Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association launched a new report focusing on the economic exploitation of Palestinian prisoners. The 68-page report, released on 8 February, looks at the impact of imprisonment and accompanying financial exploitation on prisoners and their families.
It examines prices at the “canteen,” the monopolized prison store from which Palestinian prisoners must purchase their food, hygiene supplies and other personal products. It also looks at the history of pre-1980 forced labor among Palestinian prisoners and the use of privatization with both Israeli and international corporations, including G4S, 3M, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Motorola and Volvo.
The Israeli occupation’s Ofer military court cut the administrative detention order of imprisoned journalist and hunger striker Mohammed al-Qeeq from six months to three, reported his family’s Facebook page, on Thursday, 9 February. Al-Qeeq is on his fourth day of hunger strike after he was ordered to administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial – on Monday, 6 February. His family confirmed that he is continuing to pursue his hunger strike despite the reduction in his imprisonment.
Al-Qeeq, 35, carried out a 94-day hunger strike against his prior imprisonment without charge or trial, securing his release from Israeli administrative detention in May 2016. His case highlighted the repression of Palestinian journalists and won widespread Palestinian and international support. Prominent in prisoner support activities, Al-Qeeq was seized by Israeli occupation forces on 15 January 2017 as he passed through the Beit El checkpoint near Ramallah. He was returning from a demonstration in Bethlehem demanding the return of the seized bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces.
Al-Qeeq was repeatedly interrogated before being ordered to administrative detention. He is currently being held in solitary confinement in Hadarim prison. A Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Committee lawyer reported that Israeli intelligence officials had proposed that he be deported from the West Bank of occupied Palestine for a period of time, a proposal completely rejected by al-Qeeq.
Longest-serving Palestinian prisoner Nael Barghouthi said that he and the other re-arrested prisoners of the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange will “reject any proposal relating to their deportation,” according to a Palestinian Prisoners Society lawyer who visited him at Gilboa prison on 9 February.
Barghouthi, 59, from the village of Kobar in Ramallah district, emphasizes that the dozens of former prisoners – many of whom have had their original sentences reimposed by a secretive Israeli military committee in violation of their exchange deal – will only accept their freedom, and return to their families.
Serving a life sentence, Barghouthi was one of the over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange in 2011 after 34 years in Israeli prison. In 2014, he was among dozens of freed prisoners rounded up by Israeli occupation forces in an attempt to pressure Palestinain resistance organizations; many of their sentences were reimposed on the basis of secret evidence and vague allegations of “connections with prohibited organizations,” including every major Palestinian party. Barghouthi’s sentence was not reimposed; instead, he was ordered to 30 months in prison, which ended on 17 December 2016.
The military prosecution appealed this sentence and is calling for the reimposition of his original sentence; this appeal has been sitting before the secretive commission since 2015 without any ruling. Despite his lawyer’s and family’s appeal for his freedom, he was denied release as the committee considers his case and he has been repeatedly moved from one prison to another.
Organize a protest, demonstration, speaking event or banner drop in your city, community or campus calling for freedom for Nael Barghouthi and his fellow Palestinian prisoners.
The Israeli occupation’s Ofer military court issued 31 more administrative detention orders for imprisonment without charge or trial between 1 and 8 February 2017. Administrative detention orders are issued for one to six month periods and are indefinitely renewable. There are currently over 530 Palestinians held under administrative detention; many have had their detention renewed on multiple occasions and have spent years at a time in prison without charge or trial.
Palestinian lawyer Mahmoud Halabi reported that nine of the orders were issued against newly arrested Palestinians, while 22 of the orders renewed existing administrative detentions. Among these administrative detainees is Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq, now held in isolation on his fourth day of hunger strike and demanding his release from detention. Al-Qeeq previously conducted a 94-day hunger strike against his last imprisonment in administrative detention, winning his release in May 2016.
Also included in this list of detainees are Jamal Barham and Shaher al-Rai, Palestinian leftist leaders from Tulkarem and Qalqilya whose detentions have been repeatedly extended since their simultaneous arrests in June 2015.
The administrative detainees are: ‘
1. Numan Saleh Hamed, from Ramallah, 4 months, new order
2. Adam Arafat Hroub, from al-Khalil, 5 months, extension
3. Izzedine Jamil Titi, from al-Khalil, new order
4. Ahmed As’ad Khalifa, from Jenin, 4 months, new order
5. Mohammed Daoud Rubayah, from Bethlehem, 6 months, new order
6. Mohammed Adib al-Qeeq, from al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
7. Shadi Mohammed Abu Ajamieh, from al-Khalil, 6 months, extension
8. Majed Mohammed al-‘Izat, from Bethlehem, 4 months, extension
9. Ahmed Mohammed Abu Nasr, from Ramallah, 3 months, extension
10. Jamal Jamil Barham, from Tulkarem, 3 months, extension
11. Jamal Mustafa Qatana, from Ramallah, 4 months, extension
12. Shaher Ali al-Rai, from Qalqilya, 3 months, extension
13. Nadim Rasim al-Khalil, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
14. Mahdi Mahmoud Shuraitah, from Ramallah, 4 months extension
15. Mohammed Hisham Shuraitah, from Ramallah, 4 months, extension
16. Mohammed Ahmed Rimawi, from Ramallah, 3 months, extension
17. Anas Mahmoud Qaqour, from Jenin, 3 months, extension
18. Maher Ali al-Qadi, from Ramallah, 4 months, extension
19. Abdel-Mohsen Ali Zamarra, from al-Khalil 4 months extension
20. Zahir Ali Hmeidan, from Jerusalem, 6 months, extension
21. Mohammed As’ad Abu Khalifa, from Jenin, 6 months, extension
22. Salah Mahmoud Attia, from Ramallah, 6 months, extension
23. Ashraf Mohammed Awad, from Ramallah, 4 months, extension
24. Mushir Abdel-Qader Shahatit, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
25. Moataz Raja Zaidat, from Ramallah, 4 months, extension
26. Ahmed Abdel-Karim Mohammed, from Ramallah, 4 months, new order
27. Alaa Mohammed Zakarneh, from Jenin, 6 months, new order
28. Hatem Ahmed Suweiti, from al-Khalil, 6 months, extension
29. Ayman Ali Abu Irqub, from Al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
30. Bassam Jawdat Adwan, from Jerusalem, 6 months, extension
31. Omar Mohammed Abu Latifa, from Ramallah, 4 months, new order
Randa Shahatit, former Palestinian prisoner, was released on Tuesday, 7 February after 19 days in Israeli prison. Shahatit, of the town of Dura in the al-Khalil area, was re-arrested on 20 January 2017 by Israeli occupation forces at a checkpoint at al-Fuwwar refugee camp. She engaged in a hunger strike for 7 days after she was held in isolation in HaSharon prison, and she was told that she was being investigated for violating a prior house arrest.
Shahatit, the mother of three children, was previously imprisoned from 2009 until 2011, when she was released on 18 October 2011 in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange. She was re-arrested again in August 2016 and held for 12 days before being released under house arrest conditions while a secret Israeli military commission decided whether to re-impose the remaining portion of her original 55-month sentence. On 3 January 2017, she was cleared of her house arrest restrictions and her prior sentence was not reimposed.
On Tuesday, the Ofer military court concluded her case, fining Shahatit 10,000 NIS ($2670 USD) for driving without a license and releasing her to her home. Upon her release, she spoke with Asra Voice radio, saying that occupation forces deliberately target former prisoners for re-arrest and harassment in an attempt to break their will.
Fellow Palestinian prisoner Najwan Odeh, 34, of El-Bireh, will be released tomorrow, 10 February, after serving 18 months in Israeli prison. She was sentenced formally on 8 February to an 18 month term as well as a fine. Odeh was an administrator with the Qatar Charity, a charitable organization functioning in Palestine that was then declared an “illegal organization” by the Israeli occupation, and was accused of membership and working for an unlawful organization. She was seized from her home on 7 September 2015 by Israeli military occupation forces and interrogated for two weeks before being transfered to HaSharon prison. She was denied family visits for over six months. The military court also imposed a massive fine upon her of 100,000 NIS ($26,700 USD) but declared it to be “suspended” – and thus only payable if she is re-arrested – after repeatedly postponing and continuing her case.
Another female prisoner, Dalal Abu Hawa of Jerusalem, was sentenced today, 9 February, to 12 months in Israeli prison and a fine of 10,000 NIS ($2670 USD), accused of sending money to the “canteen” accounts of Hamas prisoners on behalf of their friends and family members. Palestinian prisoners are forced to buy necessary goods, including food, toiletries and cleaning products, from the “canteen” stores operated inside the prisons. In order to purchase these items, they must use money on hand in their accounts. Abu Hawa is the mother of six children, including 17-year-old child prisoner Omar Abu Hawa, sentenced to 2 years in Israeli prison. Abu Hawa was seized by occupation forces on 28 August 2016 when police and intelligence agents raided the family home, ransacking their belongings.
Meanwhile, Palestinian child prisoner Lama Bakri of al-Khalil, 16, faced the Ofer military court for the tenth time on Wednesday, 8 February, imprisoned since 13 December 2015 and accused of attempting to attack Israeli occupation colonial settlers near the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba. Lama was shot by Israeli occupation forces with several bullets in her left leg, requiring surgery to remove the bullets from her body. She was swiftly transferred from the hospital to HaSharon prison before healing and has continued to suffer from severe pain and difficult health conditions. Lama’s military trial has been repeatedly continued and postponed. The next military court hearing was set for 6 March.
Monday, 13 February 6:00 pm Cinema L’Hippodrome Place du Barlet Douai, France
Organized by AFPS (Association France-Palestine Solidarite) 59/62
The film screening will be followed by a discussion about Palestinian prisoners.
Nous avons l’accord de l’hippodrome pour une projection spéciale le lundi 13 février à 18 heures, suivie d’un débat, qui sera organisées par le groupe de Douai de l’AFPS. La projection et le débat sur les prisonniers sont bien confirmés.
Douai et le Douaisis, déjà largement mobilisés pour le soutien aux prisonniers palestiniens, et où une rencontre s’est déroulée, ainsi qu’à Auby, contre la détention administrative des Palestiniens, poursuivent leur solidarité militante avec un peuple victime d’une occupation coloniale.
Le dossier de presse se trouve sur l’agenda de l’AFPS Nord-Pas de Calais sur son site Accueil AFPS Nord Pas-de-Calais comme sur le site national.
As Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Washington, DC, build a wall of resistance around Trump’s “White House North,” Trump Tower.
Protest their support for racist bans of immgrants and refugees, walls on the Mexico border and throughout occupied Palestine, white supremacist and Zionist racism and violence, and illegal Israeli settlements sprawling across the occupied West Bank, as well as their threat to move the US embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
From Palestine to Mexico, bans and walls have got to go!
Palestinian child prisoner Mohammed Taha, 16, sent the following letter to his family from Israeli prison, where he is serving an 11-year sentence. A Palestinian refugee from Jerusalem’s Shuafat refugee camp, Mohammed is one of a number of Palestinian children – especially Palestinian Jerusalemites – serving lengthy sentences in Israeli jails.
Mohammed was accused along with Munther Abu Mayala, 15, a fellow Palestinian refugee from Shuafat. Monther and Mohammed were accused of “attempted murder” for allegedly attempting to stab an Israeli settler youth at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on 30 January 2016. The 17-year-old in question was allegedly “lightly wounded.” They were also convicted of “possession of a knife.”
Mohammed’s and Munther’s lengthy sentences come alongside the 12-year sentence for Ahmad Manasrah, the 13-year sentence for Nurhan Awad, and the six-year sentences for Muawiya Alqam and Manar Shweiki, among other long prison terms for Palestinian children.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network calls for the immediate release of Mohammed and all imprisoned Palestinian children. We further call for international action to compel the Israeli state to respect the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and end international military aid and assistance that funds the imprisonment and torture of Palestinian children. The imprisonment, oppression, and killing of Palestinian children by the Israeli occupation is part and parcel of the Israeli colonial project in Palestine, and the only true freedom for Palestinian children will be achieved through the freedom of the Palestinian people and Palestinian land.
Mohammed’s letter to his family follows:
{Mother} {Sister}
From Mohammed to his dearest family, Greetings
Good greetings, how are you my dearest ones? I miss you very much. How is Amir’s mother? How are you doing? Please greet on my behalf all of my aunts and my uncles, and the children of my aunts and my uncles, and everybody. Mom, how are you? I miss you a lot and I miss teasing you a lot. How is Mahdi? I miss them. And how is Abu Jana and Um Jana? Say hello to everybody and insh’allah I will soon be amongst you. Say hello to Abu Adib and Abu Amir and my grandmother and grandfather and greet everyone who greets me back, the boys in the neighborhood, the neighbors, Um Adam, Adam, my uncle Bassam and his children. I hope you all are happy. God willing, I will be with you in the near days and our happiness will be complete. Mom, I want you to count on me and please don’t be sad, OK?
I have entered prison as a cub and I will leave it as a lion. Insh’allah I will go back and shine on the neighborhood and our house, and you will be happy and I will get married and we will all be happy. The real judgement is the judgement of God, so don’t be sad that they have given me a sentence of 11 years. It is nothing. Open your eyes, close your eyes, and I will be with you. I swear it will be soon.
{Mom} {Dad}
{I do not regret a thing I did, I do not regret the prison I enter}
Long-time Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa continues to be held in solitary confinement for the fourteenth day; Daqqa, 55, from the town of Baqa al-Gharbiyeh is a pre-Oslo prisoner who has been held in Israeli jails since 25 March 1986.
He was suddenly transferred into solitary confinement on 25 January 2017, accused of unauthorized correspondence with his lawyer. He is suffering from a number of health problems. His lawyer, Ahmed Khalifa, said that he needs hospitalization and the prison clinic cannot provide proper treatment for him, emphasizing that isolation puts him at further risk of deterioration of his health. He requires treatment for an excessive red blood cell count twice weekly, which is not being provided; for him to visit a hospital requires a lengthy trip in the so-called “Bosta,” the metal prison transport van, which can take up to 48 hours with many stops and a lack of access to basic facilities.
A prominent leader in the prisoners’ movement over the years, Daqqa’s writings about the prison experience have been published and widely circulated. 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.
He and his comrades, Ibrahim and Rushdi Abu Mukh and Ibrahim Bayadseh, have been jailed for over 30 years and are sentenced to life sentences for their involvement in a Palestinian resistance operation targeting an Israeli occupation soldier. 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.
The isolation of Daqqa comes as he has been brought into the Israeli allegations against Palestinian Knesset member Basel Ghattas of the National Democratic Alliance (Balad/Tajammu’) along with Daqqa’s brother Assad, 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; As’ad Daqqa is accused of providing the alleged cell phones to Ghattas. As’ad Daqqa was ordered to house imprisonment in Baqa on 1 February.
Daqqa’s wife, Sana Salameh – who he married while imprisoned in 1999 – called upon the United Nations’ Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to “pressure the occupation to remove the captive Walid Daqqa, who is suffering from a serious health issue, from solitary confinement.” His comrades in 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.”
Events are being organized in various cities highlighting Daqqa’s isolation and demanding his release from solitary confinement. A protest in Yafa on 2 February called for his release; participants included family members as well as Knesset members Jamal Zahalka and Osama Saadi.
On Monday, 6 February, Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq was ordered to six months in Israeli prison without charge or trial under administrative detention. Al-Qeeq launched a hunger strike; he previously won his release from administrative detention with a 94-day hunger strike in 2016. There are over 530 Palestinians currently held without charge or trial under indefinitely-renewable administrative detention orders, out of nearly 7,000 total Palestinian prisoners.
Also on Monday, the Ofer court confirmed a four-month administrative detention order against Palestinian prisoner Maher Nazmi Jaradat, 27, from the town of Seir in al-Khalil, stating that his arrest will not be renewed. He has spent over 16 months in administrative detention. Meanwhile, the Ofer appeals court also confirmed a four-month order against Palestinian activist and writer Thamer Sabaaneh, 40, from Jenin, and stated his detention will not be renewed. He has been imprisoned since 11 October 2016 and spent over 8 years total in Israeli prisons.
Israeli occupation authorities issued 35 administrative detention orders between 18 and 31 January, Palestinian lawyer Mahmoud Halabi reported, for a total of 91 orders issued in January 2017. Of this latest group of orders, 12 were new orders and the remainder were renewals of existing orders.
Nidal Abu Aker upon his release from Israeli prison in 2015; he was re-arrested eight months later.
These administrative detention orders included a renewed order against Palestinian journalist, activist and former long-term hunger striker Nidal Abu Aker. Arrested on 9 August 2016, Abu Aker was ordered to an additional six months in Israeli prison. A prominent Palestinian leftist in Dheisheh refugee camp, Abu Aker has spent nine years in total in administrative detention and 13 years overall in Israeli prisons, accused of involvement and leadership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Also ordered to six months in administrative detention was Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmed Mubarak, detained since 16 January. He is one of seven PLC members currently held in Israeli prison.
The orders issued in late January were:
1. Yacoub Yousri Skafi, from al-Khali, 4 months, new order
2. Yousef Abdel-Malik Saadi, from Jenin, 6 months, extension
3. Ismail Yousef Othman, from Tulkarem, 4 months, extension
4. Wael Khalil Jebali, from Tulkarem, 4 months, extension
5. Alaa Yousef Suweiti, from al-Khalil, 6 months, extension
6. Mahmoud Aziz Rimawi, from Ramallah, 5 months, extension
7. Ahmed Mustafa Bilal, from Jenin, 6 months, extension
8. Tawfiq Abdullah Qandil, from Jericho, 6 months, extension
9. Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim, from Jericho, 6 months, extension
10. Jihad Abdel-Fattah Hmeidan, from Jerusalem, 4 months, extension
11. Nidal Naim Abu Aker, from Bethlehem, 6 months, extension
12. Abdullah Fadel Qassem, from Jenin, 4 months, extension
13. Wesam Barakat Ashour, from al-Khalil, 3 months, new order
14. Shadi Mohammed Shehadeh, from Bethlehem, 4 months, extension
15. Karem Nasser Abed Rabbo, from Bethlehem, 6 months, extension
16. Mohammed Kayed Imam, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
17. Riad Mohammed Hroub, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
18. Ahmed Mustafa Zayed, from Ramallah, 3 months, new order
19. Mohammed Abdel-Basit Abu Rayya, from al-Khalil, 4 months, new order
20. Montasser Wajih Abu Ayyash, from al-Khalil, 4 months, new order
21. Malik Ibrahim Hamed, from Ramallah, 3 months, extension
22. Musab Mohammed Asfour, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
23. Humam Abdel-Razeq Khamaiseh, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
24. Abdel-Rahman Issa Abu Usba, from Tulkarem, 4 months, extension
25. Rawhi Ghassan Marmash, from Nablus, 4 months, extension
26. Muath Abdel-Jaber Abu Tarboush, from Bethlehem, 4 months, extension
27. Mohammed Kamal al-Badan, from Bethlehem, 4 months, new order
28. Abdel-Aziz Abdallah Batran, from al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
29. Dakhlallah Habes Umour, from Bethlehem, 4 months, new order
30. Imad Nael Arheimi, from Ramallah, 4 months, extension
31. Salim Hamad Jahalin, from Bethlehem, 6 months, new order
32. Yousef Shafiq Abdel-Karim, from Ramallah, 4 months, new order
33. Faisal Mahmoud Khalifa, from Tulkarem, 4 months, extension
34. Falah Taher Nada, from el-Bireh, 6 months, new order
35. Ahmed Abdel-Aziz Mubarak, from Ramallah, 6 months, new order
The Israeli occupation’s Ofer military court cut the administrative detention order of imprisoned journalist and hunger striker 
Longest-serving Palestinian prisoner 
Randa Shahatit
Fellow Palestinian prisoner 
Meanwhile, Palestinian child prisoner 
Organized by AFPS (Association France-Palestine Solidarite) 59/62
Get it out of Palestine! Keep it out of Mexico!
A prominent leader in the prisoners’ movement over the years, Daqqa’s writings about the prison experience have been published and widely circulated. 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.
Events are being organized in various cities highlighting Daqqa’s isolation and demanding his release from solitary confinement. A 
On Monday, 6 February, Palestinian journalist 
