New York City protesters call for boycott of HP products and freedom for Shorouq Dwayyat, all Palestinian prisoners

14 February 2017

New York demonstrators rallied on 10 February outside Best Buy in Union Square to urge the boycott of HP products for the company’s involvement in profiteering from the imprisonment of Palestinians, and demanding the freedom of over 7,000 Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails.

The protest, organized by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network highlighted demands to release Shorouq Dwayyat, a 19-year-old student at Bethlehem University sentenced to 16 years in Israeli prison on 25 December.

Protesters handed out flyers and literature to passers-by highlighting the involvement of Hewlett-Packard companies in providing services to Israeli prisons, checkpoints and settlements, as well as describing the situation of Palestinian political prisoners jailed by Israel. Some construction workers passed by the protest and exchanged information with participants both about Palestine and about the campaign of construction workers in New York for adequate health and safety training for non-union workers.

Signs highlighted the imprisonment of Dwayyat, one of a number of young Palestinians hit with particularly harsh sentences after allegations of attempted stabbings of Israeli settlers or soldiers. Dwayyat was severely injured by the four bullets lodged within her body, unlike the Israeli man she was accused of attempting to stab, who suffered no serious injuries. Following the court’s ruling, the Israeli Interior Ministry stripped the imprisoned Dwayyat of her Jerusalem residency, claiming “breach of trust,” using the case as a mechanism to further the Israeli state policy of attacking Palestinian existence in Jerusalem.

Samidoun in New York is participating in a protest on Wednesday, 15 February against the Trump-Netanyahu meeting, called by the NY4Palestine Coalition. Protesters will gather at 5:30 pm at Trump Tower on 5th Avenue in New York City, denouncing Trump and Netanyahu’s walls, travel bans, settler colonialism and wars. In addition, the next weekly protest for Palestinian prisoners will take place on Friday, 17 February at Best Buy Union Square at 5:30 pm, denouncing the persecution of Basel Ghattas and urging freedom for all Palestinian political prisoners. All are welcome and invited to join in both protest actions.

Mohammed al-Qeeq on tenth day of hunger strike; Sami Janazrah scheduled for release today

14 February 2017

Mohammed al-Qeeq, Palestinian journalist imprisoned without charge or trial under Israeli administrative detention, is currently on his tenth day of hunger strike to demand his freedom.

Al-Qeeq, 35, was seized by Israeli occupation forces at the Beit El checkpoint near Ramallah as he returned from a demonstration in Bethlehem on 15 January, demanding the return of the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces. He was held under severe interrogation and subject to cruel, inhumane and torturous treatment for 22 days, after which he was ordered to administrative detention without charge or trial, reported his wife, fellow journalist Fayha Shalash. He was originally ordered to six months in administrative detention, which was then shifted to three months, in what Shalash emphasized was an attempt to break his strike. Shalash said that her husband is continuing his strike and that he refuses the policy of administrative detention entirely. He is currently held in isolation in Hadarim prison.

Al-Qeeq was held under administrative detention last year and conducted a 94-day hunger strike to demand his freedom, winning his release in May 2016. His case drew widespread Palestinian and international attention, highlighting the suppression of Palestinian journalists.

He is among over 530 Palestinians held without charge or trial under indefinitely-renewable administrative detention orders. Tawfiq Abu Irqub, the coordinator of the Islamic Bloc at Birzeit University, was ordered to four months in administrative detention without charge or trial on Monday, 13 February. Mohammed Hasham and Mahdi Shuraitah were also ordered to four more months of imprisonment without charge or trial.

Fellow former administrative detainee and long-term hunger striker Sami Janazrah, 43, a Palestinian refugee from al-Fuwwar camp near al-Khalil, is scheduled for release from Israeli prison today, 14 February.

Imprisoned since 15 November 2015 and ordered to administrative detention without charge or trial, he conducted a 71-day hunger strike which he ended when occupation authorities agreed to transfer his case to the military courts. He was then sentenced to 16 months in Israeli prisons on allegation of “incitement” for posting on Facebook. Janazrah has spent a total of over 10 years in Israeli prisons.

Sentence extended for Palestinian prisoner from Gaza subject to torture

14 February 2017

The Israeli Supreme Court increased the prison sentence of Palestinian prisoner Jihad Khaled Abu Hadaid, 28, from Gaza reported Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, on 7 February 2017. The sentence was increased from six years to eight years, reflecting the appeal filed by the prosecution against Abu Hadaid’s sentence in early 2016. Al-Mezan urged international action, highlighting that the case was based on the torture of Abu Hadaid.

Abu Hadaid was seized by invading Israeli occupation forces on 25 July 2014, during the Israeli assault on Gaza, during their ground invasion in Al-Fukhari, Khan Younis. Al-Mezan noted that he was subjeted to torture and was beaten, held under direct sunlight, held in stressed positions and cuffed from behind and held in solitary confinement. He was denied access to a lawyer for three weeks, and was told that his home would be attacked; indeed, hs home was later bombed by the Israeli air force.

Al-Mexan asserted “that the level of coercion used against Abu Hadaid results in a forced confession, which must not be used as evidence in court. A confession obtained under means of torture, including enhanced interrogation techniques, or other forms of duress is considered a forced confession under international law.”

The increased sentence came soon after another addition of eight years to the sentence of Palestinian prisoner Ahmed al-Mughrabi, 43, a Palestinian refugee from Dheisheh camp, accused of “incitement” and posing a threat to the security of the area from inside Israeli prisons. In January 2016, Israeli occupation forces stormed his home and seized his wife, Hanadi Musa al-Mughrabi, 37, ransacking the home and confiscating belongings and electronics and interrogating her about allegations of her husband’s communications from prison. She was released after one and one-half months in detention, while he was ordered to an additional eight years in prison; he is already serving 18 life sentences and has been imprisoned since 27 May 2002. He was held in solitary confinement for eight years and was returned to the general population in 2012 after the Karameh collective hunger strike that demanded the release from isolation of 19 prominent Palestinian prisoners.

Walid Daqqa ordered to additional month in solitary confinement

14 February 2017

Palestinian long-time prisoner Walid Daqqa, 55, was ordered to an additional month in solitary confinement, until 8 March, on 12 February. Daqqa is one of the longest-held prisoners in Israeli jails, imprisoned since 25 March 1986 alongside his comrades Rushdi and Ibrahim Abu Mukh and Ibrahim Bayadseh, for their involvement in a Palestinian resistance action targeting an Israeli soldier.

Daqqa has been held in solitary confinement since 25 January, accused of unauthorized communication with his lawyer; he suffers from a number of health problems. His lawyer Ahmed Khalifa has emphasized that he is further at risk to his life and health due to his isolation.

Daqqa has been for years a prominent leader in the prisoners’ movement; the play, “A Parallel Time” – the subject of an Israeli state campaign against a Palestinian theater in Haifa in 2015 – reflects Daqqa’s stories and experiences. Despite multiple pledges to release pre-Oslo prisoners, the Israeli state has refused to release Daqqa and his comrades, insisting that as they are Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship, they are a separate matter from their fellow 7,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Daqqa was isolated shortly after he was brought into the case of the persecution of Palestinian Knesset member Basel Ghattas of the National Democratic Alliance (Balad/Tajammu’) along with Daqqa’s brother Assad. They are accused of bringing cell phones into Israeli prisons for Palestinian political prisoners. On the same day Walid Daqqa was isolated, his brother As’ad was brought before an Israeli district court and was later ordered to house imprisonment; As’ad Daqqa is accused of providing the alleged cell phones to Ghattas.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s Prison Branch issued a statement saying that “We hold the occupation and its prison administration fully responsible for the life and safety of Comrade Walid Daqqa and see this isolation as an attempt to sentence him to slow death,” while protests in Yafa and elsewhere have continued to demand his release from isolation.

Palestinian child prisoner Huzaifa Taha, 17, sentenced to 12 years in Israeli prison

14 February 2017

Palestinian child prisoner Huzaifa Ishaq Abdel-Jawad Taha, 17, a Jerusalemite from the village of Kafr Aqab, was ordered to 12 years in Israeli prison on Sunday, 12 February. He is the latest Jerusalemite Palestinian child to receive a lengthy prison sentence after being accused of attempting to carry out a Palestinian resistance action by stabbing a settler in the illegal settlement of East Talpiyyot.

Huzaifa’s brother Abdullah was quoted by Asra Media, saying that the “harsh sentence” was “shocking, in light of all the contradictory evidence in the file, but the prosecutor insisted on this sentence with a racist mindset of ‘deterrence,’ especially against prisoners of Jerusalem.” Huzaifa has been imprisoned since 4 January 2016 and was shot in the legs and hands with live bullets.

His sentencing follows that of Mohammed Taha and Munther al-Mayala, 16, sentenced to 11 years in Israeli prison; Ahmad Manasrah, 14, sentenced to 12 years; Nurhan Awad, 17, sentenced to 13 years; Muawiya Alqam, 14, sentenced to six years, and other harsh sentences meted out especially to Jerusalemite child prisoners.

Meanwhile, Yazan Mohammed Ayoub Abu Assab, 15, from Issawiya in Jerusalem, was sentenced to 10 months in Israeli prisons and accused of “throwing stones” at occupation forces.

Palestinian women prisoners in HaSharon prison suffer medical neglect, separation from family

14 February 2017

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission reported on the situation of the 43 Palestinian women prisoners held in Section 11 of HaSharon prison, dealing with difficult conditions of life within the prisons. A number of the prisoners are recovering from injuries and were often moved to the prison before their recoveries were complete; they continue to suffer from medical neglect. These women prisoners include: Israa Jaabis, Abla al-Aedam, Amal Taqatqa, Natalie Shokha, Jamila Jaber, Lama Bakri, Marah Bakir, Nurhan Awad, and Shorouq Dwayyat.

The Commission also highlighted the situation of the prisoners who are mothers, including Abla al-Aedam, Aliya Abbassi, Israa Jaabis, Yasmin Shaaban, Sabrin Zubeidat and Fatmeh Alayan.

There are 12 minor girls under 18 held in HaSharon prison at the present time: Lama Bakri, Jamila Jaber, Tasneem Halabi, Istabraq Nour, Malak Salman, Iman Ali, Heba Areinat, Amal Kabha, Manar Shweiki, Natalie Shokha, Amal al-Asli and Marah Bakir.

A hearing is scheduled to take place today in the case of Malak Salman, 17, from Beit Safafa in Jerusalem. This will be her 22nd court hearing since she was arrested on 9 February 2016 by occupation forces, who claim that she attempted to stab a settler in Jerusalem.

Shatila Abu Ayyad, 24, is also scheduled to face a hearing today and is threatened with 16 years of imprisoment in Israeli prisons. She is accused of attempting to stab Israelis to support Palestinian resistance and has been imprisoned since 3 April 2016.

Palestinian prisoner dies in Israeli custody; 16-year-old brother of Palestinian killed by medical neglect arrested

14 February 2017

Palestinian prisoner Mohammed al-Jallad, 24, died on Friday, 10 February at Beilinson Hospital; he had been shot by Israeli occupation forces on 9 November 2016 at the Huwwara military checkpoint near Nablus.

Occupation forces accused him of attempting to stab an occupation soldier. He also suffered from lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes. He is the ninth Palestinian killed this year by Israeli occupation forces and the 210th Palestinian prisoner to die in Israeli occupation custody.

Only days after the death of al-Jallad, Ibrahim Awad, 16, the brother of Jaafar Awad, 24, who died in April 2015 shortly after being released from Israeli prison with severe medical conditions and whose case brought sharp focus on the medical mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners, was seized by Israeli occupation forces from the village of Beit Ummar near al-Khalil.

Ibrahim also spent 24 days in Israeli jails four months ago and paid a fine of 5,000 NIS (~$1250). Ibrahim’s father spoke to Asra Voice radio, saying that the families of Palestinian martyrs and prisoners were regularly targeted by occupation forces for further arrest and persecution.

Jaafar Awad’s case highlighted medical neglect and ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Awad, who had diabetes, was administered incorrect insulin shots in Eshel prison after his arrest in November 2013, said his father. He lost the ability to speak or walk and developed heart and pancreas disease. Despite this, he was denied early release for months and received inadequate health care until he was finally released on 21 January 2015 with a high fine of 40,000 NIS ($10,200 USD). He was accused of “membership in a prohibited organization” and had been neither tried nor sentenced. He had developed acute pneumonia. Following his release, his family sought international treatment for his case, yet Israeli occupation authorities refused to allow his international travel; he was also denied permission to travel to the Israeli Hadassah hospital before his death in al-Khalil’s Mizan hospital on 10 April 2015. After the mass funeral march for Awad, his cousin Ziad Awad, 29, was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces who fired on the protest after the funeral march with live ammunition.

Meanwhile, imprisoned Palestinian Jerusalemite Nazmi Azmi Muhyiddin al-Daqqaq, 28, was transferred to the Haddassah hospital for treatment after the drastic deterioration of his health. Seized by occupation forces on 20 January 2017 and accused of intending to carry out a resistance operation, he was taken to interrogation. However, no charges against him were ever proved or filed and he was instead ordered to three months in administrative detention without charge or trial. His mother and sister were forbidden from visiting him in the hospital on 12 February and his lawyer was told he may be transferred to the Ramle prison clinic to complete his treatment.

In addition, Palestinian child prisoner Ahmed Kaddour, 15, from the town of Beitunia near Ramallah, continues to suffer from a poor health situation and needs immediate release for treatment, said Palestinian lawyer Louay Akkeh of the Prisoners Affairs Commission. He suffered from leukemia three years ago and continues to have seizures caused by epilepsy; he is not receiving appropriate medical treatment, Akkeh emphasized. Ahmed was arrested on 2 January by occupation forces who beat him with fists and rifle butts and was subjected to ongoing harassment, ill-treatment and humiliation.

Palestinian prisoner Rami Breish also continues to suffer due to medical neglect, said Palestinian lawyer Karim Ajwa. From the Amari refugee camp near Ramallah, Breish has been imprisoned since 2003 and suffers from a number of health issues, including an accelerated heartbeat and repeated ear infections and hearing loss in his right ear. Ajwa noted that Breish emphasized the continued suffering caused by the use of the “Bosta” to transfer ill prisoners for medical tests, with the transfer taking almost 24 hours to complete due to repeated stops and removals.

25 February, Milan: Implementation of the Zionist Model of Repression in the Italian State

12 February 2017

Saturday, 25 February
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Villa Pallavicini, via Meucci 3
Milano, Italy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/292600627824101/
Organized by Fronte Palestina – www.frontepalestina.it

In a short time, the Senate will begin considering some proposed legislation, such as DDL 2043, with the aim of criminalizing and intimidating activists who support the campaign for the boycott of apartheid and Israeli colonization in Palestine, and DDL 2186, which implements bilateral agreements between Italy and Israel in matters of “public security and defense.”

Both represent an essential step in launching a Zionist model in legislation and repressive/military policies of the ITalian State….Deepening the analysis of this phenomenon, however, we see that this “Zionization” of the state apparatus and its policies is not only a response to a Zionist lobby, but is in fact a representation of a political and cultural model for the practical military and repressive management of the capitalist crisis.

Speakers include:
Charlotte Kates of Samidoun
Ugo Giannangeli
Enrico Bartolomei
Diana Carminati
Silvano Falessi
Fronte Palestina Padova
Students from Torino

Justice for Palestine now – end European complicity! A call from organizations throughout Europe

10 February 2017

Samidoun is one of over 250 signatories to the following statement, coordinated by the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP):

A call from organizations throughout Europe

2017 marks:

100 years since the « Balfour Declaration » of 1917, through which the British government unilaterally promised the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine;

70 years since the partition plan of Palestine, adopted by the UN in 1947, which resulted in the 1948 Nakba, the demolition of more than 530 Palestinian villages and the expulsion of 750 000 Palestinians from their homeland, thus a process of ethnic cleansing;

50 years since the beginning of Israel’s occupation in 1967 of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, and an ongoing process of colonization and prolonged occupation by the State of Israel.

The continued dispossession of Palestinians of their land and their livelihood, including house demolition, land confiscation and apartheid wall; the denial of their culture and memory; the ten-year Gaza blockade creating severe inhuman conditions along with the recurrent military attacks on its population; the constant repression, resulting presently in over 7000 prisoners including more than 400 children held in military detention; the disastrous plight of Palestinian refugees further worsened by the war in Syria; and the draconian discriminatory laws in Israel itself: these facts, the fruits of over 100 years of denial of the rights of the Palestinian people, can no longer be accepted.

The anniversaries marked by the year 2017 remind us of the degree to which the colonial mindset, the denial of the rights of the Palestinian people, and the refusal to apply international law and UN resolutions lead to disaster.

These dates highlight the responsibility of European and Western countries for the existence of this situation, as well as the powerlessness into which the European Union has trapped itself, as it parades the principles of respect for international law without taking the measures to enforce them.

These dates remind us, also, that the building of peace cannot occur by ignoring the historic facts; and that to recognize History is the responsibility of all parties, first and foremost the Israeli State and people, contrary to the revisionist policy constantly promoted by Israel and pushed to the extreme by its current government. The European States were actors in the colonial system between the two World Wars; they made Palestine carry the consequences of the monstrous genocide of the European Jews by the Nazis; and subsequently they did nothing to require that Israel respect UN resolutions; they, too, must acknowledge the great responsibility that they bear in the tragedy endured by the Palestinian people today.

We call upon the EU and European States:

to make 2017 the year that the rights of the Palestinian people become a reality, in a binding timetable: the right to self-determination, the end of the occupation of all the West Bank including East Jerusalem and of the Gaza Strip, the right to equality for all citizens of Israel, and the right of return for all Palestinian refugees in the way of their choosing;

to cease all complicity with continued settlement activity and the myriad ways that Israel violates international law; and to demand an immediate end of the blockade of the Gaza Strip, and freedom of movement for Palestinians;

to take binding measures vis-à-vis the State of Israel, so long as it continues to violate international and human rights law, including the suspension of the EU’s Association Agreement with Israel until Israel complies with international law; to begin with, military and security cooperation – poorly concealed within several projects of the Horizon 2020 program – must be suspended immediately.

We, the undersigned, European civil society organizations, associations, political parties, and unions, solemnly reaffirm that in 2017, after 100 years of dispossession, denial, and ethnic cleansing, the rights of the Palestinian people must, at last, be respected.

Each with our respective views, we commit to act towards this goal, with the belief that a sustainable peace can only be achieved through enforcement of international law.

Signatories:

1. ECCP – European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine

2. Transform! Europe

3. PHM – Europe (People’s Health Movement)

4. Frauen in Schwarz (Wien), Austria

5. SODePAZ – Basque country

6. Internazionalistak Auzolanean – Basque country

7. ASOCIACI√ìN BILADI – Basque country

8. Fundacion Mundubat, Basque country

9. PVDA/PTB – political party, Belgium

10. CNCD-11.11.11 – NGO platform, Belgium

11. 11.11.11 – NGO platform, Belgium

12. Broederlijk Delen – NGO, Belgium

13. Pax Christi – Flanders – NGO, Belgium

14. Solidarité socialiste – NGO, Belgium

15. Mouvement Ouvrier Chrétien, Belgium

16. Comac, Belgium

17. G3W–M3M – NGO, Belgium

18. Intal, Belgium

19. Association Belgo-Palestinienne WB, Belgium

20. Palestina Solidariteit, Belgium

21. Union des Progressistes Jiufs de Begique, Belgium

22. Vrede vzw, Belgium

23. Agir pour la Paix, Belgium

24. CADTM Belgique (Comité pour l’Abolition des Dettes illégitimes), Belgium

25. BACBI – Belgian Campaign For An Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, Belgium

26. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Belgium

27. Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine, Belgium

28. Solidarity With Bedouins Committee, Belgium

29. PJPO Ittre, Belgium

30. Via Velo Palestina, Belgium

31. Les Amis du Monde Diplomatique, Belgium

32. Composantes de la Communauté Arabe de Belgique – CoCABe, Belgium

33. V-SB (Vlaams-Socialistische Beweging)

34. Croiseregard asbl. Belgium

35. International Solidarity Movement, Czech Republic group

36. Finnish-Arab Friendship Society, Finland

37. The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)– Finland

38. EELV (Europe Ecologie les Verts) – political party, France

39. Ensemble – political party, France

40. Parti Communiste Français – political party, France

41. Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (NPA), political party, France

42. Parti des Indigènes de la République – political party, France

43. Federation Syndicale Unitaire – trade union federation, France

44. Union syndicale Solidaires – trade union, France

45. La Cimade, France

46. CCFD-Terre Solidaire, France

47. CEMEA Association Nationale, France

48. AFPS (Association France Palestine Solidarite), France

49. Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine, France

50. MRAP (Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’Amitie entre les peuples), France

51. Mouvement de la Paix, France

52. Union Juive Française pour la Paix, France

53. BDS France

54. Mouvement pour une Alternative Non-violente (MAN), France

55. Femmes Egalité, France

56. Collectif Judeo Arabe et Citoyen pour la Palestine, France

57. Collectif Interuniversitaire pour la Cooperation avec les Universites Palestiniennes, France

58. CVPR-PO, France

59. La Forge, France

60. AJPF, France

61. CPPI Saint-Denis [Collectif Paix Palestine Israel], France

62. PHM France

63. Centre for Global Education, France

64. Espaces Marx, France

65. AURDIP (Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine Union syndicale Solidaires), France

66. CJPP5 Comité Justice et Paix en Palestine et au Proche-Orient 5eme PG, France

67. Droit Solidarité, France

68. MJCF Mouvement Jeunes Communistes de France, France

69. UTIT Union des Travailleurs Immigrés Tunisiens, France

70. LA COURNEUVE-PALESTINE, France

71. Association des Travailleurs Maghrébins de France (ATMF), France

72. Terre des Hommes France, France

73. Association « Pour Jérusalem », France

74. Atelier Israël Palestine du GAIC : Groupe d’Amitié Islamo Chrétienne, France

75. The Fédération Artisans du Monde, France

76. Forum Palestine Citoyenneté, France

77. Participation et Spiritualité Musulmanes, France

78. AILES femmes du Maroc, France

79. Pax Christi Erding-Dorfen – NGO, Germany

80. Bundesarbeitskreis der LINKEN Gerechter Frieden in Nahost – Federal Working Group on “Just Peace in the Middle East”), Germany

81. DIE LINKE. Niedersachsen LAG Gerechter Frieden Nahost – State Working Group Lower Saxony on “Just Peace in the Middle East”), Germany

82. Jewish Voice of Peace, Germany

83. German-Palestinian Association e.V., Germany

84. Palästinakomitee Stuttgart, Germany

85. Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue Group Munich, Germany

86. AK Nahost Berlin, Germany

87. Arbeitskreis Palästina, Nürnberg, Germany

88. Attac rhein-sieg, Germany

89. BDS Berlin, Germany

90. BDS Hamburg, Germany

91. BDS-Gruppe Bonn, Germany

92. « Das Palästina Portal », Germany

93. Deutsch-Palästinensische Gesellschaft Bremen e.V., Germany

94. Deutsch-Palästinensische Gesellschaft, Regionalgruppe Düsseldorf, Germany

95. Deutsch-Palästinensische Gesellschaft Nordrhein-Westfalen (Süd), Germany

96. Deutsch-Palästinensische Gesellschaft e.v. Regionalgruppe Ruhrgebiet, Germany

97. Deutscher Freidenker-Verband; Landesverband Hessen, Germany

98. German Freethinkers Association, Germany

99. Frauennetzwerk für Frieden e.V., Germany

100. Frauen wagen Frieden (Projektgruppe in der evangelischen Frauenarbeit der Pfalz), Germany

101. Gesellschaft zur Humanitären Unterstützung der Palästinenser e.V., Germany

102. Israel-Palästina Solidaritätskreis Darmstadt, Germany

103. Keep Hope Alive, Germany

104. Palästina/Nahost-Initiative Heidelberg, Germany

105. Solidarität International e.V., Germany

106. The European Alliance in Defence of Palestinian Detainees, Germany

107. Union of Palestinian Communities, Institutions and Activities in Europe, Germany

108. Vitaminepalestine, Germany

109. Fiom-Cgil – trade union, Italy

110. Confederazione Cobas – trade union, Italy

111. ARCI, Italy

112. ArciMilano, Italy

113. ArciLombardia, Italy

114. AssopacePalestina, Italy

115. Associazione di Amicizia Italo-Palestinese Onlus, Italy

116. Associazione per la Pace, Italy

117. Associazione Oltre il Mare, Italy

118. BDS Italia, Italy

119. BDS Italia / Coordinamento campagna BDS Bologna, Italy

120. BDS Ravenna, Italy

121. Cultura è Libertà, Italy

122. Comitato Pistoiese per la Palestina, Italy

123. Donne in nero, Italia, Italy

124. Italia-Cuba Milano, Italy

125. Le radici e le ali Onlus Milano, Italy

126. Libera, associazioni nomi e numeri contro le mafie, Italy

127. Rete ECO (Ebrei contro l’occupazione), Italy

128. Rete romana di solidarietà con il popolo palestinese, Italy

129. Rete Radiè Resch – Gruppo di Udine, Italy

130. Salaam Ragazzi dell’Olivo-comitato di Mlano-Onlus, Italy

131. Servizio civile Internazionale, Italy

132. Statunitensi contro la guerra/U.S. Citizens Against War (Florence), Italy

133. Un Ponte per, Italy

134. Ulaia Arte sud, Italy

135. Women in culture, Italy

136. WILPF Italia (Women international league for peace and freedom), Italy

137. AWMR (Donne della regione mediterranea), Italy

138. Reti di pace – Laboratorio Monteverde Roma, Italy

139. Make An Impact Association ONLUS, Italy

140. GAZZELLA onlus, Italy

141. Trócaire – development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Ireland

142. Mandate – the trade union for retail, bar and admin workers in Ireland

143. Communications Workers Union of Ireland – trade union, Ireland

144. Communication Workers Union Northern Ireland Region – trade union, Ireland

145. Derry Trades Union Council – trade union, Ireland

146. Sinn Féin – political party, Ireland

147. Communist Party of Ireland’ political party, Ireland

148. Action from Ireland (Afri), Ireland

149. Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Ireland

150. Sadaka – the Ireland Palestine Alliance, Ireland

151. Trade Union Friends of Palestine, Ireland

152. Gaza Action Ireland, Ireland

153. Academics for Palestine, Ireland

154. Centre for Global Education, Ireland

155. The People’s Movement, Ireland

156. Jewish Voice for Just Peace, Ireland

157. Irish Anti-War Movement, Ireland

158. Peace and Neutrality Alliance, Ireland

159. Anti-Racism Network Ireland , Ireland

160. United Against Racism, Ireland

161. The Ireland Institute, Ireland

162. Workers Solidarity Movement, Ireland

163. Comité pour une paix juste au Proche-Orient, Luxembourg

164. FNCTTFEL – Landesverband, Luxembourg

165. Scotish Friends of Palestine – Scotland

166. Združena levica parliamentary group (ZL) – political party, Slovenia

167. Institute for Western Sahara studies – NGO, Slovenia

168. Institute Abraham – NGO, Slovenia

169. Drustvo Humanitas, Slovenia

170. Slovak Initiative for a Just Peace in the Middle East – Slovakia

171. Confederacion General del Trabajo CGT – trade union, Spain

172. Izquierda Unida – political party, Spain

173. Partido Comunista de España (PCE) – political party, Spain

174. Communist Youth Union of Spain, Spain

175. Coordinadora Valenciana de ONGD, Spain

176. Anticapitalistas, Spain

177. Asociacion Paz con Dignidad, Spain

178. Årea Paz y Solidaridad Izquierda Unida Toledo Provincial, Spain

179. Palestina Toma La Calle, Madrid, Spain

180. CAUM (Club de Amigos de la Unesco), Spain

181. Plataforma Córdoba por Palestina, Spain

182. ASPA, Asociación Andaluza por la Solidaridad y la Paz, Spain

183. Plataforma Solidaria con Palestina de Valladolid, Spain

184. Asociación Transformando Madrid, Spain

185. UNADIKUM España, Spain

186. Moviment 15M Sabadell, Spain

187. Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe (CSCA), Spain

188. Yayoflautas Madrid, Spain

189. Coordinadora Andalucía con Palestina, Spain

190. HILOMBÉ SOLIDARIDAD, Spain

191. Rumgo a Gaza, Spain

192. CERAI, Spain

193. Transformando, S. Coop. Mad., Spain

194. Tierra y Culturas, Spain

195. Al-Quds Association for Solidarity with People in Arab Countries, Spain

196. Plaza de los Pueblos 15M Madrid, Spain

197. ALQUDS, Spain

198. Plataforma Solidaria por Palestina Valladolid, Spain

199. NitDempeusBCN, Spain

200. Asociacion Paz con Dignidad, Spain

201. Colectivo de Solidaridad con Palestina Al’Madafa, Spain

202. Palestina Toma la Calle, Madrid, Spain

203. Coordinadora Vallés Occ. 15M, Spain

204. Asociación de la Comunidad Hispano – Palestina « JERUSALÉN », Spain

205. Moviment 15M Sabadell, Spain

206. ASOCIACIÓN BILADI, Spain

207. CATNPUD, Spain

208. Asociación Médica Hispano Palestina, Spain

209. NOVACT – International Institute for Nonviolent Action , Spain

210. RESCOP – coalition that consists of:,

1. Al’Madafa

2.Anticapitalistas

3. Asociación Al-Quds de Solidaridad con los Pueblos del Mundo Árabe (Málaga)

4. Asociación de Amistad Palestina-Granada «Turab»

5. Asociación Andaluza por la Solidaridad y la Paz – ASPA

6. Asociación Hispano Palestina Jerusalén (Madrid)

7. Asociación Palestina Biladi

8. Asociación Pau Ara y Sempre

9. Asociación Pro-Derechos Humanos de Andalucía

10. Asociación ProPalestina del Campo de Gibraltar

11. Asociación Unadikum

12. BDS Alacant

13. BDS Catalunya

14. BDS Granada

15. BDS Madrid

16. BDS País Valencià

17. Castelló per Palestina

18. Centro de Estudios Rurales y de Agricultura Internacional (CERAI)

19. Coalició Prou Complicitat amb Israel

20. Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe (Madrid, Asturias)

21. Comité de Solidaridad con los Pueblos – Interpueblos (Cantabria)

22. Comunidad Palestina en Canarias

23. Comunitat Palestina de Catalunya

24. Comunitat Palestina de València

25. Coordinadora de apoyo a Palestina (La Rioja)

26. Ecologistas en Acción (Confederal)

27. Fundación IEPALA

28. Fundación Mundubat

29. Grupo de Cooperación Sevilla Palestina

30. Hilombé Solidaridad

31. Izquierda Anticapitalista Revolucionaria (IZAR)

32. Komite Internazionalistak (Euskal Herria)

33. MEWANDO (Euskadi)

34. Movimiento de Jóvenes Palestinos

35. Mujeres en Zona de Conflicto – M.Z.C.

36. Mujeres por la Paz – Acción Solidaria con Palestina (Canarias)

37. Pallasos en Rebeldía

38. Paz Ahora

39. Paz con Dignidad

40. Plataforma de Solidaridad con Palestina (Sevilla)

41. Plataforma Palestina Ibiza

42. Plataforma Solidaria con Palestina de Valladolid

43. Palestina Toma la Calle

44. Red Judía Antisionista Internacional (IJAN)

45. Sodepau

46. Sodepaz

47. Sodepaz Balamil

48. Taula per Palestina (Illes Balears)

49. Unión de Juventudes Comunistas de España (UJCE)

211. Parti suisse du Travail – political party, Switzerland

212. Communist Party – political party, Switzerland

213. Housing and Land Rights Network, Switzerland

214. BDS Switzerland, Switzerland

215. Gerechtigkeit und Frieden in Palästina, Switzerland

216. Collectif Urgence Palestine Vaud, Switzerland

217. BDS Zuerich, Switzerland

218. Berner Mahnwache für einen gerechten Frieden in Israel/Palästina, Switzerland

219. Women in Black [Vrouwen in het Zwart Nederland], The Netherlands

220. Palestijnse gemeenschap in nederlad, The Netherlands

221. Diensten en Onderzoek Centrum Palestina (docP), The Netherlands

222. Nederlandse-Filippijnse Solidariteitsbeweging, The Netherlands

223. Nederlands arabische stichting nas, The Netherlands

224. EMCEMO, The Netherlands

225. Internationale Socialisten, The Netherlands

226. A’idoun, The Netherlands

227. Breed Platform Palestina, The Netherlands

228. Stichting Palestijnse Vrouwen in Nederland, The Netherlands

229. Stichting Groningen-Jabalya, The Netherlands

230. Nederlandse-Filippijnse Solidariteitsbeweging, The Netherlands

231. Diensten en Onderzoek Centrum Palestina (docP), The Netherlands

232. Netherlands Palestine Committee (NPK), The Netherlands

233. Palestine Workinggroup FNV, The Netherlands

234. Stichting Kairos Sabeel Nederland, The Netherlands

235. Christian Peacemaker Teams – Netherlands, The Netherlands

236. SAP/Grenzeloos, The Netherlands

237. Plant een Olijfboom, The Netherlands

238. Palestina Komitee Nijmegen, The Netherlands

239. The Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions Department 850, Oslo Graphic Workers Union – trade union federation, Norway

240. Industri Energi – trade union, Norway

241. Norwegian Transport Workers’ Union – trade union, Norway

242. LO i Oslo – trade union, Norway

243. NNN Oslo og Akershus – trade union, Norway

244. The Red Party (Rødt) – political party, Norway

245. Rød Ungdom – political party youth organisation , Norway

246. The Association of Norwegian NGOs for Palestine – umbrella of NGOs, Norway

247. Kairos Britain – NGO platform, UK

248. Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK

249. Europal Forum-UK

250. The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions UK – ICAHD UK

251. Liberal Democrats Friends of Palestine, UK

252. The Palestinian Return Centre, UK

253. Friends of Sabeel UK, UK

254. Muslim Association of Britain, UK

255. LibDem Friends of Palestine, UK

256. Make Apartheid History, UK

257. Amos Trust, UK

258. Palestinian Forum in Britain, UK

Growing campaign demands Belgian government and KU Leuven end participation in LAW-TRAIN project

10 February 2017

The EU-funded LAW-TRAIN project for collaboration on interrogation techniques between the Israeli police and European police and prosecutors’ offices is drawing increased criticism in Belgium for the role of the Belgian federal prosecutors’ office and the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven) for legitimizing Israeli torture.

Samidoun is part of the broad coalition in Belgium urging the state and the university to leave the LAW-TRAIN project (as Portugal already did.) There is a public petition campaign calling on Belgian and university officials to stop LAW TRAIN. Sign on to the petition here: http://stop-law-train.be/

Hundreds of Belgian academics and cultural workers recently signed an open letter organized by BACBI, the Belgian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, calling on the government to “withdraw the Belgian Ministry of Justice from this highly contentious project. Such a withdrawal would signal to the Israeli politicians that Europe, and especially Belgium, will no longer tolerate the misdemeanors of their order and security forces against the Palestinian population.”

And most recently, a delegation of high-profile Belgian lawyers and human rights experts just returned from Palestine, where they investigated the use of torture by the Israeli police. Eva Brems, Professor at the Human Rights Center at the University of Ghent; Alexis Deswaef, chair of the Ligue des Droits de l’Homme; and Reine Meylaerts of the Study Group for Translation and Intercultural Transfer of the KU Leuven recently published an open letter in De Standaard, calling for Belgium and KU Leuven to get out of LAW-TRAIN.

Community members, students and academics in Leuven have also played a major role in protesting the university’s involvement in LAW-TRAIN, and four activists blocked the street before the university’s annual convocation, demanding it get out of the project.

Major LAW-TRAIN resources include:

Belgian Coalition against LAW TRAIN
BACBI archive of LAW TRAIN resources
BACBI dossier, “The LAW-TRAIN Project: Why a Partnership with the Israeli Police is Indefensible”
Stop the Wall Campaign, LAW-TRAIN: European License for Israeli Torture
Stop the Wall Campaign, ECCP, Belgian Coalition Against LAW-TRAIN, “The LAW TRAIN Project: Concerns go Unaddressed“

English translation of the open letter from Eva Brems and the Belgian lawyers’ and human rights experts’ delegation below:

Eva Brems’ letter: “The Whitewashing Effect of Law Train” Published in De Standaard, 7 February 2017

Charles Michel is visiting Israel and Palestine this week. This is a coincidence, because we were just there. For a week, we met with human rights organizations and experts. This was an impressive account of large-scale violations of international law, of ordinary people suffering great injustice, and sometimes also of resilience and solidarity.

The righteous indignation over the “new” human rights violator in the White House should not lead us to forget that there is another unpunished Western ally that gets away with structural discrimination and oppression of an entire people. The long duration of the occupation, which reaches its fiftieth year this year, has helped it to become habitual. When outrage subsides, it sends a perverse signal: if you violate human rights long enough, you are no longer held accountable. If we admit this, then it is the end of human rights. Belgium must not contribute to the normalization of illegal occupation and Israeli repression. What struck us greatly, compared with five or ten years ago, is the changing attitude of the Palestinian population. It is a long search for someone who believes in a two state solution. Confidence in the Palestinian Authority is at a low level. All eyes are on the international community for a glimmer of hope. What will our prime minister say on behalf of Belgium, and what will he remain silent about? Now, as the Israeli government institutes a re-intensified policy of aggressive colonization, a clear public condemnation of this is the least that Michel can do.

Now the Israelis have their wall, the final piece of a policy of land grabs and discrimination, assertively promoted in their approach to Donald Trump. He may also mention this hard question. But will he dare to speak out?

Arbitrary Arrests

What premiers do and say are important in international relations. But the normalization of gross human rights violations is not only the work of governments. A number of social actors are doing so, consciously or unconsciously, as well. One painful example is the European research program Law-Train, in which the KU Leuven and the federal prosecution service are partners, as well as the Israeli police. It is unethical that the European Union accepts the Israeli police as a partner in research projects. And it is unethical that the KU Leuven and the federal prosecution service engage and continue in such cooperation. More important than the money that they receive in such a project, for the Israeli police, there is a “whitewashing effect.” The Israeli police can thus extract a form of legitimization and can uphold inward and outward appearances as the international community assists in sweeping the dirt under the carpet.

And there is a lot of dirt to clean. In Israel and the occupied territories, the actions of the police, the army and the security services create a constant climate of terror and denial of the fundamental rights of the Palestinians. The Committee Against Torture of the United Nations expressed this summer its ongoing concerns about torture and ill-treatment by these three entities. Israeli police are responsible in particular for the “security” in East Jerusalem. In addition, they make extensive use of arbitrary and heavy-handed arrests, ill-treatment and torture under interrogation, and of excessive force against demonstrations. The most poignant examples are the arrests of young people, including children of twelve years old, who undergo this treatment like adults without the assistance of a lawyer or another adult. All these facts have been documented by Israeli, Palestinian and international organizations. Yet it is nearly unheard-of for members of the police to be held accountable for their actions.

Portugal: a leading country

The Law-Train project, which is about training in interrogation techniques in the fight against international drug trafficking, is clearly not a project that directly subsidizes or promotes torture. The problem with Law-Train is the cooperation with a problematic partner. By working with the Israeli police on interrogation techniques, just as one would do with a police force that does not take these actions that we reported, the project contributes to the normalization of what should never be normal.

The Portuguese Ministry of Justice stepped out of this project, officially for budgetary reasons, but all signs indicate that they do not want to be complicit in this project of normalization. The federal prosecution service and KU Leuven can and must do the same. Ghent University approved in January a good human rights policy which excludes, inter alia, cooperation with partners who are guilty of serious human rights violations. It is difficult to believe that Rik Torfs, the rector of the Catholic University of Leuven, who earlier in his life took the lead on human rights in the Catholic Church, would today consider the human rights impact of his university to be unimportant.

Also signed by: Alexis Deswaef (chair,Ligue des Droits de l’Homme), Reine Meylaerts (Professor, KU Leuven) and Pieter Staes (lawyer)

Eva Brems is a senior full professor at the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University.

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