Solidarity in Toulouse with Maher al-Akhras and all Palestinian prisoners

26 August 2023

On Friday, 25 August, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra — a member organization of the Samidoun Network based in Toulouse, France — organized a Palestine Stand at the Bagatelle metro station in Toulouse. This action is part of the mobilization to free the 5,100 Palestinian men, women and children unjustly detained by the Israeli occupation, including over 1,200 in administrative detention: imprisonment without charge or trial, indefinitely renewable.

???? En direct du marché de Bagatelle à Toulouse, stand de solidarité avec la Palestine et pour la libération de l’ensemble des prisonniers palestiniens. En particulier, les personnes présentes apportent leur soutien aux grévistes de la faim dont Maher al-Akhras.#FreeThemAll pic.twitter.com/JkqfGerv2a

— Collectif Palestine Vaincra (@Collectif_PV) August 25, 2023

Raising awareness in the neighbourhood about the Palestinian prisoners and the Palestinian liberation struggle, organizers raised banners and posters calling for the release of all Palestinian prisoners, including Georges Abdallah, the Lebanese Arab struggler for Palestine imprisoned in France for 39 years. On 21 October, a mass demonstration in Lannemezan — outside the prison where he is held — will demand his release. The Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, is mobilizing for all supporters of Palestine to attend the demonstration, which is organized annually by a wide coalition of groups in France.

Activists at the stand informed passers-by about the major wave of resistance taking place in the colonial jails, as the Zionist authorities increase their attacks on prisoners and engage in mass arrests targeting Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem and occupied Palestine ’48. They displayed the portraits of the 11 hunger strikers acting to resist administrative detention and punitive measures, reaffirming that their struggle is ours, against colonialism and apartheid.

Among them is Palestinian leader Maher al-Akhras, who was arrested on 23 October by the occupation forces and launched an immediate hunger strike, just as he did when he was arrested in 2020. He is an important figure in the Palestinian prisoners’ movement who won his last release from administrative detention in 2020 with a 103-day hunger strike that received broad international support, including in the Bagatelle neighbourhood.

???? Depuis Toulouse en France, le Collectif Palestine Vaincra appelle à développer la solidarité avec l’ensemble des prisonniers palestiniens, notamment ceux en grève de la faim comme Maher al-Akhras ! Vive la résistance palestinienne !#FreeThemAll pic.twitter.com/sJaFE3uvSg

— Collectif Palestine Vaincra (@Collectif_PV) August 25, 2023

The stand also highlighted the case of Walid Daqqah, Palestinian intellectual and freedom fighter who is battling cancer in a prison of the Israeli occupation regime. His release has been repeatedly denied despite the grave danger to his life.

A number of passers-by took solidarity photos to show their support and emphasize that the hunger strikers are not alone and can rely on popular international solidarity.

Participants in the stand also distributed hundreds of flyers to call for a boycott of fruits and vegetables “made in apartheid,” grown on stolen Palestinian land, especially to indicate the importance of mobilizing in our local communities against the Zionist project and its accomplices.

Even the outdoor market and the Aldi store in the neighbourhood regularly sell citrus fruits or mangoes that come from Israeli agribusiness conglomerates that exploit Palestinian land, resources and labour. Refusing to buy these products is refusing to participate in supporting the economy of colonialism and exploitation. Many people were eager to learn about this campaign and stopped by the stand to collect free stickers and flyers, including about the campaign to boycott sports equipment manufacturer Puma and pharmaceutical company Teva.

The Collectif Palestine Vaincra regularly organizes actions and various initiatives to support the Palestinian people and their resistance in Toulouse. Do not hesitate to contact us if you wish to participate and to follow us on our various social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram , TikTok and Telegram).

25 August, Toulouse: Stand Palestine – Boycott Israel, Free all Palestinian Prisoners!

23 August 2023

Friday, 25 August
9 am to 11 am
Bagatelle Metro
Toulouse, France

The Collectif Palestine Vaincra is organizing a Palestine Stand this Friday as part of the mobilization to demand the release of the 5,000 men, women and children detained by the Israeli occupation.

For several weeks, a wave of resistance has been growing in the prisons of the Israeli occupation as the colonial authorities increase their attacks on prisoners and massively arrest Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem and in Palestine ’48. In particular, several prisoners are on hunger strike to denounce administrative detention — imprisonment without charge or trial — which currently affects 1,200 prisoners, as well as the isolation and transfer measures practiced against them. Today, international solidarity is an indispensable weapon to support all the Palestinian prisoners who embody the resistance of an entire people fighting for the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea. In this context, we must work especially to build the campaign to boycott Israel and corporations complicit in occupation, colonization and apartheid!

24 August, the Netherlands: Free Amin Abu Rashed! Press Conference

23 August 2023

Press Conference: Thursday, 24 August 2023

18:00 (6 pm)

Location tba – contact the Palestinian Community of the Netherlands (https://www.facebook.com/Palestijnsegemeenschap.nl) or the convenors on WhatsApp (+31638496427) for details.

Press conference on the arrest and detention of Palestinian activist Amin Abu Rashed by the Dutch government.

Speakers:

Amin’s lawyer
Amin Abu Rashed’s wife
Dutch activist Oscar, the spokesperson for Amin’s campaign

Through the following platforms and other platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/Palestijnsegemeenschap.nl

European Palestinian Information Center EPAL

https://www.facebook.com/TheEuropeanPalestinianMediaCenter

Maher al-Akhras, former long-term hunger striker, seized by occupation forces; launches immediate hunger strike

22 August 2023

Occupation forces seized Palestinian leader Maher al-Akhras, a former prisoner and long-term hunger striker whose 103-day hunger strike won his freedom and galvanized Palestinian, Arab and international support, from his home in Silat al-Dhahr, south of Jenin, in the early morning hours of 23 August 2023. His family announced that he had immediately launched a hunger strike upon his arrest to demand his immediate release. The immediate launch of his hunger strike recalls that of Sultan Khallouf — currently on strike in occupation prisons — and of Sheikh Khader Adnan, the martyr of the prisoners’ movement whose life was taken on 2 May after 86 days of hunger strike.

The arrest of Maher al-Akhras came together with a widespread arrest campaign throughout the West Bank of occupied Palestine conducted by Israeli occupation forces. In the late night of 22 August and the early morning of 23 August, occupation forces seized at least 14 Palestinians, including former prisoner (and the son of imprisoned Hamas leader Nazih Abu Aoun) Islam Abu Aoun from Jaba, south of Jenin; Najm Mahmoud Fashafsha, Ezz Abdel-Salam Ghanem, both also from Jaba; Sadiq Abu al-Khair, a leader in the Islamic Jihad Movement, from Silat al-Harthiya near Jenin; Mahmoud Freihat, from Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin; Bilal Shayyeh, from Tal, west of Nablus; Ihsan al-Rimawi, from Beit Rima; Ameed Hijazi from Nablus, a student at An-Najah University recently detained by the Palestinian Authority; former prisoner Said Bakr Bilal from Nablus; Abed Arar, from Beit Ummar, north of al-Khalil; Sheikh Ammar Manna from Izbat al-Jarad, near Tulkarem; Amer Ashraf Abdel-Ghani and Ahmed Shafiq Abdel-Ghani, from Saida, near Tulkarem. Ahmed Shafiq Abdel-Ghani is the son of a martyr, Shafiq Abdel-Ghani, and a released prisoner, and Amer is his cousin.

Al-Akhras joins 10 fellow Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. Eight are on hunger strike against administrative detention: Kayed Fasfous and Sultan Khallouf, for 21 days (both former long-term hunger strikers who won their freedom through battles of steadfastness during previous periods of administrative detention); Osama Daqrouq, for 18 days; Anas Kamil, Mohammed Zakarneh, Zuhdi Abido and Abdel-Rahman Baraqa, for 14 days; and Saif al-Din Diab, for 4 days. They are demanding an end to their imprisonment without charge or trial; they are among 1200 Palestinians jailed arbitrarily with no charge or trial, nearly one-fourth of the Palestinian prisoners in total, who are nearly 5,000. Maher al-Akhras was previously jailed under administrative detention in his lengthy strike in the year 2000.

Also on hunger strike for the past 10 says are Islam Bani Shamsa, in protest of his arbitrary transfer to Ramon prison; arbitrary transfer is frequently used by the Israeli occupation to disrupt Palestinian prisoners’ lives. Hatem al-Qawasmeh is on hunger strike for 10 days to demand his reunification with his fellow imprisoned brother, Hazem al-Qawasmeh.

Sheikh Khader Adnan at Ramallah protest to free Maher al-Akhras in 2020, organized by Samidoun Palestine and student activists.

Al-Akhras is married to Taghreed al-Akhras, and he is the father of six children. His last hunger strike drew widespread support and solidarity: Artists, activists, parliamentarians join rolling hunger strikes in solidarity with Maher al-Akhras: Samidoun España; Anti-Imperialist Front launches solidarity strike for Maher al-Akhras; Irish activists announce solidarity hunger strike for Maher al-Akhras. This came especially after images of his emaciated body in Kaplan hospital were shared around the world. The occupation has been actively attempting to prevent Palestinian hunger strikers from being transferred to civilian hospitals in order to prevent these images from reaching the broader public — a deadly policy, as seen in the case of Khader Adnan.

Since his release, he has become an even more prominent spokesperson representing the views of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, who regularly speaks about and attends events in support of Palestinian prisoners.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network condemns the arrest of Maher al-Akhras and his fellow Palestinian prisoners, and we urge all supporters of Palestine to take action to support the hunger strikers and all Palestinian prisoners struggling for freedom, for their own lives and for the Palestinian people. These sons of the Palestinian popular masses are confronting the system of Israeli oppression on the front lines behind bars, with their bodies and their lives, to bring the system of administrative detention to an end. With over 1200 Palestinians jailed without charge or trial — over 20% of all Palestinian prisoners — the struggle to bring down administrative detention is more urgent than ever. Take these actions below to stand with the hunger strikers and the struggle for liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea!

Download these signs for use in your campaigns:

TAKE ACTION:

Protest at the Israeli Embassy or Consulate in Your Country!

Join the many protests taking place around the world — confront, isolate and besiege the Israeli embassy or consulate in your city or country of residence. Make it clear that the people are with Palestine! Send us your events at samidoun@samidoun.net.

Take to the streets: Organize a protest in solidarity with Palestine!

Take to the streets and join actions for justice! Organize your own if there is none in your area, and send us your events at samidoun@samidoun.net.

Boycott Israel!

The international, Arab and Palestinian campaign to boycott Israel can play an important role at this critical time. Local boycott groups can protest and label Israeli produce and groceries, while many complicit corporations – including HP, G4S, Puma, Teva and others, profit from their role in support Zionist colonialism throughout occupied Palestine. By participating in the boycott of Israel, you can directly help to throw a wrench in the economy of settler colonialism.

Demand Your Government Sanction Israel!

The racist, settler colonial state of Israel and its war crimes against the Palestinian people are enabled and backed extensively by the over $3.8 billion each year given to Israel by the United States — targeted directly to support the Israeli occupation military killing children, women, men and elders throughout occupied Palestine. From Canada to Australia to the European Union, Western governments and imperialist powers provide ongoing diplomatic, political and economic support to Israel as well as selling billions of dollars of weaponry to the settler-colonial state. Meanwhile, they also purchase billions of dollars in weaponry from the Israeli state. Governments in league with imperialist powers, such as in the Philippines, Brazil, India and elsewhere, also buy weapons and “security” services — all “battle-tested” on the Palestinian population. Call your representatives, MPs, political officials and demand your government sanction Israel now, cut off all aid, expel its ambassadors, and stop buying and selling weapons!

Video: Fadia Barghouthi in conversation with NYC organizers

22 August 2023

On Wednesday, 16 August, Fadia Barghouthi, a Palestinian political organizer and educator in Ramallah, spoke with CUNY 4 Palestine and several organizations active in New York and New Jersey, including Within Our Lifetime, Palestinian Youth Movement and Samidoun.

Watch the full video of the event below:

Introduction (Erica and Corinna, CUNY for Palestine and Not In Our Name CUNY) – 00:00 – 9:24
First Speaker (Fadia Barghouti) – 9:28 – 29:33
Second Speaker (Nerdeen Kiswani, Within Our Lifetime) – 31:33 – 44:35
Third Speaker (Tamar, Palestinian Youth Movement NYC Chapter) – 45:06 – 54:19
Fourth Speaker (Charlotte Kates, Samidoun) – 55:08 – 01:03:02
Fifth Speaker (Johnathan Buchsbaum, CUNY for Palestine) – 1:03:51 – 01:08:46

McCarthyism Is Back: Together We Can Stop It

22 August 2023

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is one of hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals who have already signed on to this statement against a red-baiting attack in the New York Times aiming to incite repression against anti-imperialist organizations in the United States. We urge you to sign on to the statement here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/mccarthyism-is-back-together-we-can-stop-it

McCarthyism Is Back: Together We Can Stop It

We stand together against the rise of a new McCarthyism that is targeting peace activists, critics of US foreign policy, and Chinese Americans. Despite increased intimidation, we remain steadfast in our mission to foster peace and international solidarity, countering the narrative of militarism, hostility, and fear.

As the US government grapples with a major crisis of legitimacy, it has grown fearful of young people becoming conscious and organized to change the world. Influential media outlets like The New York Times have joined right-wing extremists in using intimidation tactics to silence these advocates for change, affecting not only the left but everyone who supports free speech and democratic rights.

The political and media establishments, both liberal and conservative, have initiated McCarthy-like attacks against individuals and organizations criticizing US foreign policy, labeling peace advocates as “Chinese or foreign agents.” This campaign uses innuendo and witch hunts, posing a threat to free speech and the right to dissent. We must oppose this trend.

Scientists, researchers, and service members of Chinese descent have been falsely accused of espionage and unregistered foreign agency, often with cases later collapsing due to insufficient evidence. Similar to the old “Red Scare” and McCarthy periods, when scores of organizations and leaders like W.E.B Du Bois, Eugene Debs, Emma Goldman, Paul Robeson and Martin Luther King Jr and others were attacked with fact-less accusations, today, prominent organizations and individuals, including CODEPINK, The People’s Forum, and Tricontinental Institute have been targeted, with smears and accusations propagated by outlets like The New York Times.

Their strategy paints a sinister image of a secret network funding the peace movement. However, there’s nothing illegal or fringe about opposing a New Cold War or a “major power conflict” with China, views shared by hundreds of millions globally. Receiving donations from US citizens who share these views is not illicit.

Media outlets have tried to scandalize funding sources of several organizations that are on the frontlines working with anti-racist, feminist, anti-war, abolitionist, climate justice, and other movements throughout the United States and globally. Meanwhile, when white neoliberal philanthropists flood the non-profit complex with significant funds to support their political agendas this is rarely scrutinized or made accountable to the communities they impact.

From The New York Times to Fox News, there’s a resurgence of the Red Scare that once shattered many lives and threatened movements for change and social justice. This attack isn’t only on the left but against everyone who exercises their free speech and democratic rights. We must firmly resist this racist, anti-communist witch hunt and remain committed to building an international peace movement. In the face of adversity, we say NO to xenophobic witch hunts and YES to peace.

Signed,

CODEPINK
The People’s Forum
Tricontinental Institute for Social Research
ANSWER Coalition

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Abby Martin • Amanda Yee • Andy Hsaio • Barbara Ransby • Ben Becker • Ben Cohen • Ben Norton • Bhaskar Sunkara • Bikrum Gill • Branko Marcetic • Brian Becker • Calla Walsh • Carl Messineo • Cheryl LaBash • Chris Hedges • Claudia de la Cruz • Corinna Mullen • David Adler • David Harvey • Dee Knight • Derecka Purnell • Derek R. Ford • Desmond Fonseca • Doug Henwood • Eugene Puryear • Farida Alam • Fergie Chambers • Gail Walker • Geo Maher • Gerald Horne • Gloria La Riva • Guillermo Barreto • Hakim Adi • Heidi Boghosian • Helen Kim • Immanuel Ness • Inderjeet Parmar • James Early • Jared Ware • Jennifer Ponce de León • Jeremy Kuzmarov • Jerónimo Zarco Martínez • Jill Stein • Jim Garrison • Jim Lafferty • Joan Gibbs • Jodi Dean • Jodie Evans • Johanna Fernandez • Jose Seoane • Joshua Myers • Juliana Medeiros • K.J. Noh • Karen Ranucci • Kenneth Hammond • Koohan Paik-Mander • Lee Camp • Lisa Armstrong • Lisa Featherstone • Manolo de los Santos • Manu Chander • Manu Karuka • Mara Verheyden-Hilliard • Mariah Parker • Matt Hoh • Matt Meyer • Matteo Capasso • Matteo Capasso • Max Lesnik • Medea Benjamin • Michael Klonsky • Michael Steven Smith • Mikaela Erskog • Momodou Taal • Musa Springer • Nazia H. Kazi • Nick Estes • Pawel Wargan • Peter Mertens • Rabab Abdulhadi • Radhika Desai • Rania Khalek • Richard Becker • Richard M Walden • Richenda Kramer • Rob Wallace • Robin D.G. Kelley • Roger McKenzie • Roger Waters • Rosa Miriam Elizalde • Rosemari Mealy • Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz • Ruth Wilson Gilmore • Salvatore Engel di-Mauro • Sarah Raymundo • Sheila Xiao • Stella Schnabel • Steve Ellner • Sudhanva Deshpande • Sunil Freeman • susie day • Suzanne Adely • Suzanne Adely • Tina Landis • Vijay Prashad • Vivian Weisman • Walden F. Bello • Yekuana Martinez

Israeli embassy seeks to interfere in prosecution of Palestine Actionists

22 August 2023

A blockbuster report in “The Guardian” newspaper revealed that the Israeli embassy in Britain was attempting to influence the British crown prosecution in its cases against Palestine Action activists being put on trial for confronting the Israeli arms industry. Palestine Action obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information request. There are currently approximately 100 Palestine Action actionists threatened with prison time in a series of cases related to their direct actions at Israeli and British arms factories across the country.

This is not the first time Israeli embassies have been involved in trying to influence various countries and local prosecutors to repress Palestine solidarity and Palestinian community organizing. Most recently, the Israeli embassy in Switzerland pressured the Geneva city government into cancelling an art exhibition of the work of revolutionary Swiss artist Marc Rudin, who made many of the iconic posters of the Palestinian liberation movement. In Germany, the Israeli ambassador denounced the presence of posters supporting Palestinian prisoners on the streets of Berlin, demanding that Samidoun be banned.

We republish Palestine Action’s statement below and urge all supporters of Palestine to stand with the Palestine Action prisoners and campaign to shut Elbit down and confront the alliance of Zionism and imperialism, as expressed through the arms industry, the banking industry and related multinational corporations in the US, Britain, Canada, Europe and elsewhere.

As reported in the Guardian today, correspondence disclosed by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) shows the Israeli Embassy in London attempting to exert diplomatic influence on the prosecution of Palestine Action activists.

The disclosures, made under the Freedom of Information Act, show correspondence between the Director General of the Attorney General’s Office, Doug Wilson, with representatives of the Israeli Embassy in London, over the period May 2022 to February 2023. While most of these representatives have their names redacted, we know that one is Oren Marmorstein, Deputy Ambassador of Israel to the UK [1].

In an email dated 9th May 2022, at which time Suella Braverman held the post of Attorney General, Wilson updates the Embassy on matters previously discussed in a meeting. He notes having raised matters on the embassy’s behalf to their Home Office colleagues, relating to Law Officer’s ability to intervene in prosecution decisions and casework. The parties also discussed the ‘operational independence of the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service]’, and the AGO’s ability to bring about prosecutions.

The same email notes a discussion between the parties relating to domestic protest law, including the government’s intended ‘strengthen[ing] of policy powers to tackle non-violent protests’ of a ‘disruptive’ nature. Furthermore, Wilson adds that, in the meeting, ‘we also mentioned the Attorney General’s power to refer questions of law to the Court of Appeal’, and their having done so recently in relation to the Colston Four. This came four months before the judgement in this appeal ruling [2], a ruling which then largely stripped Palestine Action activists of their rights to the Article 10 and 11 protections of the European Convention on Human Rights. These defences, their Freedoms of Expression and Assembly, were denied due to the activists’ targeting of private property – property belonging to Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest private weapons company.

Over the past year, therefore, there is clear and compelling evidence that the Israeli apartheid state have been attempting to exert pressure over the Director General of the Law Officer’s Department, Doug Wilson, as regards matters of British domestic law, policing, and prosecutions. This email, of the 9th May, came during months of intensive and widespread direct action against the sites and offices of Elbit Systems, which saw two Elbit premises in London and Oldham close permanently [3].

More recently, in an email dated 1st February 2023, four months into Victoria Prentice’s tenure as AG, the Israeli embassy contacted Wilson. The correspondence discusses the making of a joint declaration between the respective countries’ Ministries of Justice – the body which oversees the judiciary, courts, prisons and probation – to seek ‘closer bilateral cooperation’ over ‘legislation and legal reform, civil and criminal law and legal eduction’. The final point to note is the parties’ discussion of ‘special mission immunity’, with an apparent reticence on the part of the Israeli embassy to host a visit of Israeli officials given the possibility of arrests for war crimes committed.

With the former head of the Foreign Office, Dominic Raab, having met with Israeli officials to discuss Palestine Action in 2021 [4], we now have confirmation also of AGO, Home Office, and Ministry of Justice collusion with the occupation regime of Israel. Palestine Action have stated:

“This is confirmation of what has been suspected for a long time, that the Israeli state is attempting to exert top-level diplomatic influence to lock up those who stand against its war machine. This undue influence further damages the credibility of charges brought against activists, who have faced criminal trials, sentencing, and litigious harrassment for their action taken against the manufacturers of Israel’s murderous weaponry.

This goes some way to explaining the ludicrous charges brought against activists: conspiracy to blackmail, aggrevated criminal damage, or a seven week trial for ‘going equipped’ – these bogus charges have been brought about because the heads of the British Attorney General’s Office, Ministry of Justice, and police have been working in close collaboration with an apartheid state. In the coming months we’ve over 100 activists due to stand trial, and the possible prison sentences faced represent an injustice of global proporions given that the Israeli war machine has clearly taken hold of British courts.

If this has surfaced now after just one Freedom of Information request, we urge all supporters to undertake research themselves, and to find what else is out there”

NOTES TO EDITORS

If you would like any further information on Palestine action, please contact info@palestineaction.org

Palestine Action is a direct-action network of groups and individuals formed with the mandate of taking action against the sites of Elbit Systems and other companies complicit in Israeli apartheid, calling for all such sites to be shut down.

[1] https://embassies.gov.il/london/AboutTheEmbassy/Pages/Deputy-Ambassador.aspx

[2] https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/AG-Ref-Colston-Four-judgment-280922.pdf

[3] https://mondoweiss.net/2022/06/israeli-weapons-maker-shuts-london-hq-following-sustained-protest/

[4] https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/uk-turns-counterterror-law-repress-palestine-action

25 August, NYC/Brooklyn: “Jenin Jenin” Film Screening and Discussion

21 August 2023

Friday, 8/25 at 7:30pm
176 St. Nicholas Ave, Bushwick
$5-25 suggested donation
RSVP: https://withfriends.co/event/16572954/jenin_jenin_film_screening_and_fundraiser_for_samidoun

Join Samidoun NY/NJ for a screening of Jenin Jenin at Mayday Space on Friday August 25th at 7:30pm!

Jenin, Jenin is a film directed by Mohammed Bakri in order to portray the Palestinian truth about the Battle of Jenin, an attack by the Zionist army that took place in April 2002.

Screening will be followed by a post-screening discussion.

8 hunger strikers fight administrative detention; Sultan Khallouf ordered to four months imprisonment without charge or trial

20 August 2023

There are currently 8 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike against administrative detention, and 2 more on hunger strike to address abusive conditions of detention. These hunger strikes are coming amid ongoing tensions and struggles within the prisons, especially after multiple raids and forcible transfers by Israeli occupation forces.

On Friday, 18 August, the Higher Emergency Committee of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement announced that 1,000 prisoners who had gone on hunger strike in protest against these actions had suspended their strike after winning concessions from the occupation prison authority, but the prisoners’ movement was continuing its actions to demand justice and liberation. The Palestinian prisoners on strike against administrative detention — imprisonment without charge or trial — have continued their actions.

Currently, Kayed Fasfous and Sultan Khallouf have been on hunger strike since 3 August 2023, Osama Daqrouq since 6 August, and Abdel-Rahman Baraqa, Mohammed Zakarneh, Anas Kamil and Zuhdi Abido have been on strike since 10 August. Reports indicate that Seif al-Din Diab, from the village of Beit Awwa, launched an open ended hunger strike today, 20 August, joining his fellow strikers. On the other hand, Hadi Nazzal and Mohammed Ikhmeis suspended their hunger strikes today, 20 August, after agreements to end their administrative detention.

The occupation prison administration today ordered Sultan Khallouf, 42, from the town of Burqin near Jenin, on his 18th day of hunger strike, to four months in administrative detention. Khallouf launched his hunger strike immediately upon his arrest on 3 August; he previously won his freedom from administrative detention in 2019 in a 67-day hunger strike. He is being held in Megiddo prison in isolation, alongside his fellow hunger strikers who are also isolated. The use of isolation against the hunger strikers is a tactic used by the occupation to attempt to coerce them to end their strikes.

Like Khallouf, Fasfous is also a former long-term hunger striker who previously won his freedom from administrative detention. Fasfous, 34, has been detained since 2 May 2023. Fasfous, whose four brothers are also imprisoned under administrative detention, has spent 7 years in the occupation prisons in total, 4 of them in administrative detention, after he was first detained in 2007. He is held in the Naqab desert prison. In late May and the beginning of June, he went on hunger strike for 9 days, which he ended with a promise to set a limit for his detention. In 2021, Kayed Fasfous conducted a 131-day hunger strike; images of his emaciated body were widely circulated, in sharp contrast to his commitment to fitness and bodybuilding while free. Fasfous is married and a father of a daughter, Joanne. He has been denied family visits since his arrest in May.

There are also two more Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike against arbitrary and abusive prison conditions; they have been on strike for one week: Islam Bani Shamsa, against his transfer to Ramon prison, and Hatem al-Qawasmeh, to demand to see his fellow imprisoned brother, Hazem.

On Saturday, 19 August, a group of Palestinian prisoners continued to protest the attacks on Palestinian leaders, including imprisoned PFLP leader Wael Jaghoub, who has been held in isolation since 31 July, when he and several fellow leaders were seized from their room and taken to interrogation by occupation forces.

What Is Administrative Detention?

Administrative detention was first used in Palestine by the British colonial mandate and then adopted by the Zionist regime; it is now used routinely to target Palestinians, especially community leaders, activists, and influential people in their towns, camps and villages.

There are currently approximately 1200 Palestinians jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, out of nearly 5,000 Palestinian political prisoners, the highest number in 20 years.

Administrative detention orders are issued by the military and approved by military courts on the basis of “secret evidence”, denied to both Palestinian detainees and their attorneys. Issued for up to six months at a time, they are indefinitely renewable, and Palestinians — including minor children — can spend years jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention. Hundreds of Palestinians have gone on hunger strike to win their liberation from this form of arbitrary detention, which is not only illegal under international law but a form of psychological torture and collective punishment targeting Palestinian families and communities, as detainees are unable to predict or plan for their release.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all supporters of Palestine to take action to support these Palestinian hunger strikers and all Palestinian prisoners struggling for freedom, for their own lives and for the Palestinian people. These sons of the Palestinian popular masses are confronting the system of Israeli oppression on the front lines behind bars, with their bodies and their lives, to bring the system of administrative detention to an end. With over 1100 Palestinians jailed without charge or trial — over 20% of all Palestinian prisoners — the struggle to bring down administrative detention is more urgent than ever. Take these actions below to stand with the hunger strikers and the struggle for liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea!