combination of kidnapping, imprisonment and assassination of leaders is the standard imperialist and colonialist playbook, epitomized by the campaign of imprisonment and assassination targeting the Palestinian resistance.

Indeed, this 3 January assault on Venezuela comes six years to the date after the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis in Baghdad, Iraq, on 3 January 2020, in yet another blatantly unlawful crime of U.S. imperialism. This infamous anniversary is now marked by yet another U.S. crime of aggression against the people and nations of the world who act and organize to reject imperialism and its plunder, domination and hegemony.

The Venezuelan government has affirmed that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is safe, and will assume the duties of the legitimate President captured and illegally kidnapped by the United States.

This is a moment for resistance and for action. It is clear that the U.S. sees the slaughter of even the appearance of international law under imperialism in its imperialist-Zionist genocide in Gaza as an open door to expand its aggression everywhere in the world, without even an attempt to manufacture other than the thinnest pretext and while openly declaring their thirst for the resources of the people of the world.

It is an urgent responsibility for everyone and every organization in the United States and in the international core to stand now for Venezuela, to escalate, to protest, to take direct action — as we stand simultaneously against the ongoing genocide in Palestine, the attack on Lebanon, and the aggression against all the peoples of the region and the world who confront and resist imperialism. We must not allow business as usual or content ourselves with mild condemnations.

The Palestinian liberation movement is fundamentally an anti-imperialist movement; the Palestinian people confront not only Zionism in Palestine and its entity “Israel” but the imperialist powers — if this was not clear before Al-Aqsa Flood, it is more clear than ever now. The front to defend Venezuela is a front to defend Palestine, for the liberation of land and people, and to confront our collective imperialist enemy.

In 2022, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro noted: “The Axis of Resistance exists throughout the world; it exists in Africa, in Asia, in the Middle East, in Latin America and in the Caribbean. The Resistance also belongs to the people who are fighting against neoliberalism, racism and various forms of colonization…The 21st century is our century. It is the century of the unity of the people. It is the century in which people will be liberated. It is the century of justice and truth. Empires are in decline, and people’s projects for well-being, development and greatness have just begun. This century is our century.” There are two paths for the world: of the resistance of the people, of Al-Aqsa Flood and the Bolivarian Revolution; and of the horrific crimes of imperialism and the blatant greed and thievery of the U.S. empire in decline. It is our task to make the first path — the global camp of resistance — larger, stronger, and, indeed, victorious.

Italy’s new attack on Palestine: Solidarity with Mohammad Hannoun and all targeted Palestinians!

27 December 2025

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network condemns in the strongest terms the arrests, raids and repressive attacks in Italy today against Palestinian organizers and community leaders, and expresses our full solidarity with Mohammad Hannoun and his fellow arrested Palestinians. Today’s arrests are only the latest act of complicity and direct involvement with Zionist genocide in Palestine by the Italian state, which continues to deliberately act to besiege, starve, and criminalize the Palestinian people and their very existence.

Mohammed Hannoun, 63, is a Palestinian architect and resident of Genoa who has lived in Italy for over 40 years; the president of the Associazione dei Palestinesi in Italia (API) and the founder of the Charity Association for Solidarity with the Palestinian People (ABSPP), he is tirelessly active in organizing to defend Palestine and achieve its liberation from the river to the sea. He has been repeatedly attacked by Zionist organizations — as well as the U.S. and Zionist governments, and right-wing local governments in Italy — for his clarity in speaking about Palestinian liberation, the right to resist occupation, and the illegitimacy of colonialism on Palestinian land.

Today, Hannoun and at least six other Palestinians’ homes were raided and they were arrested by Italian “counter-terror” forces, including the Anti-Terrorism Directorate of Genoa (DIGOS), the Prevention Police, the Economic and Financial Police Unit, and the Guardia di Finanza, with at least two more people reportedly sought under international arrest warrants. The Italian state has targeted three organizations, the ABSPP, the Charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People – Volunteer Organization and La Cupola d’Oro. The detained Palestinians have been ordered imprisoned before trial, with an Italian investigating judge, Silvia Carpanini, alleging that they are an “escape risk.” In the meantime, eight million Euro in funds and assets, raised to support the Palestinian people, have been seized and frozen by the Italian government.

These Palestinian organizers have been targeted because they have worked to break the siege imposed on Gaza by fundraising to support Palestinians in Gaza, providing necessary aid and support for humanitarian and civil projects as the Zionist regime has attempted to carry out its genocide by strangling the Palestinian people through siege, starvation and blockade.

It has long been a goal of Zionism and imperialism to cut off independent aid and support to the Palestinian people, and to break the ties between Palestinians in exile and diaspora and the Palestinians inside Palestine and in the refugee camps. For example, the infamous injustice of the Holy Land Five case in the United States targeted what was, at that time, the country’s largest Muslim charity and a significant support of independent aid for Palestine.

Today, the arrested Palestinians in Italy are “accused” of having raised over 7 million Euro for Palestinians in Gaza over several decades, and especially in the past 2 years of genocide following Al-Aqsa Flood. The Italian government is labeling this aid to the Palestinian people as “support for Hamas,” noting that it allegedly supported institutions in the Gaza Strip “controlled by Hamas” — the leading, elected, party in the governance of Gaza for the past 18 years. In particular, they are accused of providing some of their funds to “family members of terrorists” — that is, to the families of martyrs whose lives were taken by the occupation and of Palestinian political prisoners, who are currently under an internationally-organized financial siege designed to break social support for Palestinian resistance and liberation inside occupied Palestine. They are being accused of nothing more than helping to break the illegitimate, illegal, and murderous siege on Gaza by fundraising to support the Palestinian people under attack. In other words, the goals of these arrests are to intensify and advance Zionist genocide in Palestine, to deny Palestinian self-determination, and to impose fear and terror on the growing Palestinian and solidarity movement in Italy.

The Palestinian community in Italy and the solidarity movement have been under attack by the Zionist entity and U.S. imperialism for some time; in October 2024, the U.S. sanctioned Hannoun and the ABSPP (just one week before its sanctions on Samidoun). Again, in June 2025, the U.S. again sanctioned La Cupola d’Oro, alongside multiple international Palestinian charities, as well as Addameer, the Palestinian organization working for Palestinian prisoners in occupation jails. Despite the fact that U.S. sanctions ostensibly have no legal effect in Italy, the investigating judge cited the U.S. sanctions as a reason to arrest and imprison Hannoun and his fellow Palestinians, because they “continued their activity” — entirely legal in Italy — despite being listed and designated by the United States.

These sanctions, like those on Samidoun, come hand in hand with the use of U.S. sanctions and siege — for 18 years in Gaza, alongside the sanctions imposed on Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Venezuela, the DPRK and other independent nations — to seek to undermine popular resilience, immiserate and starve the masses of the population, and cut off the road to independent development and self-defense.

These U.S. sanctions, of course, came hand in hand with the Italian government’s full alignment with U.S. imperialism, NATO and Zionist genocide. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni was among the first officials to flock to Tel Aviv following Al-Aqsa Flood, and to sign a joint declaration with Britain, Germany, and France pledging full support for the Zionist assault on Gaza. Italy is currently imprisoning multiple Palestinian political prisoners, including Anan Yaeesh and Ahmed Salem, and prosecuting Ali Irar and Mansour Doghmosh. Italy has continued to maintain its military and economic trade with the Zionist regime and police have brutally repressed demonstrations throughout the country, despite the widespread mobilization of hundreds of thousands of Italians in support of Palestine, including multiple general strikes targeting military trade and commerce with the occupation. It has remained the third largest arms exporter to “Israel” on the European continent.

In 2024, Hannoun himself was banned from entering the city of Milan by its local government, because he denounced the actions of Zionist football hooligans in Amsterdam and rallied around the youth who defended their communities from the hooligans’ racist attacks; shortly after this ban expired, Milan once again banned him from entering the city because he affirmed the right of the Palestinian people and their resistance to hold collaborators accountable and carry out revolutionary justice immediately following the ceasefire. In response to this most recent ban, the planned demonstration in Milan continued, led by a banner stating “Siamo Tutti Hannoun” — “We are all Hannoun”!

The attack on the Palestinian community in Italy shows clear signs of cooperation with other imperialist powers, as well as with the Zionist regime and its surveillance and “security” forces, with media reports citing the U.S. sanctions and cooperation with the Netherlands and “other European authorities”, as well as with “Israel”. In fact, the allegations against the targeted Palestinians state that the targeted men helped to support associations “declared illegal by Israel.” This is in and of itself an outrageous “allegation,” as “Israel” routinely criminalizes and bans all forms of aid, social support, human rights activism, political organization, community organizing, independent business, health services, agricultural unions, and cultural activities of all kinds among the Palestinian population, as it is actively engaged in a genocide and a criminal colonial occupation against that population and is seeking to secure their expulsion and extermination through isolation, siege and starvation.

Disturbingly, these arrests also come days after the widely criticized visit of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) to the Brothers of Italy conference at Atreju between 6 and 14 December, where he embraced Meloni. Palestinian organizations throughout Italy — including the API led by Hannoun, as well as the Giovani Palestinesi Italia (Palestinian Youth of Italy), the Unione Democratica Arabo-Palestinese and the Movimento Studenti Palestinesi in Italia — denounced Abu Mazen’s attendance, noting that Meloni and her government are being pursued at the ICC for collaboration in the genocide in Gaza at the same time that Abu Mazen is embracing them. They noted that this underlines the ongoing collaboration of the PA with Zionism and imperialism against the Palestinian people, alongside “security coordination” with “Israel” and the repression of the resistance in the West Bank. They called for accountability for Italian complicity in genocide and freedom for the Palestinian political prisoners in Italian jails, and affirmed that the Resistance is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

Meloni, from her widely publicized platform at Atreju, angrily denounced the Palestinian organizations speaking out against Italian complicity, PA collaboration, and Abu Mazen’s betrayal, denouncing these “self-proclaimed” organizations and their “delusional” statement, asking if they are acting “in service of Hamas.” These arrests come one week after Meloni publicly identified these Palestinian community organizations as political enemies.

It is also notable that the arrested Palestinians are specifically being targeted for allegedly aiding the families of martyrs and prisoners with their charitable and humanitarian support. This comes as the Palestinian Authority has massively escalated its own attack on the families of martyrs and prisoners, as well as released prisoners, stripping them of their salaries and financial support, across all factional and political lines, in a joint plan with the U.S. and European imperialist states. In fact, the PA’s escalation of this existing policy against the families of martyrs and prisoners came simultaneously with Abu Mazen’s visit to Italy, and now Palestinians in Italy are being criminalized on the basis of accusations of supporting the same targeted individuals and families — clearly indicating a firm plan and alliance meant to break the steadfastness and resistance of the Palestinian people through economic starvation and siege alongside brutal colonial violence.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network demands the immediate release of Mohammed Hannoun and the detained Palestinians in Italy — including Anan Yaeesh, Ali Irar, Mansour Doghmosh and Ahmed Salem — and the return of the funds of the targeted organizations, as well as a full end to Italian support, complicity, trade and military commerce with the Zionist regime. This is a moment when independent, community-based support for the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, is more urgent than ever, as the Zionist regime, with full U.S. and European imperialist support, is aiming to accomplish what it could not through its genocidal bombs through siege, starvation, the continued closure of the Rafah crossing, and the denial of fundamental needs. The work of these organizations is most desperately needed now — and this is precisely why they have been targeted.

As we noted at the time of Samidoun’s designation:

“Like the Zionist entity fears the Palestinian resistance, so do the imperialist powers fear the Palestinian diaspora and their supporters that have been rising up again and again, especially since the start of operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the Zionist genocide. They fear a strong, popular movement that threatens their economic and political interests in Palestine and the region.”

Once again, the imperialist powers are making clear that they are more than willing to carry out intense repression, criminalization and imprisonment in order to aid and abet genocide. We urge the movement for Palestine — in Italy, throughout Europe, and internationally — to rally around all of the targeted individuals and organizations, and to not allow the tactics of state terror and fear to divide us.

Further, it is long past time for all Palestinian, Lebanese and regional resistance organizations — let alone charitable, community, activist and humanitarian initiatives — to be removed from so-called “terrorist lists” — in Italy, in Europe, in the U.S. and around the world. The Palestinian people, and all occupied peoples, have the right to resist their occupation, to defend themselves, to liberate their land, and to organize to achieve those goals.

For the solidarity movement’s work to be meaningful and effective, it must act to support the Palestinian Resistance organizations — and, indeed, to coordinate with them on the broadest possible level. We must redouble our efforts to escalate our resistance and globalize the intifada in the streets of the cities of the world, for the freedom of all of our prisoners in Zionist and imperialist jails, and for the freedom of Palestine, from the river to the sea.

Samidoun Participates in the Fourth Annual Rawafed Scientific Conference in Baghdad, Iraq

21 December 2025

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network participated in the Rawafed al-Afnan Cultural Organization’s fourth annual scientific conference in Baghdad, Iraq, on 20 December 2025, under the slogan “Al-Aqsa Flood: Remembrance and Continuation.” Samidoun’s international coordinator, Charlotte Kates, presented a paper at the conference, which was widely attended by religious scholars, academics, political figures and media representatives from Iraq, the broader Arab region and internationally.

Among others, the conference was attended by the representative of Imam Khamenei, His Eminence Ayatollah Sayyed Mujtaba al-Husseini; Dr. Osama Hamdan, a leader in Hamas, Islamic Resistance Movement; Dr. Taher al-Nunu, media advisor to the head of the Hamas political bureau; and Qasim al-Araji, the Iraqi national security advisor. Several other official and diplomatic figures were also present, including the ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, as well as media figures, intellectuals, and youth representatives from various Iraqi provinces. Researchers and academics from Canada, Lebanon, Morocco, Yemen, Jordan, Palestine, and Iraq also participated in the conference.

Charlotte Kates presented a comprehensive research paper that addressed “The International Popular Cradle of Resistance and the Impact of the Al-Aqsa Flood on Solidarity Movements with Palestine,” which focused on the irrevocable changes to the world made by Al-Aqsa Flood, emphasized the significant growth not only in outrage at “Israel” and its genocide but also support for the resistance in Palestine and throughout the region, noted the role of the U.S. and Western imperialist powers in the genocide as well as in state repression to target this growing movement, and called for international action and mobilization to confront the attempts to “disarm” the resistance militarily, politically and intellectually in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Iran and beyond.

She concluded, “This campaign seeks to render the Palestinian people defenseless, while allowing the Zionist entity to retain and expand its military capacity, nuclear arsenal, and unchecked license to wage war. International solidarity must therefore become a counter-force to this disarmament project. Our task internationally is to become—through organization, clarity and action—popular weapons for the Resistance.”

Scholars and academics Dr. Ali Hamieh, Dr. Omar Hamed, Nour Ali and Harith Ali also delivered papers addressing various aspects of Al-Aqsa Flood and the strategic perspective for the future. The presentation of research was directed by Dr. Bushra al-Zuwaini, head of the Scientific Committee of the Rawafed Organization conference.

In his speech at the conference, Mohammed al-Hamad, president of the Rawafed Organization, reviewed the role of the Al-Aqsa Flood in uniting the peoples of the world, and emphasized that a strong, just future for Iraq requires a focus on the Palestinian cause: “The enemy creates death to expand, while resistance creates life so that the region can rise with sovereignty, dignity, and prosperity,” he noted.

Sayyed Mujtaba al-Husseini, representative of Iman Khamenei, emphasized the need to unify efforts to confront the challenges ahead, noting the pivotal role of Al-Aqsa Flood in opening a new moment for unity and struggle towards victory.

Dr. Osama Hamdan emphasized that study, research and knowledge are important in charting the paths forward in the next stage, noting that the resistance continues and the Al-Aqsa Flood continues, until liberation, as the resistance will not abandon its goals in the face of an enemy of humanity.

The conference concluded with the presentation of honors to the sons of the martyrs Abu Baqir al-Saadi and Imad Mughniyyeh. The participating researchers were honored for their intellectual contributions with awards featuring the image of Palestinian leader Yahya Sinwar at the iconic moment of his martyrdom confronting occupation forces in Gaza.

Jordanian arrest of journalist Mohamed Faraj is a blatant attack on free Arab media

20 December 2025

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network denounces in the strongest terms the Jordanian authorities’ arrest of Al-Mayadeen TV journalist Mohammed Faraj and his arbitrary detention for more than a week without any declared legal justification, and without revealing his place of detention or the charges against him. This is a dangerous step that affects the most basic public freedoms and the freedom of journalistic work, coming atop ongoing arrests and repression targeting those working for freedom and justice for Palestine..

Journalist Mohammed Faraj was arrested upon his arrival at Amman airport and taken to interrogation; his family and his wife, media personality Rana Abi Jomaa, have been prevented from visiting him or checking on his condition. This constitutes a flagrant violation of Jordan’s constitution and laws, and a direct attack on the dignity of the press and its role in conveying the truth.

This arbitrary arrest comes in the context of policies of silencing, repression and targeting free Arab media voices, especially those supporting the Palestinian cause carried out by “Israel,” imperialist Western powers, and Arab reactionary regimes. This is a policy of the Zionist project as is evident in the assassination of hundreds of Palestinian journalists in Gaza. This targeting of journalists because of their positions and professional work documenting and exposing the crimes of the occupation is a desperate attempt to break the power and strength of the free word. It further comes amid ongoing arrests, criminalization and imprisonment in Jordan of those who stand with, organize for, and act to liberate Palestine.

We call for the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Mohamed Faraj, urgent disclosure of his place of detention and his health and legal status, enabling his family and lawyer to visit him immediately without restrictions, and stopping all forms of harassment and prosecution against journalists and media professionals.

We further call upon on Jordanian and Arab media institutions, press unions, human rights institutions, national forces and intellectuals to assume their responsibilities, raise their voices loudly in solidarity with writer and journalist Mohammed Faraj, and manifest serious pressure to end this arbitrary detention, in defense of freedom of the press and the right of peoples to know the truth.

Fighting racism and repression in Belgium: Husam is free after 50 days in detention

23 November 2025

A statement from Samidoun Belgium

Upon receiving refugee status in Belgium, Husam has finally been freed. Arrested on 29th of September after the daily protest at the bourse, Husam has spent 50 days in a closed detention center. His arrest was part of a broader wave of repression against the Palestine solidarity movement in Belgium. Husam was among eleven Palestinians violently arrested, of whom eight were taken to closed detention centers despite being in ongoing asylum processes.

Out of the eight Palestinians who were arrested and taken to closed detention centers, only Fathi Alhams, Ali Abu Taha and Mahmoud Abu Hadayed remain. Two others, Anas and Hamouda, have been deported to Greece, while Mahmoud Faraj Allah died a martyr within the walls of the closed detention center 127bis in Steenokkerzeel.

The use of closed detention centers and threat of deportation continues the Arizona coalition’s aim to ‘institute the strictest migration policy ever’, expanding on previous governments’ persecution of undocumented migrants. Using a combination of new laws, policies, and unlawful police interventions, this has led to a severe increase in expulsions of squats for undocumented migrants, the expansion of detention centers, increased deportations, and continuous flagrant violations of the right to asylum.

Let there be no mistake. The politicians behind this policy, the bureaucrats who keep it in place, and the police who enforce it, are all directly responsible for the violence of the last months. From the death of Mahmoud Ezzat Farag Allah, to the violent expulsion of 70 undocumented migrants from Zone Neutre.

While we celebrate the release of Husam, we will not stop mobilizing until Fathi, Ali and Mahmoud are freed.

We will not stop taking to the streets until every single closed detention center has been dismantled, and the Belgian state abandon its persecution of undocumented migrants.

We will not rest until we get justice for Mahmoud, Fabian, Christophe, Sourour, Mehdi, Imad, Adel, Sabrina, Ouassim, and everyone else murdered by the racist and violent Belgian state.

Ni oubli, ni pardon — we do not forget or forgive.

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