Bilal Kayed’s administrative detention order confirmed by Israeli military court

5 July 2016

Bilal Kayed‘s administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial – was confirmed by the Israeli Ofer military court on 5 July. The hearing took place in his absence, as he refused to attend the military court hearing or recognize the legitimacy of the administrative detention process. On hunger strike since 15 June and imprisoned in Ashkelon prison in solitary confinement, Kayed refused to attend the previous hearing as well, affirming the illegitimacy of the military courts and the policy of administrative detention.

“The military prosecution claimed that Mr. Kayed’s administrative detention is based on secret information related to his activities inside the prison. The source of this secret information is an intelligence officer, who has personal issues with Mr. Kayed and who claimed that his release would pose a viable security risk,” said Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Kayed’s lawyers, who will be appealing the confirmation order.

Kayed, 35, launched his hunger strike on 15 June after he was ordered to six months’ administrative detention without charge or trial instead of being released as scheduled on 13 July after 14.5 years in Israeli prison. He has been held in solitary confinement since first ordered to administrative detention, and has been transferred twice, from Ramon prison to Ahli Kedar, and again from Ahli Kedar to Ashkelon prison. In Ashkelon, he is in a small 1.5 x 2 meter cell, with a broken sink and no window or other ventilation. He is consuming only water and rejecting any form of food, vitamins, salt supplements, or other nutrients.

Israeli intelligence officials offered to release him if he would accept deportation to Jordan for 4 years and conditions of no engagement with political activity, threatening to hold him in administrative detention for 4 years if he refused. Kayed immediately rejected the “offer,” declaring that “If you will not allow me to live in dignity, then I will choose to die with dignity,” and stating to his lawyer, Farah Bayadsi, that “I did not go on hunger strike to negotiate. I went on hunger strike for freedom.”

Former hunger strikers who won their freedom through hunger strikes, Muhammad Allan and Mohammed al-Qeeq, visited Kayed’s mother and family in their hometown of Asira al-Shamaliya to express support for Kayed’s strike. Fellow former hunger striker Khader Adnan has also participated in multiple protests and actions urging Kayed’s release.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are engaged in hunger strikes and other protests calling for Kayed’s freedom. His comrades in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine have vowed to launch a collective open hunger strike in early July if Kayed is not released. His case is widely seen as threatening a dangerous precedent of indefinite imprisonment of Palestinians following the completion of their sentences in Israeli prisons.

He is one of nearly 750 Palestinians imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention on the basis of secret evidence. Administrative detention orders are indefinitely renewable.

Protests for Kayed’s freedom have taken place throughout Palestine and in cities around the world, including in Berlin, Brussels, New York, Dublin, Belfast, London, Vancouver, Torino, Milan, Amsterdam, The Hague, Athens and elsewhere. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and other organizations are calling for a week of action for Kayed’s release, from 8-15 July. Over 150 Palestinian and international organizations have signed on to a call to action for Kayed’s freedom. Protests are planned on 8 July in New York and in Arklow, Ireland, with more events to be announced soon.

With the official announcement of confirmation of Bilal Kayed’s administrative detention, Samidoun reiterates the critical importance of the call for solidarity actions and protests around the world. We urge all organizations, individuals and movements for justice in the world to take action on 8-15 July 2016 to commemorate Ghassan Kanafani and his revolutionary legacy and demand freedom and victory for Bilal Kayed and his comrades.

On 8-15 July, commemorate Ghassan Kanafani and demand the freedom of Bilal Kayed and his fellow prisoners – and the freedom of Palestine and its people. We must raise our voices around the world, in solidarity movements and in Palestinian communities in exile and diaspora to commemorate the revolutionary legacies of Palestinian history and to struggle for the freedom of today’s leaders – like Bilal Kayed – behind bars.

8 July, Arklow: Free Bilal Kayed! Solidarity with Palestine

5 July 2016

Friday, 8 July
6 pm-7 pm
Bridgewater Roundabout
Arklow, Ireland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1765268783732405/

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader Bilal Kayed has now been on Hungerstrike for over 17 days, resisting the crime of Israeli Administrative Detention.

Take action in support of Palestine- Demand Freedom for Bilal Kayed- Demand an end to Administrative Detention Now

Demonstration at the Bridgewater Roundabout, Arklow, Co. Wicklow starting at 6 PM.

Amnesty International issues alert for release of Hasan Safadi as his administrative detention is confirmed

5 July 2016

Hasan Safadi, 24, the Arabic media coordinator at Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in Palestine, had his administrative detention order confirmed by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 4 July. Safadi was ordered to administrative detention in an order signed by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on 10 June; he had been scheduled for release on bail on the same day.

Safadi was arrested on 1 May at the Karameh bridge between Jordan and Palestine’s West Bank, returning home from an Arab youth conference in Jerusalem. He was held under interrogation for 40 days, a period that was repeatedly extended, in Moskobiya interrogation center in Jerusalem. As Amnesty International notes, “Safadi told his lawyer that he had been subjected to sleep deprivation and tied in stress positions during his interrogation, treatment that violates the prohibition, under international law, of torture and other ill-treatment. He was also denied access to his lawyer for 10 days, from 12 to 22 May.”

The Magistrate’s Court had set his release for 10 June and collected bail in relation to allegations of visits to an “enemy state.” (Palestinians who visit Lebanon for conferences and other events are, for example, frequently hit with related charges.)

Instead of being released, however, Safadi was ordered to six months in administrative detention without charge or trial. Administrative detention orders for Palestinian Jerusalemites, like Safadi, and citizens of Israel, must be signed by the Israeli defense minister. They are indefinitely renewable and based on secret evidence. Safadi is one of nearly 750 Palestinians held without charge or trial under administrative detention. He is held in Ketziot Negev prison.

Safadi, a journalist and Addameer’s Arabic media coordinator, is one of 23 journalists imprisoned by Israel. He contributed to numerous publications about the situation of human rights in Palestine, including Assafir, a newspaper published in Lebanon.

As Safadi’s administrative detention was confirmed, Amnesty International joined Front Line Defenders in issuing an “Urgent Alert,” calling on AI members and supporters to write to Israeli officials to call for Safadi’s release.

Take action to support Hasan Safadi, Palestinian journalist and human rights defender. See the actions at:

Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/4376/2016/en/
Front Line Defenders https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/hasan-safadi

Toronto mass march for Al-Quds Day: “We need to demand the release of Palestinian prisoners!”

5 July 2016

The annual Al-Quds Day protest in Toronto, Canada drew large crowds to the streets of the city on 2 July, demanding freedom and liberation for Palestine. Part of actions around the world including millions of people, the Al-Quds Day protest also faced threats by extreme-right Zionist organization, the Jewish Defense League, involved in violent attacks on Palestinian and pro-Palestinian organizations and individuals in the US, France and elsewhere.

Despite a large police presence, the huge Al-Quds Day crowd massively outnumbered the extreme right counterprotesters. Speakers addressed the crowd, calling for justice for Palestine, including Moulana Abbas Abedi, Sakina, Ken Stone, Wael Ghuneim, Amin El-Moued, Ali Mallah, Husein Mojtahedy, and representatives of Neturei Karta.

Nadia Shoufani of Actions4Palestine – an endorser of the call to action for freedom for Bilal Kayed – spoke on behalf of the broad Palestine solidarity movement in Toronto at the rally in a powerful speech, urging participation in the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, support for the Palestinian resistance, and freedom for Palestinian political prisoners, focusing on the case of Bilal Kayed, on hunger strike since 15 June for freedom from administrative detention. Kayed was ordered to administrative detention upon the completion of his 14.5 year sentence in Israeli prison on 13 June; his case threatens a dangerous precedent of indefinite detention of Palestinian prisoners following the expiration of their sentences.

Kayed is one of 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and 750 held under administrative detention, indefinitely renewable by military order without charge or trial on the basis of secret evidence.

Shoufani quoted Ghassan Kanafani, “The Palestinian cause is not a cause for Palestinians only, but a cause for every revolutionary…a cause of the exploited and oppressed masses in our era.”

She denounced international silence “on Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people….including street executions taking place daily by Israeli occupation soldiers and Zionist settlers, youth arrest raids, home demolitions, takeover of lands and homes….We are here to tell the world that Palestinians are not alone. No to the so-called peace with the occupier!”

Shoufani highlighted the Israeli military attacks on Al-Khalil, saying that “Yesterday, Israelis placed Al-Khalil city under blockade, a racist siege, a selective siege, exclusively just for Palestinians,” as the crowd shouted “Shame! Shame!”

“On this day…we need to salute and acknowledge, stand in solidarity and demand the release of prisoners, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons,” said Shoufani. “We salute and demand the freedom of Bilal Kayed…who was scheduled to be released on June 13th after 14 and one-half years of imprisonment. Instead of being released, he was ordered to six extra months of adminsitratioe detention without charge or trial…Bilal Kayed has launched an open hunger strike demanding his freedom. This illegal Israeli order of administrative detention is seen as an attempt to set a precedent of the future indefinite detention of Palestinian prisoners after the completion of their sentence.”

She linked the attack on Kayed and fellow Palestinian prisoners to the imprisonment of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Lebanese Arab struggler for Palestine, imprisoned in French jails for 32 years, demanding the immediate release of Abdallah.

“I urge you to speak up, to resist this occupation, and support the steadfastness of Palestinians, support their resistance, in any form that is possible. I urge you to support BDS – boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel. This is the least we can do here in Canada,” said Shoufani, closing with a rousing chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

Photos via Al-Quds Day Photo Gallery

Video:

Al-Araqib villagers protest 100th demolition of Bedouin village, demand freedom for Bilal Kayed

5 July 2016

On 3 July, Palestinians of Al-Araqib village gathered in the Naqab desert to protest against the 100th demolition of their village by Israeli forces – and to stand in solidarity with Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayed, on open hunger strike since 15 June against his administrative detention without charge or trial, imposed on him following the expiration of his 14.5 year sentence in Israeli prisons on 13 June.

Al-Araqib is an “unrecognized” Palestinian Bedouin village in the Naqab desert, whose lands were expropriated by the Zionist state under the “Land Appropriation Law of 1953,” and the villagers internally displaced. After years of struggle under military rule and following it, many of the people of Araqib returned to their lands in the 1990s to reestablish their life on the land, and was home to about 300 residents when it was demolished for the first recent time in July 2010. Al-Araqib is one of dozens of so-called “unrecognized” Palestinian Bedouin villages, where the state refuses to connect the villages to the national water and electricity grid, provide health and educational services, or support any basic infrastructure, despite the residents’ status as Israeli citizens allegedly entitled to equal rights. Instead, the state attempts to push the Bedouin families to “planned cities” like Rahat, preventing them from accessing a traditional Bedouin lifestyle or their agricultural lands.

On 29 June 2016, the village was demolished for the 100th time. Not only does the Israeli state attack and demolish Palestinian residences throughout Palestine, making clear the status of Palestinians who hold Israeli citizenship as an oppressed and excluded indigenous people alongside all other Palestinians (in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza; in exile and diaspora as refugees) – it also attempts to bill them for the repeated demolitions, demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars from the villagers for “costs” for demolishing their homes.

Meanwhile, across the road from Al-Araqib, the Israeli state supports, irrigates, and funds the Jewish-only settlement of Givot Bar, established ten years ago by the Or Movement, a Zionist settler movement that aims to “Judaize” the Naqab and the Galilee, in partnership with the Jewish National Fund. The villagers’ land is classified by the state as “recreational,” with a JNF-sponsored forest scheduled to be planted on their land – and 3,500 native citrus and olive trees uprooted and destroyed in order to make way for it.

On 3 July, villagers of Araqib, including the president of the Popular Committee to Defend Al-Araqib, Ahmad Khalil Abu Medeghem, gathered for their weekly protests asserting their right to defend their land and to stand in solidarity with Bilal Kayed.

Kayed, 35, has been on hunger strike since 15 June demanding his freedom; he was ordered to administrative detention without charge or trial upon the completion of his 14.5 year sentence in Israeli prisons on 13 June. He is joined by hundreds of fellow prisoners taking part in hunger strikes and other protests demanding his freedom; his case is seen as threatening a dangerous precedent of indefinite imprisonment of Palestinian prisoners upon the completion of their sentences. International protests in cities around the world, as well as mass marches and protests throughout Palestine, have gathered in the past three weeks to demand Kayed’s immediate release.

Bilal Kayed transferred to Ashkelon: “I did not go on hunger strike to negotiate, but for freedom”

4 July 2016

In a meeting with lawyer Farah Bayadsi of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in Ashkelon prison on Monday, 4 July, hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayed emphasized his determination to continue his hunger strike until freedom, despite frequent transfers from prison to prison, difficult conditions of imprisonment, and serious health impacts of his hunger strike.

Kayed, on his 20th day of hunger strike, is rejecting all medical examinations, vitamins, and salt supplements. He was transferred from solitary confinement in Ahli Kedar prison to solitary confinement in Ashkelon prison on Sunday, 3 July 2016, reaching Ashkelon at 6:00 pm. He was previously transferred from Ramon prison to Ahli Kedar on 28 June, his 14th day of hunger strike. His legal visit was delayed because of the transfer from prison to prison.

His cell in Ashkelon prison measures only 2 meters x 1.5 meters, has no windows or other ventilation, and contains a toilet and broken sink. The prison administration has rejected his multiple requests for a fan. When he was held in Ahli Kedar, his cell was frequently raided and he was subject to strip searches and body searches.

After twenty days of hunger strike, he is tired, weak, dizzy and unable to sleep; despite this he is repeatedly made to stand for inspections by the prison administration.

Bayadsi noted that despite the desolate conditions of his solitary confinement and weakening health, Kayed was in high spirits and greatly appreciative of the strong Palestinian and international support for his hunger strike. He is on strike against his administrative detention without charge or trial; a six-month detention order was imposed upon him on 13 June upon the expiration of his 14.5 year sentence in Israeli prisons.

Bayadsi also provided details of the offer of deportation in exchange for freedom rejected by Kayed: “Mr. Bilal Kayed was offered a deal of deportation to Jordan for 4 years under condition of no political involvement. However, Mr. Kayed refused the deal, which was offered to him by the military commander with recommendations from the intelligence. He was threatened to be kept under administrative detention for an additional four years for refusing the deal.”

He rejected the order immediately, saying “If you refuse to allow me to live with dignity, then I will choose to die with dignity.” Kayed affirmed that “I did not go on hunger strike to negotiate; I went on hunger strike for freedom.” Kayed will face the Israeli Ofer military court tomorrow, 5 July, to confirm his administrative detention order. The order has not been confirmed and the hearing was postponed, on the last occasion because Kayed refused to attend or recognize the military court or the administrative detention process, denouncing the military court as illegitimate.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are engaged in short-term hunger strikes and protests in support of Kayed, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine prisoners have declared that they will start a collective hunger strike in early July if Kayed remains imprisoned. People around the world have participated in demonstrations and calls to action demanding Kayed’s release.

Kayed is one of nearly 750 Palestinians held without charge or trial under administrative detention; issued for periods of one to six month, administrative detention orders are indefinitely renewable. Kayed’s administrative detention order was imposed upon the completion of his lengthy sentence, which Palestinian prisoners fear threatens a dangerous precedent.

June 2016 report on Palestinian prisoners: 3412 arrested in the first half of 2016

4 July 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.

The institutions concerned with prisoners’ affairs revealed that the Israeli occupation has arrested in the first half of 2016, 3412 Palestinians, including 706 children and 96 women and girls.

6326 Palestinians have been detained since the beginning of the popular uprising in October 2015.

According to the Prisoners Affairs Committee, 483 Palestinians were arrested in June 2016.

The use of administrative detention has in particular escalated sharply. 1028 administrative detention orders have been issued in the first half of 2016, including 412 new orders; the number of orders issued since October 2015 for detention without charge or trial is 1471. Among them are 7 administrative detention orders against women and girls, two against deputies in the Palestinian Legislative Council, and 11 are against children. There are currently nearly 750 Palestinian prisoners held under administrative detention, the highest total since 2008.

The total number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails is approximately 7000, including 330 children and 64 women. The Israeli occupation authorities continue to imprison six members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, as well as 30 Palestinians who were arrested before the signing of the Oslo accords.

Gaza Strip: Between the siege and arbitrary detention

The Israeli occupation forces are engaged in grave and systematic violations of the rights of the popularion of the Gaza Strip, through the imposition of a comprehensive blockade, which has led to a serious detetioration in the humanitarian situation and ongoing violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people; the Palestinians of Gaza are also subject to the policy of arbitrary detention.

There is a systematic targeting of several categories of Palestinians during their passage through the Beit Hanoun/Erez Crossing, as well as on the border areas in the north and east of the Gaza Strip and the fishermen at sea.

The attacks on the fishermen clearly violate international law and are a deliberate exploitation of the naval blockade, imposing on the Gaza Strip a transformation of the crossings, border areas and the sea into a trap for detention of Palestinians. They are exposed to cruel and degrading treatment in interrogation by the Israeli occupation intelligence forces.

The Israeli occupation forces arrested during the first half of 2016, 123 Palestinians from Gaza, including 83 fishermen arrested at sea. The vast majority of these were later released without charges, however, these arrests have long-term consequences, especially to fishermen who have been injured or whose boats have been confiscated or damaged, severely impacting their livelihood.

Palestinian children: The greatest witness to the violations of the occupation

The occupation authorities are imprisoning in Ofer and Megiddo prisons over 330 children, including 18 injured and sick children, and 15 minor girls in HaSharon and Damon prisons.

Israeli occuupation authorities also issued more than 65 home imprisonment orders against Jerusalemite children since the beginning of the year. The use of home imprisonment against children is a growing phenomenon, and prevents them from leaving the home even for medical treatment or for school. This comes in addition to, as noted above, the imprisonment of 11 children under administrative detention orders, without charge or trial.

The Israeli occupation forces have escalated the violations of the rights of Palestinian children in Israeli jails, including the use of torture, ill-treatment, and violation of the rights of the child, from the first moment of arrest, most frequently in the late hours of the night or early morning in violent military raids, or during their detention by “special units”, the so-called “Mustaribeen. Children are shackled hand and foot and blindfolded and taken for interrogation without parents or lawyers, often threatened during interrogation, and forced to sign statements in Hebrew without understanding them. This comes in addition to the use of various methods of torture, including beating and kicking, and verbal and psychological abuse against children. They are then subjected to the military and civil courts of the occupation, and face unfair sentencing and financial penalties.

Growing number of Palestinian women in Israeli jails

There are 64 Palestinian women imprisoned in Israeli jails, including 15 minor girls, in HaSharon and Damon prisons. They face difficult conditions of life within the prisons. The number of arrests of women and girls in the first half of 2016 is the highest in several years; women also suffer mistreatment at the hands of occupation forces during arrest, and especially during imprisonment for those who are sick or injured. Palestinian women prisoners have specifically denounced the use of the “Bosta” transportation wagon; they are transferred frequently to the courts or to medical treatment via this vehicle, with metal seats where prisoners are shackled. The vehicle is extremely hot in summer and cold in winter, and prisoners can spend three days at a time making these journeys. This comes in addition to the overcrowding in the women prisoners’ sections, especially as arrests continue to increase.

Sick prisoners: Delay and neglect in treatment

The occupation authorities continue to engage in a policy of medical neglect and delays in provision of treatment to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. There are approximately 700 injured and sick prisoners, many of them waiting for treatment or even tests for years. There are 15 prisoners held in the Ramleh prison clinic, suffering from very difficult conditions of life, where five healthy prisoners are held with them to assist them.

Several prisoners have engaged in hunger strikes and other protests to demand medical treatment, including Mansour Moqtada of Salfit, serving a 30-year sentence, who engaged in a partial hunger strike and is one of the most severely injured and ill prisoners; in addition, Muhannad al-Azzeh, serving a 13-year prison sentence, engaged in a hunger strike for medical treatment.

Arrests and suppression of freedom of expression on social networking sites

There has been an escalation of arbitrary arrests and attacks on freedom of opinion and expression. Israeli occupation forces have arrested over 170 Palestinians on charges of “incitement” for posting on Facebook, from October 2015 until the end of June 2016. The Israeli authorities have also formed a special “Cyber-Arab” unit to surveil and prosecute Palestinians for social media postings. Those targeted for incitement charges include Qusai Issa of Bethlehem; Sami Janazrah, who fought a 70-day hunger strike against administrative detention and then was indicted for inciement; as well as imprisoned professor Imad Barghouthi, accused of incitement after a decision to release him from administrative detention.

Bilal Kayed: a new battle confronting the jailer; 33 prisoners engaged in hunger strikes in the first half of 2016

Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayed, from Asira al-Shamaliya in Nablus district, has been engaged in an open hunger strike since 15 June, against the imposition of an administrative detention order against him after he was scheduled to be released on 13 June, completing a 14 1/2 year prison sentence, on the same day in which he was to be release.

The occupation ordered him to six months in administrative detention. This was not the first targeting of Kayed; during his sentence, he was held in solitary confinement after September 2015 and denied family visits.

33 prisoners engaged in open hunger strikes during the first half of 2016 against a number of policies of the occupation prisons, especially administrative detention.

ICRC reduces family visits to prisoners

Palestinian prisoners are today facing a new policy by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to reduce the rate of family visits from twice monthly to once monthly. This is viewed by the prisoners and institutions defending their rights as a new violation on top of all the other violations they faced. As noted in several statements, this action fully comports with the repressive policies of the occupation authorities and poses a danger to the rights of prisoners that have been achieved through over 35 years of struggle inside the prisons. Further, it deepens the suffering of the families of the prisoners, who face increased financial burdens arising from the illegal detention of the prisoners outside of the West Bank and Jerusalem. This action has come without consultation with public institutions, prisoners or their families, and comes amid actions by the occupation prison authorities to deny hundreds of prisoners family visits under the pretext of security.

In light of the escalating violations by the Israeli occupation authorities against Palestinian prisoners and the Palestinian people, the international community continues its silence. Rather than impose sanctions on Israel, the occupying power is elected as president of the Legal Committee of the United Nations.

The four institutions renewed their condemnation of the gross and systematic Israeli violations of international law and human rights against Palestinian prisoners. They expressed pride in the struggle of the Palestinian prisoners and their commitment to continue their efforts to defend Palestinian prisoners and expose the abuses against them. The issue of prisoners is a Palestinian national issue and also a human and moral issue; Arab and international efforts to exert pressure on the occupation state to stop its violations and to free Palestinian prisoners must be intensified. In this context, they called upon institutions, civil society organizations, political parties, and human rights organizations around the world to act to expose the abuses of the occupation.

Four Palestinian women in Israeli administrative detention without charge or trial

4 July 2016

Four Palestinian women are currently held without charge or trial under administrative detention, after the Israeli occupation issued an administrative detention order on Thursday, 30 June against Sabah Feroun, 34, from Eizeriya east of Jerusalem.

The other three Palestinian women currently held under administrative detention without charge or trial are Suad Rezeiqat of al-Khalil, imprisoned since December 2015; Sana Abu Sneineh of al-Khalil, imprisoned since February 2015; and Haneen Omar of Tulkarem, imprisoned since 25 March 2016. Feroun was arrested on 19 June 2016.

The four are among 11 women who have been subject to administrative detention in the first half of 2016; there are nearly 750 total Palestinians imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention. There are 64 Palestinian women currently held in Israeli jails.

Palestinian women prisoners are held in HaSharon and Damon prisons, which are experiencing serious overcrowding and difficult conditions.

Noor Darwish, 22, imprisoned since 19 April, told Palestinian lawyer Hanan al-Khatib on Tuesday, 28 June that women prisoners are subject to harsh interrogations in the Moskobiya interrogation center, lasting for hours at a time and subject to constant threats. Hala Bitar, 19, from Jerusalem, also spoke about her interrogation in Moskobiya center and the poor conditions of confinement. Al-Khatib reported that the women prisoners particularly emphasized the difficulty of being transferred in the “Bosta” vehicle, a metal vehicle where prisoners are shackled to metal chairs. The vehicle is extremely hot in summer and cold in winter, and trips last hours and days due to frequent stops and delays.

The longest-serving woman prisoner is Lena Jarbouni, imprisoned since 17 April 2002. A Palestinian citizen of Israel, Jarbouni, from Akka, is the representative of women prisoners in HaSharon prison. She was accused of “aiding the enemy” (the Palestinian resistance in the second Intifada) and sentenced to 17 years imprisonment.

When Palestinian Legislative Council member and leftist leader Khalida Jarrar was released on 3 June, she emphasized the importance of working to free Jarbouni, who has acted as a “teacher” to fellow women prisoners, teaching Hebrew and advocating for education for imprisoned minor girls. “What is important also is Lena’s role in comforting and supporting the sisters and the comrades behind bars, and the special care that she provides for the imprisoned minor girls,” Jarrar said. “I cannot stress enough the importance of putting pressure in order to secure her freedom, and the freedom of all Palestinian women prisoners.

On Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, Jarbouni issued a statement to the Palestinian, Arab and international movements for justice:

“On Prisoners’ Day, I greet the Palestinian people and all of the free people of the world. Through these fifteen years, I have seen the passage of many families and prisoners since the date of my arrest, which coincided with Prisoners’ Day on 17 April 2002. Hundreds of women prisoners held behind bars have stood firm in the struggle, along with the sons of our people, confirming that the Palestinian women are struggling against the occupation and fighting for social justice, emancipation and equality in all spheres of life.

On this day, we salute the longest-serving prisoner Karim Younis, and all of the prisoners throughout Palestine, the Palestinian prisoners’ national movement, and the Arab prisoners, and we salute the child prisoners, boys and girls, sick prisoners, and those in solitary confinement and all of our steadfast people. We assure you that we are held as captives behind bars, but we are free in our minds, and in our convictions. Our freedom remains in our hope and our conviction in the freedom of Palestine.

With all love and greetings. Every year we are free.”

Injured, imprisoned Palestinian teen Jalal Sharawna launches hunger strike against ill-treatment

4 July 2016

17-year-old Palestinian prisoner Jalal Sharawna has been engaged in a hunger strike for five days against his mistreatment in Israeli prisons. Sharawna, who was shot in the leg by Israeli soldiers when they invaded his town of Dura in October 2015, had his leg amputated by Israeli surgeons in Assaf Harofeh hospital in November 2015; neither his parents nor his lawyer were consulted in the decision to amputate his leg.

In November 2015, a mock funeral for the leg, highlighting the mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners, was held in Sharawna’s hometown of Dura.

“What happened to Sharawna was an intentional and complex crime committed jointly by doctors at Assaf Harofeh and Ramla clinic without consulting the prisoner’s family,” the director of the prisoners’ society in Hebron, Amjad al-Najjar, said at the time.

Sharawna is currently held in Ramle prison clinic, where he faces very harsh conditions and little accommodation for his disability. His father, Shaher Sharawna, spoke to Asra Voice radio, saying that his son had suffered constantly since his arrest due to his shooting by Israeli soldiers in his hometown. His father also emphasized that Sharawna is a child whose rights as a child have never been respected.

Sharawna’s hunger strike comes as Bilal Kayed is on his 19th day of hunger strike. Kayed, 35, has been on strike since 15 July in rejection of his order to administrative detention without charge or trial after the completion of his 14.5 year prison sentence in Israeli jails.

Palestinian and international activists have organized rallies and actions in support of Kayed’s strike; his case threatens a dangerous precedent of the indefinite detention of Palestinian prisoners following the expiration of lengthy sentences.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many associated with the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Kayed’s party, have engaged in protests and limited-duration hunger strikes to demand Kayed’s freedom. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society reported on Sunday, 3 June, that PFLP prisoners in Hadarim prison are denied family visits and reduced access to the “canteen” (prison store) in retaliation for their hunger strikes and protests for Kayed’s release.

Kayed is one of nearly 750 Palestinians held without charge or trial under indefinitely-renewable administrative detention orders, while Sharawna is one of over 330 Palestinian children held in Israeli prisons, facing a severe injury in the Ramle prison clinic.

Palestinian legislator Hatem Kufaisheh released from administrative detention, calls for action to free prisoners

4 July 2016

Palestinian Legislative Council member Hatem Kufaisheh, 54, was released on Sunday, 3 July after over five months in administrative detention without charge or trial; he was arrested on 24 January 2016.

Kufaisheh was released at the Mitar checkpoint, greeted by family and supporters. He has been arrested on several occasions in the past and spent 13 years in Israeli prisons, includng over 10 years total in administrative detention without charge or trial.

A member of the Change and Reform bloc associated with Hamas, Kufaisheh was, in 1992, one of 415 members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad forcibly expelled to southern Lebanon by the Israeli occupation forces in the Marj al-Zuhour deportation.

Five members of the Palestinian Legislative Council remain imprisoned – fellow Change and Reform Bloc members Hassan Yousef, 60, held under a six-month administrative detention order; Mohammed Abu Teir, 65, held under administrative detention; and Abdel Jaber Fuquha, ordered to three months administrative detention on 17 May – as well as prominent Fateh leader Marwan Barghouthi, serving five life sentences, and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat, serving a 30 year sentence.

As he was welcomed by family and supporters, Kufaisheh spoke about the need to focus on the prisoners’ struggle at all levels, popular and official. He said that the prisoners are under attack and facing very difficult circumstances, especially ill prisoners. Kufaisheh noted that he did not receive proper treatment for his high blood pressure and diabetes in prison, as is the case with all sick prisoners in Israeli jails.

He particularly highlighted the case of Fuad Shobaki, 78, a long-time Fateh leader who is facing seriously ill health. He has been imprisoned since 2006, when he was captured along with PFLP leader Sa’adat when Israeli forces attacked the Palestinian Authority Jericho prison on 14 March.

He is serving a 17-year prison sentence; was recently hospitalized on several occasions. He is held in the Negev Desert Prison; on Saturday, 2 July, Prisoners Affairs Commission director Issa Qaraqe urged his immediate release on health grounds.

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