2 October, NYC: Protest to free Ahmad Sa’adat and Stop HP

30 September 2017

Monday, 2 October
5:00 pm
Best Buy Union Square
52 E. 14th St, NYC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/129823674413224/

Ahmad Sa’adat is the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. One of over 6,000 Palestinian political prisoners, he has been sentenced to thirty years in Israeli prisons for a range of “security-related” political offenses. These charges include membership in a prohibited organization (the PFLP, of which Sa’adat is General Secretary), holding a post in a prohibited organization, and incitement, for a speech Sa’adat made following the Israeli assassination of his predecessor, Abu Ali Mustafa, in August 2001.

Sa’adat is a prisoner of conscience, targeted for imprisonment because of his political activity and in his capacity as a Palestinian leader. The systematic assassination, imprisonment and detention of Palestinian political leaders has long been a policy of the Israeli state, as reflected in the imprisonment of Sa’adat and over a dozen other members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, including Marwan Barghouthi, as well as the over 6,000 Palestinian political prisoners, targeted for their involvement in and commitment to the struggle for the liberation of their land and people.

Born in 1953, Sa’adat is the child of refugees expelled from their home in the village of Deir Tarif, near Ramleh, in 1948. A math teacher by training, he is married to Abla Sa’adat, herself a noted activist, and is the father of four children. Abla Sa’adat was herself arrested and detained for four months, and prevented from leaving Palestine to speak about Palestinian rights at an international conference. He has been involved in the Palestinian national movement since 1967, when he became active in the student movement. Prior to his abduction from Jericho in 2006, he had been held at various times as a political prisoner in Israeli jails, for a total of ten years. Sa’adat was elected General Secretary of the PFLP in 2001, following the Israeli assassination of then-General Secretary Abu Ali Mustafa in his office in Ramallah on August 27, 2001.

Sa’adat had been held in a Palestinian Authority prison for over four years, and, in January 2006, elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council on the Abu Ali Mustafa slate, when on March 14, 2006, the Israeli military stormed that prison at Jericho, abducting Sa’adat and five fellow prisoners and taking them to Israeli military prisons. For the entire period of Sa’adat’s imprisonment in the PA jails, he had been convicted of no crime. His sentencing – in an illegitimate military court of occupation, on December 25, 2008 – came nearly seven years into his detention, after a trial that began after five years of PA/US/British, then Israeli, imprisonment.

This trial was, of course, a military trial, as are the trials of nearly all Palestinian political prisoners, presided over by three military judges, two of which are not required to have any legal background. These trials are based on military law, including military regulations that may be issued at any time by the Israeli military commander over the area. This military rule under occupation dates from the era of the British occupation of Palestine, in which these “emergency” military rules were adopted in order to suppress the Palestinian national movement for independence and self-determination. These military laws continue today for the same purpose – to continue a military occupation and suppress the indigenous people of Palestine’s struggle for liberation and self-determination. Such military trials generally fail to uphold international standards for fair trials. At a more basic level, they are an illegitimate manifestation of an illegitimate system – trials that, by their very nature, can never be fair or legitimate.

Sa’adat is the child of 1948 refugees who, with six million others in Palestine, in the camps outside Palestine and in exile around the world, are denied their right to return to their homes, lands and properties and denied their right to organize, struggle and act to obtain their freedom, their return and their liberation.

Stand with Sa’adat and demand that Israel release him, twelve other imprisoned members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and all 6,279 Palestinian political prisoners and end its occupation of Palestinian land, and that Hewlett Packard companies end their contracts with Israeli prisons and detention centers, occupation and security forces, and checkpoints and settlements.

Help build a growing international campaign to boycott HP over the companies’ support for Israeli crimes.

Support the Palestinian people, the Palestinian prisoners, the Palestinian Resistance, and the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.

Mohammed Khalaf released after 12 years, urges attention to veteran prisoners’ struggle for freedom

28 September 2017

Mohammed Khalaf (Abu Tahrir), from the village of Jatt in the northern Triangle area in occupied Palestine ’48, was released after 12 years in Israeli prisons on Sunday, 24 September. Upon his release, he brought a message from the veteran prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons urging that their issue be taken up as a priority as part of the process of reconciliation and national unity.

“I spent 12 years in captivity. At the time of my release, my brothers sent me with a message to the entire Palestinian people that the issue of the veteran prisoners must be brought forward strongly and clearly and not left to the ‘good will’ of the occupation,” he said. Seized in 2005, Khalaf was accused of communicating with “the enemy” and supporting Palestinian resistance. He is a member of the Central Committee of the Abna’a el-Balad movement, a progressive Palestinian movement in occupied Palestine ’48.

Hundreds welcomed him to his home village in a festival organized by the Abnaa el-Balad Movement with the Higher Follow-Up Committee, the Freedoms Committee and the Committee on Prisoners on Tuesday, 26 September. The event included cultural presentations and political speeches; Raja Ighbarieh of Abnaa el-Balad delivered the main speech at the event.

During the celebration, he presented an appeal from the long-time prisoner Walid Daqqa made on behalf of the veteran prisoners and those from occupied Palestine 48, urging that the Palestinian resistance and the Hamas Movement include these prisoners in an exchange deal and demanding that PA president Mahmoud Abbas reject negotiations without the release of prisoners, including the pre-Oslo prisoners who have served over 24 years in Israeli jails.

Daqqa’s statement emphasized that the Israeli state has repeatedly refused to release Palestinian prisoners from occupied Palestine ’48 in exchanges with Palestinian and Lebanese resistance factions, especially since 1985, deeming them to be an “internal issue.” There are currently 153 Palestinian prisoners from occupied Palestine ’48 in Israeli jails.

In 2014, the Israeli occupation had pledged to release a fourth batch of pre-Oslo prisoners on 29 March 2014 as part of “negotiations” with the PA under U.S. auspices. However, the Israeli occupation refused to complete the release and those 30 prisoners remain in Israeli jails today.

The list of pre-Oslo prisoners held in Israeli jails today is:

1. Karim Younes, held since 6 January 1983
2. Maher Younes, held since 18 January 1983
3. Walid Daqqa, held since 25 February 1986
4. Ibrahim Abu Mokh, held since 24 March 1986
5. Rushdi Abu Mokh, held since 24 March 1986
6. Ibrahim Bayadseh, held since 26 March 1986
7. Ahmed Ali Abu Jaber, held since 8 July 1986
8. Ibrahim Mahmoud Abu Na’emah, since 20 October 1986
9. Mohammed Adel Daoud, since 8 December 1987
10. Bashir Abdallah al-Khatib, since 1 January 1988
11. Mahmoud Othman Jabarin, since 8 October 1988
12. Juma’ Ibrahim ‘Adam, since 31 October 1988
13. Mahmoud Salim Abu Kharabish, since 31 October 1988
14. Samer Saleh Sarsawi, since 24 November 1988
15. Raed Mohammed al-Saadi, since 28 August 1989
16. Fares Ahmad Baroud, since 23 March 1991
17. Ibrahim Hassan Ighbarieh, since 26 February 1992
18. Mohammed Said Ighbarieh, since 26 February 1992
19. Yahya Mustafa Ighbarieh, since 4 March 1992
20. Mohammed Tawfiq Jabarin, since 1 April 1992
21. Diaa Zakaria al-Falouji, since 12 October 1992
22. Mohammed Fawzi Fallah, since 29 November 1992
23. Hassan Hassan Abu Srour, since 4 January 1993
24. Mahmoud Jamil Abu Srour, since 5 January 1993
25. Mohammed Yousef Shamasneh, since 12 November 1993
26. Abdel-Jawad Yousef Shamasneh, since 12 November 1993
27. Alaa el-Din Fahmi al-Karaki, since 17 December 1993
28. Mahmoud Musa Issa, since 3 June 1993
29. Nayel Rafiq Salhab, since 27 September 1993
30. Mohammed Ahmed al-Tuss, since 6 October 1985

Jordanian youth activist Rakan Hiasat imprisoned for 15 days for political expression

28 September 2017

Jordanian youth activist Rakan Hiasat is currently imprisoned for 15 days because of a parliamentarian’s complaint that he posted a critical cartoon about her political positions. Hiasat, an activist with the leftist Wihda Party (Jordanian People’s Democratic Unity Party), is one of the foremost student and youth activists against normalization with Israel in Jordan; he was one of the organizers of a planned protest against the Jordanian “gas deal” with the Israeli occupation in the coming days when he was arrested.

He is imprisoned on a complaint by Jordanian MP Dima Tahboub because he posted a political cartoon depicting her as an ancient warrior on a horse carrying a sword after she supported security personnel invading student spaces and cracking down on restaurants serving food during Ramadan. Tahboub is known for her advocacy of right-wing political positions in Jordan, including arguing for the banning of musical concerts by Mashrou’ Leila.

Tahboub also pursued charges against two young women and three university students for “liking” or “sharing” the cartoon on Facebook, who are currently being investigated for potential “electronic crimes.”

Dr. Fakhir Daas of the Wihda Party said that it was absurd for Tahboub to file complaints against Jordanian citizens, as she is a public figure and a member of parliament who will be criticized by the public.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network denounces the jailing of Rakan Hiasat and the investigation of young people for “electronic crimes” for posting on Facebook and demand his immediate release. We extend our full solidarity and support to the movement against the Jordanian-Israeli gas deal of which he is a leader and join the call for the immediate cancellation of this deal for stolen Palestinian natural resources.

Palestinian youth activist ordered to six months in administrative detention; Israeli occupation terror continues in Dheisheh

28 September 2017

Palestinian youth activist Saleh al-Jaidi, from the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem, was ordered on Thursday, 28 September to six months’ imprisonment without charge or trial under an administrative detention order.

He was seized on Friday, 22 September by Israeli occupation forces who invaded and ransacked his family home in a pre-dawn raid. He was previously imprisoned three times, twice before in administrative detention in 2010 and 2015. He was jailed for three years after another arrest by occupation forces in 2011.

Al-Jaidi is a well-known youth activist in the camp; his brother, Yazan, is also imprisoned by Israeli occupation forces.

Meanwhile, the infamous “Captain Nidal,” the pseudonym used by an as-yet-unnamed Israeli occupation military commander, has continued to be the name under which the Israeli occupation carries out its ongoing campaign of terror and destruction in Dheisheh.

“Nidal” is known for calling multiple youth in Dheisheh and threatening to make “all of you disabled” – followed by repeated serious injuries caused by Israeli occupation forces shooting camp youth in the legs during protests or night-time “arrest raids.” He also threatened Raed al-Salhi to “shoot him in front of [his] mother,” shortly before al-Salhi was shot by occupation forces in Dheisheh camp on 9 August. Salhi, 22, an active youth in the camp known for both his political dedication to the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and his community-minded volunteer spirit, died from his injuries on 3 September.

“Nidal” is now calling the family members of Akram al-Atrash, a youth from the camp who was shot in the arm and the chest with live fire by Israeli occupation forces when they invaded the camp on 4 April. He remains injured and currently faces several dangerous operations that imperil his life. “Nidal’s” phone calls are threatening his family members that if they allow Akram in their homes, the occupation will attack them, kill him and demolish their homes. The family issued an appeal through the Dheisheh al-Hadath facebook page urging international attention to the ongoing occupation reign of terror in Dheisheh. While the pseudonym is used to deliver these threats, they are not an individual effort; instead, they reflect an institutionalized campaign of the Israeli military to suppress the active youth of the camp through killing, maiming, imprisonment and threats.

*Photo: Akram Al-Atrash, via Dheisheh al-Hadath*

These threatening phone calls came two days after occupation forces attacked several homes of the al-Atrash family in the camp’s al-Walaja neighborhood and held his cousin, Rami, for several hours. So-called “Captain Nidal” threatened to hold him as a hostage until Akram surrendered; however, Rami was released several hours later and the attacks on the al-Atrash family are continuing.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network reiterates its demand for the immediate release of Saleh al-Jaidi, demands an end to the attacks on the al-Atrash family and Palestinian youth in Dheisheh, and urges greater international mobilization against the ongoing invasions, attacks and arrests directed at Palestinian youth. We urge the freedom of all 6,200 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and we demand that “Captain Nidal,” as well as the Israeli occupation commanders and officials that authorize his threats and terror against the youth of Dheisheh be held accountable and prosecuted for his crimes.

Three Palestinian prisoners suspend hunger strikes

28 September 2017

Three Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have suspended their strikes in agreements on Wednesday and Thursday, 27 and 28 September. Anas Shadid, 21, launched his hunger strike when he was moved into isolation in Hadarim prison and continued the strike for 15 days until suspending it on Thursday morning, 28 September. Israeli prison officials have confirmed that he will be returned to the general prison population. Shadid is held without charge or trial under a 6-month administrative detention order; in June 2017, he was re-arrested only weeks after being released from an earlier term in administrative detention. His earlier release was secured through a 90-day hunger strike.

In addition, Izzedine Amarneh, 55, from the village of Ya’bed south of Jenin, also suspended his hunger strike on Thursday morning, 28 September. Amarneh, who is blind and held without charge or trial in administrative detention, launched his strike for 11 days after being ordered imprisoned without charge or trial and held in isolation. He will be returned from isolation to the general prison population in Megiddo prison. Amarneh has spent six years in total in Israeli occupation prisons through various arrests.

In addition, Ahmad al-Sawarka, 33, originally from northern Sinai but who was living in Gaza at the time of his arrest in 2009, suspended his hunger strike on Wednesday, 27 September. Sawarka’s sentence expired one year ago yet he has remained imprisoned for a full year as Israeli occupation forces failed to either deport him to Egypt or allow him to return to Gaza. He suspended his strike due to a promise by the prison administration to deport him to Egypt next week.

Two Jerusalemite women ordered to house arrest; Abu Sharar released after two months imprisonment

28 September 2017

*Khadija Khweis and Hanadi Halawani. Photo: Handala Center for Prisoners*

Two Palestinian Jerusalemite women, Khadija Khweis and Hanadi Halawani, were released by the Israeli occupation on Wednesday, 27 September, ordered to 14 days of house arrest and barred from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque grounds for one month. Both also were forbidden from entering the West Bank or traveling abroad for six months and fined 5000 NIS ($1400 USD).

The two women are both tutors and very involved in campaigns to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque from settler harassment and incursions as well as “security” initiatives of occupation forces to control Palestinian holy sites in Jerusalem.

On Tuesday, 26 September, the minor girl Sally Shawwa, 14, from the village of Anata in Jerusalem was released by Israeli occupation forces after being jailed for several days. She was ordered held under house arrest for one week in Beit Hanina and forbidden from returning to Anata during that time. In addition, her family paid bail of 500 NIS ($140 USD). Sally was with her mother on the bus in Shuafat when the bus was stopped by occupation forces who seized the young girl and accused her of threatening to carry out a stabbing. She was held in the Moskobiyeh interrogation center for several days. Her release in and of itself demonstrates the weakness of the charges, as children from Jerusalem charged with attempted stabbings of Israeli occupation soldiers, border guards and settlers have been sentenced to extraordinarily high sentences of 10 years and over.

In addition, on Wednesday evening, 27 September, Sabreen Abu Sharar, 28, a doctor from the village of Dura who is also a U.S. citizen, was released after two months and numerous continued hearings in Israeli military courts. She had previously been imprisoned for 18 months in occupation prisons, where she was elected the representative of women prisoners in Damon prison. After her release, she made plans to travel to the United States and became engaged to marry a Palestinian medical student from Gaza, studying in the U.S. When she sought permission to travel abroad following her release, she was instead seized by occupation forces on 26 July 2017.

There are currently approximately 58 Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli jails, among 6200 total Palestinian prisoners. 10 of these are minor girls, and five are held without charge or trial under administrative detention. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses its solidarity with Palestinian women prisoners and urges their immediate release.

30 September, Bordeaux: Concert in Support of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah

27 September 2017

Saturday, 30 September
8:30 pm
Inglourious Barstar
4 place Andre Meunier
Bordeaux
More information: https://sd-5b.archive-host.com/membres/up/29b72e7b8387d2014690b4aea20c293508c66477/docs/GA_Bx_2017.pdf

Concert of support and improvisations, as well as an open poetry and performance slam on the subject of imprisonment.

Organized by Le Collectif Libérons Georges 33

Free admission, donations welcome

Crowds pack European Parliament conference on Palestinian women with Leila Khaled, Sahar Francis and Ahed Tamimi

27 September 2017

The European Parliament in Brussels was home to a conference on the role of women in the Palestinian popular struggle on Tuesday, 26 September, featuring Palestinian women actively engaged in the liberation movement: resistance icon Leila Khaled of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Sahar Francis of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and Ahed Tamimi of the Popular Resistance Committees.

It should also be noted that Francis and Addameer are the lawyers of imprisoned Palestinian leftist parliamentarian, Khalida Jarrar. Jarrar was a fellow invitee to this conference before she was seized by Israeli occupation forces on 2 July along with fellow prominent Palestinian woman leader Khitam Saafin, the president of the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees. The images of Jarrar and Saafin, along with those of Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Marwan Barghouthi, imprisoned Fateh leader, were highlighted on the main banner at the event, which read: “Existir es Resistir: Freedom” (Existence is Resistance: Freedom).

A photo of Jarrar was placed on the main speakers’ table in front of an empty chair beside Manu Pineda of Unadikum, the chair of Middle East affairs of the Communist Party of Spain. Parliamentarians Angela Vallina and Javier Couso, both of Izquierda Unida, both spoke at the conference from the main panel.

The event was organized by the Spanish delegation of Izquierda Unida (United Left) as part of the GUE/NGL (European United Left/Nordic Green Left) bloc in the European Parliament and the Unadikum Brigades of Spain, along with Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Addameer and the BDS movement.

Hundreds of people, including Palestinian community activists in Belgium, solidarity organizers from a number of groups, organizations and campaigns and European parliamentarians attended the event. As Pour la Palestine, the website of the Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine noted, the conference did not only highlight solidarity with Palestine, “but also with Venezuela, Cuba, and all peoples fighting oppression in the world.” The ambassador of Venezuela, Claudia Salermo Calmera, participated in the event, as did MEP Martina Anderson, former Irish political prisoner and Sinn Fein representative.

During the conference, Leila Khaled emphasized the importance of building the international boycott of Israel and international isolation of the occupation. “We must unite the peoples of the world under the banner of freedom and bring together all popular movements that resist oppression. The Nazis were tried in Nuremberg for their crimes. Today, Israel is experiencing impunty. You must bring the war criminals to justice and tell your governments that they must cease all cooperation with the Zionist state,” she said.

Tamimi also emphasized the importance of the boycott, noting that “The world must recognize the Palestinian cause. The occupation is not only the theft of land. We oppose racism, Zionism, the entire system of occupation and not only the settlements. We do not want your pity, we want freedom!”

Francis spoke about the situation of prisoners, including the cases of Khalida Jarrar, Salah Hamouri and other imprisoned Palestinians, including parliamentarians and human rights defenders. She urged pressure on governments to take action for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

All of the speakers were greeted with a standing ovation, and multiple participants participated in the question-and-answer dialogue following the main presentations. Several MEPs as well as Tahsin Zaki of the Palestinian Community of Belgium and Luxembourg, Michel Collon of InvestigAction, Pierre Stambul of the French Jewish Union for Peace and others participated in the active discussion.

The conference had come under attack by Zionist organizations that attempted to demand that the European Parliament’s president silence the event; however, the event was large, filled to capacity and highly successful with strong interest from parliamentarians and advocates alike.

Leila Khaled will continue her visit to Europe and will speak in Madrid on 30 September at the Communist Party of Spain’s Fiesta at 6:00 pm, along with Manu Pineda and representatives of Spain’s BDS and Palestine solidarity movements.

29 September, Montreuil: Free Salah Hamouri

27 September 2017

Friday, 29 September
8:00 pm
salle Republique
59Bis Rue Barbes (metro Robespierre L9)
93100 Montreuil, France
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2056769411223432/

The Montreuil Palestine committee invites you to an evening of solidarity for the freedom of Salah Hamouri, on Friday, 29 September, with speakers: Elsa Lefort-Hamouri, Youcef Brakni, Alima Boumediene and Yasser Qous, with the presence of the parliamentarian for Montreuil-Bagnolet, Corinne Benabdallah.

Salah Hamouri, a French-Palestinian citizen and lawyer who works as a field researcher for Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, has been imprisoned by Israel since 23 August. He was ordered to administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial, an order confirmed on 18 September. He is a victim of Israel’s all-out attacks on Palestinian resistance. Let us demand that the French authorities stop their silent complicity and reject Israeli impunity!

Le comité Montreuil Palestine vous invite à une soirée de soutien pour réclamer la Liberté pour Salah Hamouri Vendredi 29 septembre à partir de 20h salle République, 59Bis Rue Barbès (métro Robespierre L9)

avec comme intervenants: Elsa Lefort-Hamouri, Youcef Brakni, Alima Boumediene et Yasser Qous.

En présence de la députée suppléante de la circonscription Montreuil-Bagnolet Corinne Benabdallah.

Salah Hamouri, citoyen franco-palestinien, avocat, engagé auprès de l’association Addammer de défense des prisonniers palestiniens et des droits humains, a été arrêté le 23 août. Placé en détention administrative le 18 septembre, sans inculpation ni jugement, il est victime de l’acharnement d’Israël contre les résistants palestiniens. Exigeons des autorités françaises qu’elles sortent de leur silence complice. Refusons l’impunité d’Israël!

30 September, NYC: Welcome Rev. Edward Pinkney to NYC

27 September 2017

Saturday, 30 September
4:00 pm
Solidarity Center NYC
147 W. 24th St, NYC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/348073458950508/

You are invited to a reception and meeting to welcome Rev. Edward Pinkney to New York City

“The Rev. Edward Pinkney is the kind of preacher that Martin Luther King Jr. would have admired. Rather than build a mansion and live like a prince, Pinkney has, for years, advocated for his community, fighting for water rights, fair elections and social justice for the people of Benton Harbor, Mich.”

– Political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, Jan. 25, 2016.

Rev. Pinkney was imprisoned on trumped-up charges of falsifying signatures on a petition to recall the mayor of Benton Harbor, James Hightower in 2007. The case, which went to the Michigan Court of Appeals, concluded when the court decided no evidence was necessary to convict Pinkney, and that his past organizing work created suspicion of motive to forge dates on the petition. This grievous miscarriage of justice was merely a front to attempt to murder Pinkney, a Black man in his 60s, via incarceration. Rev. Pinkney was released on June 13, 2017 after spending 30 months in prison following a massive campaign to win his freedom in Michigan and elsewhere.

The International Action Center, New Abolitionist Movement
and Free Mumia Coalition (NYC) are honored to host this event
for this inspiring freedom fighter’s visit to New York.

RSVP and send your organization’s endorsement to iacenter@iacenter.org by Thursday, Sept. 28.

Wine, cheese and other refreshments will be provided starting at 4PM. Program starts at 4:30.

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