Georges Abdallah launches 3-day refusal of meals in French prison in support of Bilal Kayed

3 August 2016

Today, 4 August 2016, Georges Abdallah announced that he is refusing meals for three days in French prison, in solidarity with Bilal Kayed, demanding Kayed’s release as Kayed enters his 51st day of hunger strike.

“In solidarity with Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strike to protest the Israeli policy of ‘administrative detention’ and to support and demand the unconditional release of the Palestinian struggler Bilal Kayed, I am refusing meal trays for three days from today, Thursday, 4 August,” said Georges Abdallah in a letter.

Six leftist Basque activists and other Arab prisoners held in Lannemezan prison have joined his initiative.

Bilal Kayed is on his 51st day of hunger strike. Imprisoned since December 2001, he was scheduled for release from Israeli prisons after a 14.5 year sentence on 13 June. Instead of being released, however, he was ordered to administrative detention for a six-month, indefinitely renewable period, without charge or trial and on the basis of secret evidence. Kayed, a prominent leader inside the prisons, launched his hunger strike on 15 June.

Over 100 fellow Palestinian prisoners, including Kayed’s comrades in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and fellow Palestinian prisoners across political lines, have joined the strike to demand Kayed’s release. Fellow strikers include imprisoned Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa’adat, the General Secretary of the PFLP, as well as prominent Palestinian prisoners Mohammed Abu Sakha, Ghassan Zawahreh, Ahed Abu Ghoulmeh, Hassan Karajah and Samer Issawi. His case presents a dangerous precedent for all Palestinian prisoners threatened with indefinite imprisonment after the completion of their sentences.

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah is a Lebanese Communist Arab struggler for Palestine, imprisoned in French jails for 32 years despite being eligible for release since 1999. The US, Israeli and French states have come together to attempt to block all efforts to secure his freedom. As Coup Pour Coup 31 notes, “With this action, Georges Abdallah reaffirms his solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation of their land and liberation of their imprisoned fighters…Georges Abdallah, Lebanese Communist and fighter for the Palestinian cause shows that over 31 years of imprisonment will not dampen his determination and solidarity!”

62 Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli jails; military court orders Lara Tarayreh’s release

2 August 2016

There are currently 62 Palestinian women jailed in Israeli prisons, including 13 minor girls, according to the latest statistics released by Palestinian prisoner support organizations as of 2 August.

Another Palestinian young woman, Walaa Ayman al-Mahariq, 18, was arrested by Israeli occupation soldiers near the illegal settlement of Gush Etzion on Monday, 1 August outside Bethlehem as she walked down the street. Al-Mahariq, a resident of al-Samu village, was taken to Ofer military base and prison for interrogation, accused of possession of a knife.

The military court hearing of Noor Darwish, one of a number of young Palestinian female students in Israeli prisons, was continued until 9 August. Darwish, along with fellow studens Hala Bitar and Salam Abu Sharar, was arrested on 19 April amid student elections at their university, Al-Quds University in Abu Dis. Bitar was recently sentenced to four months’ imprisonment for participating in a book fair organized by the Islamic Bloc on campus.

Meanwhile, Lara Nasser al-Tarayreh, 21, was ordered released by the Ofer military court after one month of detention. Al-Tarayreh, from Bani Naim near al-Khalil, was arrested on 3 July in her home along with her brother. Both were accused of “incitement” for speaking to the media about their brother Mohammed’s participation in an armed attack on an Israeli settlement in which he was killed on 30 June. While the military court ordered Tarayreh’s release, the decision was postponed for 48 hours to provide the military prosecution with the opportunity to respond and seek her continued imprisonment. In many similar cases, including those of Palestinian Legislative Council member Khalida Jarrar and professor Imad Barghouthi, such orders of release have led only to continued imprisonment.

Former long-term hunger striker Ayman Al-Tabeesh among tens of arrested Palestinians

2 August 2016

Former Palestinian prisoner and long-term hunger striker Ayman al-Tabeesh is among at least 25 Palestinian prisoners arrested in pre-dawn raids on Tuesday 2 August and late Monday evening throughout the West Bank. Al-Tabeesh, whose brother Mohammed is currently imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention, was released in October 2015 after thirty months in detention. During that time he conducted two lengthy hunger strikes of 105 and 123 days; both strikes ended with a promise not to renew his administrative detention, yet in both cases the agreements were broken by the Israeli occupation.

Al-Tabeesh, 35, from Dura near al-Khalil, has spent nearly 12 years in Israeli prison, mostly under administrative detention. His detention was renewed seven times during his last arrest. Born in Libya in 1980, he returned to Palestine with his family in 1995. He could not complete his university education due to his repeated arrests.

Al-Tabeesh was arrested by Israeli occupation forces who stormed Dura in a pre-dawn invasion, raiding his home and that of Mohammed Ibeiyoush; the home of Mohammed al-Faqih, extrajudicially executed last week by Israeli occupation forces in an assassination raid on his home by bombarding his house with bulldozers and anti-tank missiles, was also ransacked by the soldiers. In the village of Surif, Ahmad Mohammed Hussein Abu Farah was seized by occupation soldiers after firing gunshots on his home; Marwan Mahmoud al-Hih was seized from his home in an armed raid by the occupation forces. In the village of Sair, occupation forces captured Musab Shalaldeh, 30. Mohammed Breweish and Mohammed Daghamin were also captured by Israeli forces in the Al-Khalil area, Ma’an News reported.

In the village of Farun, south of Tulkarem, occupation soldiers ransacked several homes and internet cafes, detaining Shadi Theimir, 27; Mohammed Salameh, 22; Anas Ahmad Obeid, 31; and his brother Hamza Ahmad Obeid, 25. Israeli occupation forces exploded the door on a home and attacked a house, allegedly on a mission to detain Anas and Hamza’s brother Malik, who was not at home. In Anabta, east of Tulkarem, occupation forces invaded the home of Mahmoud Mohammed Abu al-Asal, seizing him. In Ramallah, occupation forces captured Najib Mafarjah, Yousef al-Khatib, and Fathi Hammad; in Bethlehem, occupation forces detained Bader Abu Jalghif, Raed Ayish, and Abdelhalim Najajrah. More Palestinians were also detained by invading forces in Nablus, Beit Liqya, Hizma, and Deir Nidha. Four Palestinians were arrested from Jenin, including Mohammed Mallah, his brother Uday Mallah, Abdelhalim Yassin, and Motassem Yousef Dawahdeh.

These arrests followed upon dozens of arrests the night before in al-Khalil, Nablus, Jerusalem, Jenin and Bethlehem. In the Dheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem, invading occupation forces seized two local youth activists Mustafa Hasanat, 20, and Yazan Jeidi, 20, known for their involvement with leftist politics and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, including recent protests for the freedom of imprisoned hunger striker Bilal Kayed.

These mass arrests came alongside the issuance of 33 administrative detention orders for imprisonment of Palestinians without charge or trial on Monday, 1 August, as reported by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society:

1. Saber Naeem Thawabteh – Bethlehem – 3 months extension
2. Rami Yousef Melhem – Bethlehem – 6 months extension
3. Rami Kassem Aqra – Nablus – 4 months extension
4. Mohammed Yahya Imteir – Ramallah – 6 months extension
5. Ali Ishaq Jamal – al-Khalil – 3 months extension
6. Rami Mohammed Oweiwi – al-Khalil – 6 months extension
7. Majid Hassan Abu Shamla – Jenin – 6 months extension
8. Ahmed Mohammed Zourba – Nablus – 6 months extension
9. Ahmed Nabil Fani – Nablus – 3 months extension
10. Ahmed Najib Mafarjah – Ramallah -3 months extension
11. Maher Mohammed Shuraiteh – Ramallah – 3 months extension
12. Ruhi Ghassan Mourmush – Nablus – 6 months extension
13. Adib Shafiq Qawasmeh – al-Khalil – 4 months extension
14. Mohammed Hashem al-Faroukh – Ramallah – 4 months extension
15. Tariq Said Abu Thabet – Nablus – 4 months extension
16. Mahmoud Mohammed Mattan – Ramallah – 3 months, new order
17. Mohammed Monzer Aoura – Ramallah – 4 months, new order
18. Rashid Ibrahim Rashid, Bethlehem, 6 months extension
19. Yasser Mahmoud Quzmoz – Tulkarem – 4 months extension
20. Murad Awawdeh – al-Khalil – 6 months, new order
21. Haitham Hassan Bakhit – Tulkarem – 4 months extension
22. Khalil Mohammed Shueibak – al-Khalil – 4 month extension
23. Mohammed Eiaqabat – Jenin – 4 months, new order
24. Hazem Nabhan Srouji – Tulkarem – 4 months extension
25. Mohammed Hassan Wardan – Bethlehem – 6 months, new order
26. Murad Mohammed Abu Mahmoud – Bethlehem, 6 months, new order
27. Louay Imad Neiroukh – al-Khalil – 4 months, new order
28. Mahmoud Raiq Hussein – Tulkarem – 4 months extension
29. Moataz Mohammed Al-Muhtaseb – al-Khalil – 3 months extension
30. Abdelrahim Bassam Hammad – Ramallah – 4 months, new order
31. Ahmed Abdel Rahman Oweiwi – al-Khalil – 4 months extension
32. Abdelrahman Mustafa Hamid – Ramallah – 6 months, new order
33. Hussam Sharabati – al-Khalil – 4 months, new order

July 2016 Report: Occupation arrested 574 Palestinians during the month

2 August 2016

The following is a report issued by several Palestinian prisoner organizations (Prisoners Affairs Commission; Palestinian Prisoners’ Society; Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association; Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights.) Translation by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. File photo for illustration purposes only.

Palestinian prisoners’ institutions (Prisoners Affairs Commission, Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Asociation, and Al-Mezan Human Rights Association) issued a statement on 2 August reviewing key statistics and notes regarding Israeli imprisonment of Palestinians in July 2016. 574 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza were arrested during the month, including 111 children; 12 of those arrested were women, including one girl child. This increases the number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of the popular uprising in October 2015 to 6900 citizens.

189 Palestinians from Jerusalem were arrested, 130 from al-Khalil, 55 from Nablus, 50 from Bethlehem, 44 from Jenin, 31 from Ramallah/Al-Bireh, 27 from Qalqilya, 13 from Tulkarem, 11 from Jericho, six from Tubas, two from Salfit and 16 from the Gaza Strip. Approximately 350 Palestinian children remain in Israeli prisons, particularly in Megiddo and Ofer prisons. There are 62 women prisoners, including 13 girls under 18. 21 Palestinian journalists are imprisoned as are six members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. There are approximately 7000 total prisoners in the Israeli occupation prisons.

127 administrative detention orders were issued in the month of July; there are approximately 750 Palestinians held without charge or trial under administrative detention.

Continuing policy of arbitrary arrests in the Gaza Strip

The occupation forces continue arbitrary arrests in the Gaza Strip in a systematic manner with no regard for international humanitarian or human rights law. This is particularly highlighted through heavy shooting targeting the fishermen, forcing them to disrobe and swim long distances and subjecting them to insults and profanity prior to arrest.

In addition, the Beit Hanoun/Erez crossing remains a trap for the arrest of the Palestinians; applicants are sometimes approved for permits and then arrested when they arrive at the crossing. This comes in addition to the continuing denial to hundreds of patients in Gaza of permits for transit to hospitals outside Gaza. In July 2016, 16 Palestinians from Gaza were arrested, including 13 fishermen practicing their trade at sea, 2 traders at the crossing and 1 patient seeking treatment at Beit Hanoun/Erez. It is clear that traders have become a group targeted for arrest and cancellation of permits, subjecting their business operations to severe pressure.

Nahed Alghorani, the brother of the detainee Shadi Alghorani, 33, of Gaza City, noted that at about 8:00 am on Tuesday, 26 July, Shadi went to the Beit Hanoun/Erez crossing after receiving an approval for transit to the West Bank for the purposes of trade and import of goods as a merchant. At 2:00 pm his family lost contact with him; his brother traveled to the crossing, but the Palestinian liaison told him that Shadi had been detained by the Israeli occupation forces at the crossing.

Battle of empty stomachs

The prisoner Bilal Kayed is on his 49th day of hunger strike in protest of his order to administrative detention on the day of his release after he had served 14.5 years in prison. Approximately 100 prisoners are also on hunger strike, joining the strike in successive groups, including Ahmad Sa’adat, General Secretary of the Popular Front. Kayed is held in Barzilai hospital, shackled to the bed, consuming water and subject to constant harassment by the prison guards as his room is subject to extensive surveillance and alarms.

Kayed suffers from severe pain in the head, the stomach, fatigue, severe tiredness and insomnia; his eyes are yellowing and he has lost a significant amount of weight. He is showing serious heart muscle damage and the risk of a stroke according to tests conducted in an an emergency situation after serious health deterioration.

A number of other prisoners also engaged in individual hunger strikes to protest various aspects of their condition, including the wounded minor prisoner Jalal Sharawna, 17, who engaged in a five-day strike to protest the difficult conditions in the Ramle prison clinic despite his health difficulties.

Four prisoners are engaged in a hunger strike against administrative detention, including Mahmoud al-Balboul and Mohammed al-Balboul, and joined by Ayed Herama and Malik al-Qadi since July 15. Their fellow prisoner Muhannad Mutahna joined them on strike which ended with his release. Four more prisoners, Ahmed Barghouthi, Mahmoud Sarahna, Ziad al-Bazza, and Amin Kamil, went on hunger strike since 18 July in protest of the Red Cross’s decision to cut visits to once per month per prisoners.

Prison conditions heading towards escalation and explosion

In the past month, the Israeli prison administration conducted dozens of night raids in many prisons, including breaking into sections and rooms of prisoners, ransacking and damaging personal belongings, as well as the continuing medical negligence against hundreds of ill prisoners, increased administrative detention rates, solitary confinement, the arrest of women and children, and the imposition of heavy financial fines against the prisoners. Hundreds of prisoners have been deprived of family visits. The serious conditions inside Israeli jails are heading in all directions toward explosion in light of the continued escalation of repressive measures against the prisoners as dozens of Palestinian prisoners join the battle of the open hunger strike.

Bilal Kayed faces serious health risks on 49th day of hunger strike; former striker Issawi joins protest

2 August 2016

As Bilal Kayed approaches his 50th day of hunger strike, his health is at serious risk at any point, warned Issa Qaraqe of the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission. Kayed, 34, is vulnerable to cerebral hemorrhage, heart attack or stroke due to the physical strain on his body through 49 days of open hunger strike. A Palestinian Ministry of Health delegation was prohibited on Tuesday 2 August from visiting Kayed in the hospital and providing an independent examination. Raafat Hamdouna of the Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies joined in the urgent health alert on Kayed’s case, noting he had lost 32 kilos of weight, suffered fainting spells, severe pain and shortness of breath, and urging escalated solidarity efforts to support Kayed and his fellow hunger strikers.

Kayed is currently held, shackled hand and foot to his hospital bed in Barzilai hospital. He is rejecting all medical tests, even the most basic, as well as all food and supplements. He launched his strike on 15 June in protest of his administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial. While administrative detention imprisons over 700 Palestinians, many of which have engaged in long-term hunger strikes against the practice, Kayed’s case is different: he was ordered to administrative detention after the expiration of a 14.5 year prison sentence. Thus, his case represents a dangerous precedent of extended and indefinite imprisonment for all Palestinian prisoners.

In a letter from prison released yesterday, Kayed said, “I am demanding my immediate return to prison despite my deteriorating health conditions, to stand in one front and on one line in the prison cells of the occupation, side by side with all of the revolting prisoners, raising our loud voice: Your decision will not pass easily! Especially after the occupation has crossed another red line, even more dangerous, by sending me to administrative detention, which aims to liquidate all of the leaders of the prisoners’ movement and its cadres and those who raise high its banner defending the right of prisoners to freedom and dignity.”

Over 100 fellow Palestinian prisoners are engaged in a collective hunger strike in support of Kayed’s demand for freedom, including Ahmad Sa’adat, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, circus performer Mohammed Abu Sakha, youth organizer Hassan Karajah, PFLP leader Ahed Abu Ghoulmeh, former long-term hunger strikers Ghassan Zawahreh and Shadi Ma’ali, and many more. Kayed’s struggle is supported by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement, the unified voice of the Palestinian political parties inside Israeli jails. Among 32 prisoners in Gilboa participating in the strike is former long-term hunger striker re-arrested after his release, Samer Issawi, reported lawyer Shirin Iraqi.

An additional group of hunger strikers joined the collective hunger strike today, with names of strikers announced from the Negev desert prison and Nafha prison:

1. Wissam Mleitat – Nablus – Negev
2. Mohammed Abu Akar – Aida camp – Negev
3. Walid Khatib – Ramallah – Negev
4. Ahmed Hajjaj – Ramallah – Negev
5. Amin Salah – Nablus- Negev
6. Samer Hanani – Nablus – Negev
7. Imad al-Barghouthi – Ramallah – Negev
8. Ayed Dar Khalil – Nablus – Negev
9. Majdi Mabrouk – Nablus – Negev
10. Nazim Alasous – Nablus – Negev
11. Ibrahim Arfa – Dheisheh camp – Nafha
12. Obeidat Dandis – Jerusalem – Nafha
13. Saleh Zahran – Ramallah – Nafha

The growing hunger strike has been met with a series of repressive attacks from the Israeli prison administration. Sa’adat was thrown in solitary confinement – he spent three previous years in isolation, sparking repeated protests – while hundreds of prisoners have been put on lockdown, denied family visits, faced invasions and raids on their cells, had electronics and other personal belongings confiscated, and transferred from prison to prison in an attempt to break the growing protest.

100 prisoners of Fateh and the PFLP were transferred from Ahli Kedar prison to Ramon yesterday, while on late Monday and early Tuesday, 120 prisoners, many affiliated with Hamas, were transferred from Nafha prison to Ramon, Eshel, Hadarim and Gilboa prison, while dozens more were transferred from Eshel and Ramon to Nafha, Ofer, and Gilboa.

The ongoing hunger strike also includes several more administrative detainees striking for their freedom, including the brothers Mohammed and Mahmoud al-Balboul, held without charge or trial and on hunger strike for 29 days, and Ayad Herama and Malik al-Qadi, on strike for 18 days. Mahmoud al-Balboul has been transferred to Ramle prison clinic while Mohammed remains in solitary confinement in Ofer prison despite extreme fatigue and weight loss. Herama fell to the ground several times due to exhaustion during a legal visit. Walid Musalma, serving a life sentence in Israeli jails, is also on hunger strike against his solitary confinement. Herama and al-Qadi are held in solitary confinement in Ofer prison; the Muhja al-Quds Foundation reported that they are being denied fresh water and ordered to drink bath water or other warm water and that their cells are frequently invaded for raids by police dogs. Al-Qadi has faced a six-month order of administrative detention, while Herama’s appeal of his detention will be heard by the military court of appeal in ten days. Al-Qadi has been imprisoned without charge or trial since 22 May. He had been released only 40 days from an earlier four-month detention before being rearrested. Herama has been imprisoned without charge or trial since 23 December 2015.

Bilal Kayed’s letter from prison on 48th day of strike: “Your struggles give me more determination for victory”

1 August 2016

Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayed, on his 48th day of hunger strike, issued the following letter today from inside Barzilai Hospital where he is held shackled hand and foot to his hospital bed. Kayed, 34, launched his hunger strike on 15 June; he had been scheduled for release on 13 June after completing his 14.5 year sentence in Israeli prisons. Instead of being released as scheduled, however, he was ordered to six months in indefinitely-renewable administrative detention without charge or trial.

He immediately launched a hunger strike in protest of this threatening precedent for all Palestinian prisoners, a strike supported by his comrades in the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and across parties by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement. Over 100 fellow Palestinian prisoners have joined a collective hunger strike for Kayed’s freedom, including PFLP general secretary Ahmad Sa’adat, former hunger strikers Ghassan Zawahreh and Shadi Ma’ali, circus performer Mohammed Abu Sakha, youth organizer Hassan Karajah, and many others. Hundreds more have joined in a series of collective protests for Kayed’s release, including partial hunger strikes and roll call protests; the prisoners have been hit by raids, mass transfers, prohibitions of family visits, solitary confinement and other sanctions in an attempt to break their collective protest movement.

Over 170 international and Palestinian organizations have signed on to the call for Kayed’s freedom, and demonstrations are growing throughout Palestine and internationally. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network highlights Kayed’s call below: “What I have received from you through your struggles, your sit-ins, your demonstrations, gives me more determination to continue forward until victory. Either freedom or martyrdom” and urges escalated protests, actions and struggle in support of Bilal Kayed and his fellow prisoners at this critical moment of struggle.

Letter by Hunger Striker Bilal Kayed

To my heroic Palestinian people…
Free people of the world…

In this difficult stage that I am enduring on a personal level, in the struggle against the attempt to force my submission to the brutal occupation which made a decision to liquidate me, for nothing but the fact that I stood beside the prisoners of my people, defending my rights and their rights and the rights of their families to achieve even the minimum conditions for human dignity. It is not strange that I find myself supported by all of my people, who surround me with their shouts and cries and their support and tireless efforts to remove the injustice that has been inflicted upon me and upon the prisoners. This comes in accordance with the national understanding that I was raised with, by you, my people, and by the free people of the world, wherever they are. In the West Bank, rising up against oppression; in the occupied lands [of 1948], proud and rooted in the land and upholding their identity; my heroic people in victorious Gaza, and all of the free people of the world, of all nationalities and backgrounds.

I am here, today, finishing my first stage in my battle with this brutal occupier, and I have declared my second stage, which is one of unity with all prisoners from all backgrounds and political parties so that we can all, collectively, stand at the point of the arrow of the national struggle, inside and outside the prisons.

After receiving this decision by the military occupation courts (as I expected) [to reject his appeal against administrative detention] ignoring my freedom, life and dignity, it is necessary that I respond in order to confront this brutal decision. So starting from today, 1 August 2016, I am refusing all medical examinations presented by doctors in the hospital. I am demanding my immediate return to prison despite my deteriorating health conditions, to stand in one front and on one line in the prison cells of the occupation, side by side with all of the revolting prisoners, raising our loud voice: Your decision will not pass easily! Especially after the occupation has crossed another red line, even more dangerous, by sending me to administrative detention, which aims to liquidate all of the leaders of the prisoners’ movement and its cadres and those who raise high its banner defending the right of prisoners to freedom and dignity.

My heroic people, the hour of struggle has arrived. I am full of hope. As I have always known you, that you are the protective wall, defending our struggle. What I have received from you through your struggles, your sit-ins, your demonstrations, gives me more determination to continue forward until victory. Either freedom or martyrdom.

Victory is inevitable

Bilal Kayed
Barzilai Hospital
1 August 2016

On 48th day of hunger strike, Kayed pledges to continue until “freedom or death”

1 August 2016

The Israeli High Court rejected an appeal by hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayed, held under administrative detention without charge or trial, against the detention order against him. Kayed, on hunger strike for 48 days, met yesterday with his lawyer Farah Bayadsi of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in Barzilai Hospital, where he remains shackled hand and foot to his hospital bed.

According to Addameer, Kayed vowed that he would continue his strike until “freedom or death,” and demanded to leave the hospital and return to the prison be side by side with his fellow prisoners on hunger strike in the battle for freedom, rather than isolated from his comrades and brothers. He “stated that he would rather die of starvation than give up his rights and those of his fellow prisoners and detainees.” He noted that he will continue to reject all medical examinations, including blood pressure, heart monitoring, or blood and urine tests.

Bayadsi also stated the extremely repressive conditions of his confinement in the hospital, noting that Kayed is subject to a watch-like detection device that broadcasts a loud noise every 20 minutes and whenever movement is detected as well as the constant presence of three prison guards inside and outside his hospital room.

Kayed, 34, has been on hunger strike since 15 June; following the expiration of his 14.5 year sentence in Israeli prison, instead of being released as scheduled on 13 June, he was ordered to six months in indefinitely renewable administrative detention. He launched his strike to demand immediate freedom, and has won the widespread support of fellow Palestinian prisoners. Over 100 fellow Palestinian prisoners are currently engaged in an open hunger strike in support of Kayed’s battle for freedom, including Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who was thrown in solitary confinement on Sunday, 31 July after he joined the collective hunger strike.

In addition to the collective strike in support of Kayed’s demand for freedom and an end to administrative detention, four more administrative detainees are on hunger strike for freedom; brothers Mohammed and Mahmoud al-Balboul, on hunger strike for 28 days; and Ayed Herama and Malik al-Qadi, on hunger strike for 18 days. Mahmoud al-Balboul was transferred from solitary confinement in Ofer prison to the Ramle prison clinic on 31 July after the deterioration of his health condition.

Over 170 Palestinian and international organizations have signed a call for the immediate release of Bilal Kayed, in this case that poses a dangerous precedent of indefinite detention of Palestinian prisoners upon the completion of their sentences. Protests are growing in the prisons, throughout Palestine, and internationally, in support of Kayed’s release and for an end to administrative detention. Kayed, the Balboul brothers, al-Qadi and Herama are among over 700 Palestinian prisoners held without charge or trial, out of a total of 7,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails.

Palestinian prisoners denied family visits, held in isolation

1 August 2016

Palestinian prisoners continue to be denied family visits as part of a systematic policy of isolation, said prisoner Nahar al-Saadi in a letter to Mohja Al-Quds Foundation. Saadi, 35, launched a hunger strike against his solitary confinement; he was transferred into collective isolation in Hadarim prison. However, Saadi said, he continues to be denied family visits; the order against his family visits expires on 9 August. Under the agreement to end his hunger strike, the order should not be renewed; however, Saadi stated that he will return to an open-ended hunger strike if he continues to be denied family visits or the order is renewed. Saadi is serving four life sentences plus 20 years in Israeli prisons and was held in solitary confinement for three consecutive years before the transfer to Hadarim in May.

There are a number of Palestinian prisoners who continue to be held in solitary confinement or special isolated sections like al-Saadi; another such section is number 12 in Megiddo prison, where five prisoners, Anas Jaradat, Essam Zeinuddin, Shukri al-Khawaja, Musa Soufan, and Abdullah al-Maghrebi, are held in collective isolation with each other but separate from general population. Most were moved to this collective isolation section following hunger strikes against solitary confinement. The Prisoners Affairs Commission noted that their access to media and newspapers is extremely limited and they are often forbidden from family visits or from having recreation in the prison yard.

In addition, Israeli occupation authorities barred the sister of Mutassim Raddad, an ill Palestinian prisoner, from visiting him despite obtaining a permit through the family visit process of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). She arrived at a checkpoint on the way to the prison on the ICRC family visit bus only to be informed that she was prohibited from visiting him. She and her mother had held a permit to visit Raddad for over a year; she told Mohja Al-Quds that she had received a visit ticket from the ICRC, only given to those with valid permits. However, she was told that her brother was being prohibited visits for security reasons. Raddad is serving a 20-year sentence and is one of the most seriously ill Palestinian prisoners, suffering from colon cancer with intense symptoms including internal bleeding, headache, high blood pressure and irregular heartbeat.

Growing collective strike for Bilal Kayed’s freedom includes youth activists, former hunger strikers

1 August 2016

Prominent Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was one of 23 Palestinian prisoners in Ofer and Ramon prison who joined dozens of fellow prisoners, including fellow PFLP leader Ahed Abu Ghoulmeh, in a collective open hunger strike to demand freedom for Bilal Kayed, on his 47th day of hunger strike against Israeli imprisonment. Sa’adat, who was immediately transferred to solitary confinement after he launched his strike, was joined by several Palestinians with a history of long-term hunger strikes and whose cases are internationally well-known. There are over 100 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike to demand freedom for Kayed, held in administrative detention without charge or trial following the completion of his 14.5-year sentence in Israeli prisons.

Ghassan Zawahreh, arrested by Israeli occupation forces on 19 July in Dheisheh refugee camp, joined the hunger strike on 31 July. Zawahreh is a re-arrested former prisoner whose brother, Moataz Zawahreh, was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces as he protested in Dheisheh on 15 October 2015. In prison, Zawahreh engaged in a 40-day hunger strike, the Battle of Breaking the Chains, alongside four fellow prisoners, against the policy of administrative detention. Now, Zawahreh is on hunger strike once more for freedom. Zawahreh joins fellow former striker Shadi Ma’ali, also of Dheisheh camp and a participant in the Battle of Breaking the Chains, striking in solidarity with Kayed.

Also joining the collective hunger strike on Sunday is imprisoned youth activist Hassan Karajah, arrested on 12 July and ordered to six months administrative detention on 18 July. Karajah was previously arrested in January 2013 and released in October 2014; he is well-known internationally for his work in Palestinian civil society organizations and his advocacy for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel.

Kayed, 34, is shackled hand and foot to his hospital bed in Barzilai Hospital, continuing to refuse supplementation and medical examinations despite his deteriorating health conditions. His struggle is supported by not only the prisoners of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, but also by all Palestinian parties and the entire prisoners’ movement. His indefinite detention after 14.5 years of imprisonment sets a dangerous precedent for all Palestinian prisoners threatened with ongoing detention after the expiration of their sentences.

Prisoners joining the hunger strike have been subjected to a series of repressive actions at the hands of the Israeli prison administration, including restrictions on access to the canteen (prison store), prohibitions of family visits, lockdowns, transfers from prison to prison, and solitary confinement. The isolation of Sa’adat is the latest attempt to stop the growing strike; Sa’adat previously was isolated for over three years.

The full list of prisoners who joined the strike on Sunday, accompanying other prisoners who have been joining the strike for the previous two weeks, is below:, via the Handala Center for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners

1. Ghassan Zawahreh, Bethlehem, Ofer
2. Aysar Maarouf, Ramallah, Ofer
3. Kanaan Kanaan, Ramallah, Ofer
4. Rami Karajah, Ramallah, Ofer
5. Hassan Karajah, Ramallah, Ofer
6. Ahmad Al-Yamani, Al-Khalil, Ofer
7. Shadi Jaber, Al-Khalil, Ofer
8. Karam Marar, Ramallah, Ofer
9. AbdelKarim Muheisen, Al-Khalil, Ofer
10. Ibrahim Al-Titi, Al-Khalil, Ofer
11. Mohammed Banat, Al-Khalil, Ofer
12. Mohammed Salah, Bethlehem, Ofer
13. Tareq Morrar, Ramallah, Ofer
14. Qusai Abu Salem, Bethlehem, Ofer
15. Nour Arar, Al-Khalil, Ofer
16. Ahmad Sa’adat, Ramallah, Ramon
17. Ibrahim Mahani Masaad, Ramallah, Ramon
18. Ibrahim Alqam, Ramallah, Ramon
19. Salah Ali, Ramallah, Ramon
20. Taha al-Asmar, Ramallah, Ramon
21. Ahmad Shaaban Obeid, Jerusalem, Ramon
22. Ahmad Tayseer al-Aridha, Nablus, Ramon
23. Ahed Abu Ghoulmeh, Nablus, Ramon

People across Palestine and around the world have been mobilizing to support Kayed’s struggle for freedom. On Sunday evening, a rally in support of Kayed was held in Arroub refugee camp near al-Khalil as ongoing protest tents continued in Dheisheh camp, Nablus and Ramallah. Tunisian youth showed their solidarity with Kayed, following 10 days of action in cities around the world, including Cairo, Rabat, Berlin, Brussels, New York, Philadelphia, London, Manchester, Belfast, Malmo, Lysekil, Milan and elsewhere.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges continued and escalating organizing, events and solidarity actions to build support for the prisoners’ struggle for freedom as Bilal Kayed’s health situation becomes more severe and as a growing number of prisoners, including movement leaders, face isolation and repression as they put their bodies on the line for freedom.

Free Bilal Kayed and all Palestinian prisoners, demand New York City activists

31 July 2016

New York activists gathered outside the offices of multinational security corporation G4S on Friday, 29 July to demand freedom for hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayed and that the company get out of the business of profiteering from the occupation of Palestine.

The protest on 29 July was the fourth for New York activists in the past week in support of Bilal Kayed and his fellow Palestinian prisoners, following a similar protest on 22 July, participation in the World Student Day of Action on 25 July and joining protests outside the Democratic National Convention on 26 July.

Kayed, 34, has been on hunger strike since 15 June. Arrested in 2001, he completed his 14.5-year sentence in Israeli prison on 13 June. Instead of being released as scheduled to meet his family waiting for him at an Israeli occupation military checkpoint, he was ordered to an indefinitely-renewable six months in administrative detention without charge or trial. He launched his hunger strike to demand his immediate release from detention. Dozens of fellow Palestinian prisoners have joined an open hunger strike and a series of protests to demand Kayed’s freedom; his case represents a dangerous precedent for all Palestinian prisoners of indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial after the completion of lengthy sentences.

Among the New York activists protesting on Friday was Comrade Shahid, general secretary of the Pakistan USA Freedom Forum, who spoke about escalating Indian state repression and violence against the Kashmiri people in occupied Kashmir. He also emphasized the ongoing continuity of Pakistani popular solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for national liberation, and in particular with the struggle of Bilal Kayed and his fellow Palestinian prisoners for freedom.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network protests weekly outside the offices of G4S in New York City, in response to calls by Palestinian prisoners and broad segments of Palestinian society for an international boycott of the corporation. G4S provides control rooms, equipment and security systems to Israeli prisons, checkpoints, police training centers and even the Erez/Beit Hanoun crossing with Gaza, where the siege is enforced. International protests against the corporation for its role in Palestine, as well as its involvement in the imprisonment of youth and deportation of migrants in the US, UK, Australia and elsewhere, have grown as the company has lost contracts due to its involvement in human rights abuses. Most recently, the Berkeley, California city council voted to divest from private prison businesses, including G4S. While G4S has pledged to exit from its profiteering from the occupation of Palestine and other “reputationally damaging” businesses, Palestinian activists have emphasized the importance of continued pressure on the corporation.

Samidoun in New York City will protest against G4S’ profiting from occupation, and for freedom for Bilal Kayed and his fellow Palestinian prisoners, once more on Friday, 5 August at 4:00 pm outside the offices of G4S at 19 W. 44th St. in Manhattan; new participants are welcome to join the protest.

Photos by Joe Catron

Follow us on Instagram @samidounnetwork