The detention of Mohammed al-Qeeq, Palestinian journalist and former long-term hunger striker, was extended by an Israeli occupation military court on Thursday, 19 January for four more days until Monday, 23 January. Allegedly, he is being accused of “incitement,” a broad charge used to prosecute Palestinians for giving public speeches or even writing on social media about the occupation.
Al-Qeeq, 34, engaged in a 94-day hunger strike in early 2016, winning his release from administrative detention without charge or trial in May 2016. On Sunday, 15 January, he was seized by Israeli occupation forces at the Beit El checkpoint north of Ramallah while returning from a demonstration in Bethlehem demanding the return of the bodies of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli forces whose bodies remain detained by the Israeli state.
Meanwhile, released yesterday was Ayed Heraimi, 24, who went on hunger strike against his administrative detention without charge or trial for 45 days in July and August 2016, ending his strike with an agreement for his release. Heraimi was imprisoned on 22 December 2013 on charges of membership in a prohibited organization, the Islamic Jihad movement. When he was released in 2015, he was re-arrested only shortly thereafter was imprisoned without charge or trial for one year and one month under administrative detention.
The Israeli occupation military issued 22 administrative detention orders to imprison Palestinians without charge or trial between 11 and 18 January, 2017. Palestinian lawyer Mahmoud Halabi noted that the Ofer military court had issued five new administrative detention orders and 17 renewal orders against Palestinians already jailed without charge or trial.
There are over 700 Palestinians imprisoned without charge or trial under Israeli administrative detention. These orders are issued for one to six months at a time, but are indefinitely renewable; some Palestinians have spent years at a time in administrative detention. These orders follow 34 more administrative detention orders issued between 1 and 11 January.
Among those issued renewal orders was Ghassan Zawahreh, former long-term hunger striker who won his release in the 2015 “Battle of Breaking the Chains,” and whose brother, Moataz Zawahreh, was killed by Israeli forces as he joined a protest outside Dheisheh refugee camp. He was ordered to six more months imprisonment without charge or trial.
The imprisonment of Khairullah Hafez Sharaideh, from Nablus, who uses a wheelchair and was transferred to interrogation in an ambulance, was also ordered extended without charge or trial for four more months. Bajis Khalil Nakhleh, 50, from Jalazon refugee camp in Ramallah, is a former prisoner who spent over 18 years in Israeli prison and was deported from Palestine in the Marj al-Zouhour mass deportation of Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders, also saw his administrative detention renewed for another four months of imprisonment without charge.
The list of those issued administrative detention orders follows:
1. Ahmed Mohammed Warada, from Nablus, 4 months, extension
2. Mohammed Abdel-Fattah Hazin, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
3. Ahmed Abdallah Abu Sariyah, from Jenin, 4 months, extension
4. Nabil Kamel Jabbara, from al-Khalil, 6 months, extension
5. Basem Mohammed Musallem, from al-Khalil, 6 months, extension
6. Ghassan Ibrahim Zawahreh, from Bethlehem, 6 months, extension
7. Khairullah Hafez Sharaideh, from Nablus, 4 months, extension
8. Mamdouh Saud Kharajah, Bethlehem, 4 months, extension
9. Aseed Mohammed Mualla, from Nablus, 6 months, new order
10. Wael Younis Bader, from Jerusalem, 4 months, extension
11. Ahmed Mohammed Zourba, from Nablus, 6 months, extension
12. Ibrahim Mohammed Faqih, from Ramallah, 4 months, new order
13. Mohammed Nazmi Safi, from Ramallah, 4 months, extension
14. Murad Mohammed Mahameed, from Bethlehem, 4 months, extension
15. Mohammed Ahmed Antar, from Jerusalem, 6 months, new order
16. Mohammed Hamdi Shabana, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
17. Bajis Khalil Nakhleh, from Ramallah, 4 months, extension
18. Raafat Hussein Shalash, from al-Khalil, 6 months, extension
19. Rami Amin Sharida, from Tubas, 3 months, new order
20. Ahmad Nuh Hareish, from Ramallah, 3 months, new order
21. Mahmoud Hassan Wardian, from Bethlehem, 6 months, extension
22. Omar Abdel-Fattah Hanbali, from Nablus, 4 months, extension
Jewish Voice for Peace has also created a form to send letters to the university against the denial of student rights, especially for faculty members at other universities. To sign on: https://t.co/5xEMyz1B3g
Solidarity With Fordham SJP!
We, the the undersigned organizations, professors, students, and other concerned individuals, extend our unequivocal support to the Fordham University students facing administrative repression of their efforts to organize and advocate for Palestinian rights. In spite of the United Student Government’s vote to approve club status for Students in Justice in Palestine, the Dean of Students at Fordham Lincoln Center, Keith Eldredge, issued a last minute veto of its charter. Dean Eldredge cites concern for the divisive nature of such advocacy and encourages students to explore alternative means of engaging the issue, mirroring language commonly used to stifle any challenge to the status quo. Just as troubling is the invocation of a baseless and damaging stereotype that characterizes pro-Palestine activists as malicious and antagonistic. At a time of increased state repression and threats to civil liberties, educational institutions have a duty to protect the free speech of their students, especially those with politically unpopular positions and marginalized identities. We affirm the courage of our allies and condemn Fordham’s cowardly capitulations to the forces that aim to systematically disparage and derail the movement for justice in Palestine.
In Solidarity,
NYC Students for Justice in Palestine
Endorsing Organizations:
Academics for Palestine
Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right To Return Coalition
Al-Nakba Awareness Project
American Muslims for Palestine
American Muslims for Palestine – Chicago Chapter
Arab Studies Club of Hunter College
Arab Students Organization – Northwestern University
ARCH (Alliance to Restore Cultural Heritage in the Holy City of Jerusalem)
Barnard/Columbia Socialists
Chicago Veterans For Peace Chapter #26
The City University of New York (CUNY) Adjunct Project
Committee for Open Discussion of Zionism (CODZ)
CUNY 4 Palestine
DePaul Socialists
Gaza Action Ireland
General Union of Palestine Students, San Francisco State University
Georgetown University Forming a Radically Ethical Endowment
Independent Jewish Voices McGill University
International Socialist Organization
International Socialist Organization – Portland, OR
International Socialist Organization-Asheville, NC
International Socialist Organization, Austin, TX
Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Jewish Voice for Peace – Boston
Jewish Voice for Peace – Los Angeles
Jewish Voice for Peace – NYC
Jewish Voice for Peace – Ohio State University
Jewish Voice for Peace – Philadelphia
Jewish Voice for Peace – Portland, OR
Jewish Voice for Peace – San Diego, CA
Jewish Voice for Peace – Vassar
Jewish Voice for Peace – Westchester
Jews for Palestinian Right of Return
Labor for Palestine
MENA Solidarity Network-US
Middle East Children’s Alliance
Muslim American Society of New York
NH Veterans for Peace
Occupation-Free Portland
Ohio Student Association
Palestine Solidarity Alliance, Hunter College
Palestine Solidarity Collective – Syracuse, NY
Palestine Solidarity Committee, Harvard College
Palestine Solidarity Committee, UT Austin
Peace Action Manhattan
Peace, Justice, Sustainability Florida
Philadelphia Coalition for REAL Justice
Police Reform Organizing Project
Progessive Student Union – U.T. Arlington
Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Showing Up for Racial Justice NYC
Students for a Democratic Society at UH
Students for Justice in Palestine, Bard College
Students for Justice in Palestine, Berkeley Law
Students for Justice in Palestine, Brown University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Bryn Mawr and Haverford
Students for Justice in Palestine, California State University, Fullerton
Students for Justice in Palestine, California State University Sacramento
Students for Justice in Palestine, City College of New York
Students for Justice in Palestine, College of Staten Island
Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia
Students for Justice in Palestine, CUNY Law
Students for Justice in Palestine, DePaul University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Duke University
Students for Justice in Palestine, FIU
Students for Justice in Palestine, Florida State University
Students for Justice in Palestine, George Washington University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Georgetown University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Green Mountain College
Students for Justice in Palestine, Houston
Students for Justice in Palestine, Hunter College
Students for Justice in Palestine, John Jay College
Students for Justice in Palestine, Kent State University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Louisiana State University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Maastricht
Students for Justice in Palestine, National Coordinating Committee
Students for Justice in Palestine, The New School
Students for Justice in Palestine, New York University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Northeastern University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Northwestern University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Ohio State University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Rotterdam
Students for Justice in Palestine, Saint Joseph’s College
Students for Justice in Palestine, TCD
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of California Berkeley
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of California Los Angeles
Students for Justice of Palestine, University of California, Riverside
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of California Santa Cruz
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of Chicago
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of North Florida
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of Texas at Arlington
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Students for Justice in Palestine, Vassar College
Students for Justice in Palestine, Wesleyan University
Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine, Earlham College
Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights- Portland State University
US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI)
Warscapes Magazine
Wasatch Coalition for Peace and Justice, Salt Lake City
WESPAC Foundation
Young Democratic Socialists of Princeton
Young Communist League – Hamilton Chapter
Indigenous U.S. political prisoner Leonard Peltier was denied clemency by President Barack Obama last night, 19 January, in yet another example of settler colonial injustice against the American Indian Movement struggler. Peltier has been imprisoned for over 40 years in U.S. federal prisons. He suffers from a number of severe, life-threatening health conditions. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network reiterates its support and solidarity with Leonard Peltier, one of the longest-serving political prisoners in U.S. jails, and the indigenous movement for self-determination, sovereignty and justice challenging settler colonialism. We denounce in the strongest terms his continuing imprisonment and President Obama’s denial of justice.
We also once again urge all to continue to take action to support clemency and commutation for U.S. politica prisoners, including Dr. Mutulu Shakur, Veronza Bowers and the Holy Land Foundation 5 (Mufid Abdulqader, Shukri Baker, Ghassan Elashi, Mohammad El-Mezain, and Abdulrahman Odeh.)
Below is the re-published statement of the International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, with a powerful quote from Leonard and a call to write letters of support and solidarity to him:
Brothers, sisters, friends and supporters:
Our hearts are heavy today. President Obama has denied Leonard’s application for a commutation. His name appears on the January 18 list of commutations denied by Obama as issued by the Office of the Pardon Attorney. Leonard’s attorney Martin Garbus was also notified. (Pardon Attorney’s Letter)
Today, in an email, Leonard said, “If I should not [receive clemency] then after we are locked in for the day I will have a good cry and then pick myself up and get myself ready for another round of battles until I cannot fight [any] more. So, don’t worry. I can handle anything after over 40 years.”
It’s hard to bear such a blow, though. And make no mistake — Leonard has been hit hardest of all. But let’s not mourn so very long. Instead, let’s move ever forward. Channel your grief and anger in a positive way. Remember that Leonard still needs our help. He needs quality health care and a transfer to a medium security facility, among other things. We’ll always work towards freedom for Leonard, but these actions may help to make his life more bearable until freedom is won.
Now, we urge you to write to Leonard and help to keep his spirits up. Tell him you won’t give up, that you’ll walk the rest of the way with him. Send cards and letters to:
Leonard Peltier #89637-132
USP Coleman I
PO Box 1033
Coleman, FL 33521
Thank you for your hard work and determination. Blessings to all of you.
Palestinian prisoner Yasmin Zarou al-Tamimi, 21, was released from Israeli prisons on Tuesday afternoon, 17 January. Zarou had spent nearly one year in Israeli prison after she was shot and severely injured and accused of “attempting to stab” an Israeli occupation soldier on 15 February 2016, even though even allegedly, she only tossed a small knife in the direction of occupation soldiers at a checkpoint. When she was shot, she was left injured and bleeding and passersby were barred from helping her or providing medical assistance; she needed multiple surgeries. She was sentenced to one year in Israeli prison and a one-year suspended sentence for five years.
In addition, Nadia Abu Jamal, the widow of Ghassan Abu Jamal, was released from Israeli occupation imprisonment on Wednesday, 18 January, but ordered from her home city of Jerusalem. After her husband and his cousin, Uday Abu Jamal, carried out their attack, she was stripped of her Jerusalem ID. However, she remained in the family home in Jabal al-Mukabber neighborhood in East Jerusalem. She was ordered to return to her family village of Sawahra al-Sharqiya; while her three children have Jerusalem residency and were born in the city, she must bring them with her to Sawahra al-Sharqiya or face separation from them.
If she is found returning to Jerusalem, she will be subject to a six-month prison sentence. The arrest and exile of Abu Jamal from Jerusalem comes amid an ongoing and massive series of repressive measures and attacks against Jabal al-Mukabber neighborhood and Palestinians in Jerusalem more broadly, including announced plans to demolish dozens of homes and build settlements on Palestinian land.
Palestinian prisoner Anas Jaradat will be released from isolation to the general prison population by mid-February along with four other isolated Palestinians, reported Muhja al-Quds Foundation. The agreement was reached on Wednesday, 18 January to resolve Jaradat’s hunger strike and the announced steps of protest by Islamic Jihad prisoners.
Jaradat, held in isolation in Ashkelon prison, will be returned to the general prison population in Ramon prison in February 2017. He had earlier highlighted aggressive and threatening statements by prison officials in Ashkelon, and has been denied appropriate medical treatment for liver disease. He was not informed that he has liver disease or provided with treatment until 2016 despite tests in 2009 detecting it.
Said Saleh, Hosni Issa, Munir Abu Rabie and Abdullah Abu Daher, all held in Eshel prison, will also be returned to general population in Hadarim prison under this agreement.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes Oscar López Rivera and Chelsea Manning on the commutation of their sentences by U.S. President Barack Obama. The victory of López Rivera and Manning is one for the Puerto Rican people’s movement and strugglers for justice throughout the U.S. and internationally who have demanded freedom for political prisoners in U.S. jails.
López Rivera fought all of his life as a Puerto Rican revolutionary against U.S. colonialism in his homeland, and for independence and justice. He has served over 35 years in U.S. prison for “seditious conspiracy” for his involvement in the struggle for the freedom of his people. Lopez Rivera’s prosecution and imprisonment came as part of a concentrated political attack on the revolutionary Puerto Rican movement for independence from U.S. colonial rule. López Rivera’s attorney, Jan Susler, said in 2012 that her client had been “punished for his beliefs and affiliations, for who he is, not for any act he committed.”
Manning, who was a soldier in the U.S. army, revealed materials and documents exposing war crimes and the killing of Iraqi, Yemeni and Afghan civilians by the U.S. war machine, providing the documents to Wikileaks. She was sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison.
López Rivera and Manning will be freed on 17 May. This was not a benevolent gesture by Obama, but a victory for popular movements. In the last days of the Obama presidency, it is a critical moment to step up the pressure for clemency and commutation for political prisoners in U.S. jails, including the following key cases:
Leonard Peltier
Leonard Peltier is an American Indian Movement (AIM) activist who has served over 41 years in prison, falsely accused of involvement in the death of FBI agents engaged in an attack on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Peltier is in very poor health. His case has received wide support across the U.S. and internationally. This is Peltier’s last chance to live in freedom.
Mutulu Shakur
Dr. Mutulu Shakur, a New Afrikan activist, has been in U.S. federal prison for over 30 years and denied parole eight times. He is imprisoned for involvement in actions as part of the Black Liberation movement, was targeted by the FBI’s COINTELPRO program and is a co-founder of the Republic of New Afrika Movement. While he was scheduled for mandatory release in February 2016, it was unexpectedly cancelled.
Holy Land 5 (Mufid Abdulqader, Shukri Baker, Ghassan Elashi, Mohammad El-Mezain, and Abdulrahman Odeh)
These five Palestinian-American humanitarians raised millions of dollars in purely charitable aid for the Palestinian people. However, the U.S. government – with the aid of anonymous Israeli intelligence agents who were permitted to testify at their trial – criminalized their charity work and they are now serving sentences of 15 to 65 years in federal prisons. The conviction of the HLF5 has not only severely hurt these charity workers and their families, but has created a severe chilling effect on Palestinian, Arab and Muslim organizing and charity work in the U.S.
Veronza Bowers
Veronza Bowers is a former member of the Black Panther Party who has been held in U.S. federal prison for over 37 years. He was convicted in the murder of a U.S. Park Ranger on the word of two government informers, with no eyewitnesses and no independent evidence. He was to be released in 2005 on mandatory parole, only for his release to be blocked and rescinded at the last minute.
**
President Obama may issue commutations and clemency grants until Friday, 20 January at noon. It is critical to continue to contact the White House until the last minute to call for commutation or clemency for Leonard Peltier, Dr. Mutulu Shakur, Veronza Bowers and the Holy Land Five, Mufid Abdelqader, Shukri Baker, Ghassan Elashi, Mohammed El-Mezain and Abdulrahman Odeh.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes Oscar López Rivera and Chelsea Manning, the Puerto Rican people and the popular movements, lawyers and committees that worked tirelessly in the struggle to free these political prisoners. We urge continued action to free all political prisoners in U.S. jails. While executive clemency and commutation only apply to federal cases, there are many political prisoners – like Mumia Abu-Jamal – held in state prisons as well. From the U.S. to Palestine, free all political prisoners!
Re-arrested Palestinian journalist and former long-term hunger striker Mohammed al-Qeeq suspended his hunger strike pending a court hearing on Thursday, 19 January, said his wife Fayha Shalash.
She said that her husband has vowed that if he is ordered again to Israeli administrative detention he will begin his hunger strike with the same intensity as in the past; he engaged in a hunger strike for 94 days against his imprisonment without charge or trial, winning his release in May 2016. Al-Qeeq was seized by Israeli occupation soldiers on Sunday evening at the Beit El checkpoint near Ramallah on 15 January, as he returned from a demonstration in Bethlehem, demanding the return of the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, Anas Jaradat, 36, of Silat al-Harthiya village near Jenin, announced on Tuesday evening, 17 January, that he is launching an open-ended hunger strike against his solitary confinement and for proper medical treatment for liver disease. Jaradat has been held in isolation for nine months and recently learned that Israeli prison doctors have had knowledge of his liver condition since 2009, information he was denied until 2016. Islamic Jihad prisoners have announced that they will begin a series of escalating protest steps if Jaradat there is not an answer from the prison administration by next Sunday. They have also called for the release from isolation of Said Saleh, Hosni Issa, Munir Abu Rabie and Abdallah Abu Daher, held in Eshel prison, by 1 February.
Today, Sa’adat, the General Secretary of the Palestinian leftist political party the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, is serving a 30-year sentence in Israeli prison and is a leader in the Palestinian prisoners’ movement. He and his comrades were abducted from the PA’s Jericho prison, where they were held for over four years, on 13 March 2006, when the prison was attacked by armed Israeli occupation forces who demolished part of the prison and killed two Palestinian guards.
Participants in the Sa’adat actions urged international solidarity and pressure to release Sa’adat and his fellow 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and also demanded the end of the policy of “security coordination” under which the PA arrested Sa’adat. Samidoun and the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat worked together to organize the days of action; events were organized in 15 countries and 26 cities around the world, including the following:
John Fletcher of Samidoun spoke to an event organized by the Workers World Party and International Action Center about Sa’adat’s imprisonment and the struggle of Palestinian prisoners.
Meanwhile, New York City Students for Justice in Palestine stood in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and his fellow Palestinian prisoners at the first session of their Palestine Winter School at NYU.
Friday, 13 January
On Friday, 13 January the campaign kicked off in full force with multiple events around the world.
Photo: Bud Korotzer/Desertpeace
In New York City, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network organized a protest outside the Best Buy in Union Square, demanding freedom for Sa’adat and building the boycott campaign against Hewlett-Packard (HP); HP companies profit from the oppression and imprisonment of Palestinians and are subject to a global boycott campaign.
Photos: Bud Korotzer/Desertpeace
In Albuquerque, New Mexico in the US, Irish Americans for Socialism and Liberation organized a solidarity event at the South West Organizing Project, with information and materials about Sa’adat and fellow Palestinian prisoners.
In Brussels, Belgium, Secours Rouge and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network held a workshop and discussion on Ahmad Sa’adat and the struggle to free Palestinian prisoners at the new Local Sacco-Vanzetti organizing space. Khaled Barakat of the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and Charlotte Kates of Samidoun spoke about the prisoners’ struggle and a video interview of Sa’adat was screened.
In Copenhagen, Denmark, the Internationalt Forum’s Middle East Group organized a night of solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and the Palestinian prisoners, screening a film on Leila Khaled and discussing the life and struggle of Sa’adat and his fellow prisoners.
In Toulouse, France, Coup Pour Coup 31 organized an information table at Jean Jaures metro station where they distributed information about the case of Ahmad Sa’adat, the case of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, and the struggle of the Palestinian people.
In Sour, Lebanon, Palestinian and Lebanese organizations protested outside the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross, raising Palestinian flags and demanding freedom for all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Speakers from a number of Palestinian and Lebanese political organizations urged the immediate release of Ahmad Sa’adat and his fellow Palestinian prisoners, urging Palestinian unity and international action for their release.
In Tunis, Tunisia, the Palestine Land Studies Center organized an exhibition and information table on 13 and 14 January about Ahmad Sa’adat, the Palestinian prisoners and Palestine as part of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights. Activists provided information about the struggle of Palestinian prisoners.
In Damascus, Syria, Palestinians gathered in the headquarters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine for an event in solidarity with Sa’adat and fellow Palestinian prisoners. Former prisoner Ahmad Abu Saud spoke at the event.
Saturday, 14 January
International events continued widely on the second full day of the actions in solidarity with Sa’adat.
In Istanbul, Turkey, Tutsaklarla Dayanisma Inisiyatifi, the Solidarity Initiative with the Prisoners, organized a vigil at Galatasaray Square in downtown Istanbul, calling for the release of Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners. The demonstration also called for an end to Turkish normalization with the Israeli state.
In Galway, Ireland, Irish republican socialist organization éirígí organized an information table to demand freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat, distributing literature and materials about the struggle of Palestinian prisoners.
In Wicklow, Ireland, éirígí activists gathered to stand in solidarity with imprisoned Palestinian leader and PFLP General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners.
In Glasgow, Scotland, Revolutionary Communist Group activists and friends of éirígí set up an information table and displayed banners and Palestinian flags calling for freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat and fellow Palestinian prisoners. They chalked the streets and spoke through a megaphone, distributing information, and also joined Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign protesters outside Barclays bank demonstrating against its investments in Israeli military technology.
In Manchester, England, Boycott Israel Group activists picketed Barclays bank on Market Street, demanding freedom for Palestinian prisoners and urging the boycott of Barclays bank for its investment and profiteering from British and Israeli war technology.
In London, Revolutionary Communist Group and Samidoun supporters organized two actions to demand freedom for Sa’adat and his fellow Palestinian prisoners. In Brixton, South London RCG held a street meeting, distributing literature and raising awareness about the campaign to free Palestinian prisoners.
In Whitechapel, East London RCG spoke over a public sound system about the struggle of Palestinian political prisoners and distributed campaign materials.
In Hilton Head, North Carolina in the US, Hilton Head for Peace organized a vigil in solidarity with Sa’adat and his fellow Palestinian prisoners, calling for an end to US involvement in the oppression of Palestinians.
In Brussels, Belgium, Intal organized a Palestine Brunch with performances and talks by members of Raj’een Palestinian Dabke Troupe. Mostafa Awad of Samidoun and Raj’een and other members of the troupe performed and visited various tables, speaking about Palestine, the situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Palestinian political prisoners.
In Milan, Italy, Fronte Palestina and the Colettivo Contro la Represion joined a rally outside the Opera prison on 14 January against the use of solitary confinement, including imprisoned leftists. They distributed information about the struggle of Palestinian prisoners and the case of Ahmad Sa’adat while joining the broader demonstration against the system of repression and incarceration in Italy, as well as the “Fortress Europe” border “security” initiatives leading to death and deportation for refugees.
In Florence, Italy, Fronte Palestina also engaged in leafleting about the case of Ahmad Sa’adat and the struggle of Palestinian prisoners while joining a demonstration marking the anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli 2008-2009 war on Gaza.
In addition, in Padova, Italy, Fronte Palestina displayed banners in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat as well as appearing on a radio program to discuss the case and the struggle of the prisoners.
In Vancouver, Canada, activists with the International League of Peoples’ Struggle gathered to stand in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and his fellow Palestinian prisoners. In addition, the ILPS Canada chapter issued a solidarity statement in support of the campaign to free Sa’adat.
Sunday, 15 January
On Sunday, 15 January, while international officials and politicians convened in Paris to promote a “two-state solution” while ignoring fundamental Palestinian rights, events and actions demanded freedom for Palestinian prisoners.
In Berlin, Germany, the Democratic Palestine Committees-Berlin organized a Palestine contingent in the Liebknecht-Luxemburg-Lenin march, which drew over 15,000 leftists to demonstrate on the 98th anniversary of the execution of German revolutionary leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. Participants carried Palestinian flags and signs demanding freedom for imprisoned strugglers including Ahmad Sa’adat and Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. Ghazi Hamad of the Democratic Palestine Committees spoke about the Palestinian struggle at the central rally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiJ2uSsalAE
In Paris, France, a number of organizations, including the Unified Campaign to Free Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, gathered to demonstrate at Ménilmontant Metro station. Protesters carried Palestinian flags and signs demanding freedom for Sa’adat and Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, imprisoned in French prisons for 32 years.
In Derry, Ireland, Member of European Parliament Martina Anderson joined Derry Sinn Fein to demonstrate for freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners as well as Irish republican prisoner Tony Taylor.
In Waterloo, Canada, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement International Office opened on Sunday evening, 15 January. The opening event included a presentation by Aiyanas Ormond of ILPS Canada on the case of Ahmad Sa’adat and the struggle of Palestinian prisoners for freedom.
Monday, 16 January
On Monday, 16 January, in Gaza City, Palestine, the PFLP and its Prisoners Committee organized a large rally in support of Sa’adat and the Palestinian prisoners in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross headquarters in Gaza. Speakers, banners and signs called for freedom for Sa’adat and fellow Palestinian prisoners, while Sumoud Sa’adat, the daughter of Ahmad Sa’adat and an activist for Palestinian prisoners, addressed the participants with a recorded message from her home in Ramallah. She saluted all of the Palestinian prisoners and people around the world participating in these events, with a special salute to Georges Ibrahim Abdallah.
On Wednesday, 18 January, the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat will hold an event in Ramallah, Palestine, featuring Mahmoud Fanoun and lawyer Muhannad Karajah, speaking about the experience of Palestinian imprisonment in Israeli jails.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat thank all of the organizations and activists that participated in these days of action and look forward to continuing to work together and struggle until the freedom of Ahmad Sa’adat, all Palestinian prisoners and the land and people of Palestine.
The statement for the week of action follows, with the list of endorsers:
January 13-15, 2017 marks the 15th anniversary of the seizure of Palestinian political leader, General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmad Sa’adat, by the Palestinian Authority under the policy of “security cooperation,” at the behest of Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom. Today, after a 2006 attack on the Jericho prison by Israeli occupation forces, Sa’adat is serving a 30-year sentence in occupation prisons, convicted in a military court of leading a prohibited organization and incitement.
Ahmad Sa’adat is a leader of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement and a leader of the Palestinian national liberation movement, held behind bars with 7,000 fellow leaders of the Palestinian people. There are thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, on the front line of the struggle for freedom. In the past year, over 6,000 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli occupation forces. These Palestinian political prisoners are the leaders of resistance to occupation, targeted for their role in refusing racism, colonialism, apartheid and occupation.
The imprisonment of Ahmad Sa’adat and his fellow Palestinian political prisoners is aided and assisted by the complicity of international states and major corporations. The United States and United Kingdom guarded Sa’adat in a Palestinian Authority prison and cleared the way for an Israeli attack, ensuring Sa’adat and his comrades came under fire. And the political, military and economic support these and other states, including the European Union and Canada, provide to the Israeli occupation allows the continued imprisonment and extrajudicial execution of Palestinians with impunity. Further, corporations like Hewlett Packard (HP) profit from the imprisonment of Palestinians by selling their services to the Israeli Prison Service.
On January 13-15, 2017, we join in a collective call for international action for the freedom of Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian political prisoners. We demand an end to the internationally-mandated policy of Palestinian Authority “security coordination” that undermines the Palestinian struggle for freedom. And we urge the escalation of the campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against the Israeli state and complicit institutions and corporations, including HP, to create, as Sa’adat said, “a real economic cost for the industries of colonization.”
We echo the call to organize events, actions and protests in cities, town squares, campuses and public spaces to break the isolation of the prisoners, and demand freedom now for Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian political prisoners.
Endorsing organizations:
Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network Handala Center for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Palestinian Prisoners’ Committee Coup Pour Coup 31 International Red Aid / Secours Rouge International Collectif pour la Libération de Georges Ibrahim Abdallah – Paris
32CSM International Department
ACAT France
Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (National)
Al-Awda NY: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
Alternative Information Center
ANPI Torre del Greco
Asociacion Biladi
Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR)
Association Switzerland Palestine
BACBI (Belgian Academic and Cultural Boycott)
Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within (Israeli citizens for BDS)
Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver
Cátedra de Estudios Palestinos “Edward W. Said” – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras- UBA
Citizens International
Communist Party (Sweden)
Corvallis Palestine Solidarity
De-Colonizer
Demokratische Komitees Palästinas – Berlin
éirígí
Exeter PSC
Filipino Refugees in the Netherlands
Freedom Archives
Freedom Road Socialist Organization
Fronte Palestina
Global Campaign for Palestinian Political Prisoners (GCPPP)
Groupe Non-Violent Louis Lecoin
Hilton Head for Peace
ILPS in Canada (Country Chapter)
International Action Center
International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Internationalt Forum – Middle East Group
International Movement for a Just World (JUST)
Invicta Palestina
Izquierda Unida
Jewish Voice for Peace, San Diego
Justice for Palestine Matters
Le Cri Rouge
Middle East Crisis Response
Mouvement Citoyen Palestine
National Jericho Movement
National Students for a Democratic Society
NYC Students for Justice in Palestine
Ölümsüzlerin ve Tutsaklarin Sesi Platformu
Palestina Rossa
Pakistan USA Freedom Forum
Partido Comunista de España
Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine
Red Sparks Union
Revolutionary Communist Group
Solidarity with Novorossiya & Antifascists in Ukraine
The New Jewel Movement
Unadikum Association
Union juive française pour la paix (UJFP)
Unione Democratica Arabo Palestina (UDAP) – Italy
United National Antiwar Coalition
Vlaams Socialistische Beweging
Already Trump’s election has signalled a boost for Israel’s fascist president Netanyahu. While the new leader of US imperialism promotes right wing Zionists, promises an embassy in occupied Jerusalem and supports settlements on Palestinian land, Britain is offering no opposition. In fact, British banks are profiting from the occupation and from wars on Syria and Yemen that are backed by most MPs. Palestinians are ready to resist, even as 7000 are locked up in Zionist prisons. We must stand with them on the streets and build a movement against racism and imperialism.
Barclays bank is a symbol of the warmongering of the British ruling class. It invests in arms companies that are complicit in the war crimes of the Israeli, Saudi and Turkish regimes. Its funding for Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems show that years after providing loans to the apartheid regime in South Africa, Barclays is still supporting racism, war and occupation. It has to be a focus of BDS campaiging and of protest against imperialist attempts to redivide the Middle East.
The detention of Mohammed al-Qeeq, Palestinian journalist and former long-term hunger striker, was extended by an Israeli occupation military court on Thursday, 19 January for four more days until Monday, 23 January. Allegedly, he is being accused of “incitement,” a broad charge used to prosecute Palestinians for giving public speeches or even writing on social media about the occupation.
The Israeli occupation military issued 
Solidarity With Fordham SJP!
Indigenous U.S. political prisoner 
Palestinian prisoner Yasmin Zarou al-Tamimi, 21, was released from Israeli prisons on Tuesday afternoon, 17 January. Zarou had spent nearly one year in Israeli prison after she was shot and severely injured and accused of “
In addition, 
Palestinian prisoner 
Re-arrested Palestinian journalist and former long-term hunger striker 
In Whitechapel, East London RCG spoke over a public sound system about the struggle of Palestinian political prisoners and distributed campaign materials.
In Florence, Italy, Fronte Palestina also engaged in leafleting about the case of Ahmad Sa’adat and the struggle of Palestinian prisoners while joining a demonstration marking the anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli 2008-2009 war on Gaza.
In Berlin, Germany, the Democratic Palestine Committees-Berlin 
Already Trump’s election has signalled a boost for Israel’s fascist president Netanyahu. While the new leader of US imperialism promotes right wing Zionists, promises an embassy in occupied Jerusalem and supports settlements on Palestinian land, Britain is offering no opposition. In fact, British banks are profiting from the occupation and from wars on Syria and Yemen that are backed by most MPs. Palestinians are ready to resist, even as 7000 are locked up in Zionist prisons. We must stand with them on the streets and build a movement against racism and imperialism.