Palestinian child Ahmad Manasrah convicted by Israeli court, threatened with life sentence

10 May 2016

Palestinian child Ahmad Manasrah, 14, was convicted by the Israeli Jerusalem district court on Tuesday, 10 May of two counts of “attempted murder,” for allegedly participating in an attack with his 15-year-old cousin Hassan Manasrah in an illegal Israeli settlement on occupation settlers. Manasrah will be sentenced on 11 July, according to Israeli media reports; the 14-year-old boy is threatened with a sentence up to life imprisonment.

Manasrah, 13 at the time of the alleged incident, was run over by an Israeli settler’s car and his cousin was shot and killed; while Ahmad has been held prisoner since that time, his cousin’s body has also been withheld, imprisoned by the Israeli occupation. Manasrah was severely injured by the car; a widely circulated video shows him lying on the ground, bleeding, while Israeli bystanders shout “Die, son of a whore!” and call on Israeli police to shoot him.

Another video was also widely circulated of Israeli police screaming and swearing at Manasrah in an interrogation. Manasrah’s experience in interrogation is not uncommon; Defence for Children International Palestine has reported that the vast majority of children imprisoned or arrested by Israeli occupation forces are subject to ill-treatment, torture and abuse, including threats, beating, and extended solitary confinement.

Speaking to Ma’an News, a lawyer working with the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs, Tariq Barghouth, called the court decision “contestable,” adding that the court decision would likely be appealed.

‘We hope the Supreme Court will view this humanitarian case differently,’ Barghouth said. ‘Once again, the Israeli court proves its racist treatment of the Palestinians,’ the lawyer added, highlighting the ‘double standard’ of the Israeli justice system when it comes to punishing Palestinians accused of committing crimes against Israelis, compared to cases of settlers attacking Palestinians.”

Manasrah’s lawyer Lea Tsemel accused the legal system of being “dragged into discriminating between Jews and Arabs” contrasting the attempted murder charges Manasra was convicted of with the manslaughter charge levelled against Israeli soldier Elor Azaria, who is accused of shooting dead a wounded Palestinian assailant as he lay on the ground.

Palestinian lawyer Jamil Saadeh said that “the occupation deliberately kept the child Ahmad Manasrah imprisoned incide a reform center until he reached the legal age for full sentencing under Israeli law, which is the age of 14 years. This in itself is contrary to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and paves the way for issuing a sentence of life imprisonment for the child Manasrah. The court did not take into account what he suffered from the moment of his detention, being wounded, assaulted and cursed, treated inside the hospital as a threat, and screamed at during interrogation by the officers, all of which is documented on video and condemns the occupation.”

There are over 400 Palestinian children imprisoned in Israeli jails. Defence for Children International notes that “The maximum custodial sentence for a child aged 12 to 13 years is six months. The maximum custodial sentence for a child aged 14 to 15 years is 12 months, unless the offense carries a maximum potential sentence of five years or more. Children aged 16 to 17 years are subject to the same maximum potential sentences as adults.” In effect, however, because many offenses, from throwing stones to the “attempted murder” charges levied against Manasrah, carry sentences of greater than five years, children from the age of 14 years are regularly sentenced as adults. An international campaign has emerged to demand freedom for Manasrah and his fellow imprisoned children.

Early Tuesday morning, at least six Palestinian minors, including a 14-year-old boy, Ahmad Mazin Abu Khdeir, were among 16 Palestinians detained by Israeli occupation forces in pre-dawn raids.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges the release of Ahmad Manasrah and all imprisoned Palestinian children. We further urge international action to compel the Israeli state to respect the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and end international military aid and assistance that funds the imprisonment and torture of Palestinian children. We note that the imprisonment, oppression, and killing of Palestinian children by the Israeli occupation is part and parcel of the Israeli colonial project in Palestine, and that there is no true freedom for Palestinian children except through the freedom of the Palestinian people and Palestinian land.

Jailed for nearly nine years without charge or trial, Palestinian nurse re-arrested by Israeli occupation forces

9 May 2016

Among 24 Palestinians arrested late night Sunday, 8 May and early morning Monday, 9 May by Israeli occupation forces included former prisoner Thabet Nassar, 32, a nurse from Madama village, south of Nablus.

Nassar, who has spent approximately 12 years in Israeli prisons over multiple arrests, was released recently from administrative detention, in which he was held for over two years. In total, he has spent nearly nine years in administrative detention without charge or trial on the basis of secret evidence.

In 2015, he was part of the Battle of Breaking the Chains hunger strike for 40 days demanding an end to administrative detention; one year before, in 2014, he joined the collective hunger strike of administrative detainees for over 60 days, also demanding an end to the practice of Israeli imprisonment of Palestinians without charge or trial. He also participated in the Karameh hunger strike of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in April-May 2014 for nearly 30 days, demanding an end to isolation and denial of family visits.

Nassar and his wife have three children, Yaman (8), Amal (5), and Mais (2), the latter born the same day as his 2013 arrest. Born in 1978, Nassar was first arrested in 1997 when he was shot in the head with a rubber bullet during a Land Day demonstration; he was jailed for 27 months. Since then, he has been repeatedly arrested and imprisoned under administrative detention,in 2002 for three years, in 2008, in 2009 for several years, and again in 2013.

Early Monday morning, the Nassars’ family home was attacked and ransacked by Israeli occupation forces and Thabet once again taken away. Their beds, dressers and belongings were pulled apart and strewn all over the floor, a scene that repeats itself nightly in dozens of Palestinian homes.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses its strongest solidarity with Thabet Nassar and all Palestinians detained by Israeli occupation forces, demanding their immediate release. The case of Nassar clearly illustrates the constant threat of administrative detention as a weapon to arbitrarily detain Palestinians for years on end with no charge, no evidence, and no trial.

Majd Atwan, 22, sentenced to 45 days imprisonment for Facebook postings

9 May 2016

Majd Yousef Atwan, 22, a young Palestinian woman from Al-Khader village, Bethlehem, and a recent beauty school graduate, was sentenced by an Israeli Ofer military court to 45 days imprisonment and a 3,000 NIS ($794) fine for posting on Facebook, which the Israeli military occupation deemed “incitement.”

Atwan is one of approximately 150 Palestinians detained and imprisoned for social media postings, including the case of Dareen Tatour, a Palestinian poet from Nazareth being prosecuted for poetry posted online. She was arrested in a 2:00 am army raid on her family home on 19 April, which was invaded by occupation soldiers. She is one of 7,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails and nearly 70 women and girls.

Bir Zeit University student arrested in night raid, student leader banned from Ramallah and Bir Zeit

9 May 2016

Palestinian engineering student Alaa Assaf was arrested by Israeli occupation soldiers after they raided her family’s home in Bir Zeit, north of Ramallah, in an early-morning armed attack on the home.

Assaf, a student in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at Bir Zeit University, was formerly a member of the university’s student council from 2014-2015. Recent elections at the university were won by the Islamic Bloc; dozens of students associated with the Islamic Bloc, the leftist Progressive Democratic Pole, and other active student organizations have been arrested by the Israeli occupation forces.

At the same time, Asmaa Qadah, the secretary of Bir Zeit student council’s cultural committee, was banned from entering Ramallah and Bir Zeit for five months. Qadah was previously held under administrative detention without charge or trial for several months. The ban on Qadah’s entering Bir Zeit and Ramallah obviously interferes with her ability to study, attend classes, and participate in the university. Her graduation – originally scheduled for July 2016 – was already delayed due to three months of arbitrary imprisonment.

Alaa Assaf was among at least 14 Palestinians arrested in late-night/early-morning raids by Israeli occupation forces in home invasions.

Students and faculty at several Palestinian universities have been targeted for arrest, including students at Bir Zeit University, Al-Quds University, and Palestine Polytechnic University. Student offices were raided by Israeli occupation forces who invaded Al-Quds University, while astrophysics professor Imad Barghouthi is imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention.

Hunger Strike Update: Janazrah to face hearing on 10 May on 68th day of hunger strike; solidarity actions growing

9 May 2016

Palestinian prisoner Sami Janazrah has been on hunger strike for 67 days. Janazrah, 43 and the father of three, is a Palestinian refugee living in Al-Fuwwar refugee camp. He has been held in Israeli administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial – since 15 November 2015, and launched his hunger strike to demand his freedom.

The hearing on his appeal against his administrative detention was moved forward, to 10 May instead of 16 May, following a filing by his lawyer, Jawad Boulos, noting the deterioration in Janazrah’s health.

As’ad Radwan of Gaza City, 38, is now on his 14th day of open hunger strike, Safa News reported; he is striking in solidarity with Janazrah and his fellow hunger strikers against administrative detention, isolation, and medical neglect. He will speak about his ongoing strike outside the office of the Red Cross in Gaza City at a solidarity sit-in in support of the prisoners on Monday, 9 May.

A campaign was also launched in Salfit in solidarity with Mansour Moqtada, 46, imprisoned Palestinian on hunger strike against medical neglect. Moqtada was severely injured by Israeli occupation forces in 2002 and must use a wheelchair, a “plastic stomach,” and colostomy bags. He is imprisoned permanently in Ramle prison clinic. As part of his 27-day partial hunger strike (he consumes liquids only), he has refused medication for the past week, endangering his life and health.

Imprisoned hunger striker Mohammed Qawasmeh, 33, was transferred to the Ramle prison clinic from isolation in Ashkelon on Sunday, 8 May; he has been on hunger strike for 13 days in protest of his solitary confinement and experienced a deterioriation in his health.

Also on hunger strike are Fouad Assi and Adib Mafarjah, striking for 36 days since 4 April against their administrative detention without charge or trial; Muhannad al-‘Azzeh, striking for 15 days against medical neglect; and Majdi Yassin, a Swedish-Palestinian citizen arrested as he attempted to return to Sweden on 25 April and arbitrarily detained. He is held in Petah Tikva interrogation center.

Samidoun will protest in New York on 13 May at 4 pm outside the W. 44th Street office of prison corporation G4S, that provides equipment, security systems and control rooms to Israeli prisons, checkpoints and interrogation centers, calling for freedom for Janazrah, all of the hunger strikers and all Palestinian prisoners.

Sheikh Raed Salah begins nine-month prison term for “incitement”

9 May 2016

Sheikh Raed Salah, Palestinian leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, began a nine-month jail term for “incitement” on Sunday, 8 May. He arrived at the jail with dozens of supporters, and said that “this prison sentence will not deter us from maintaining the defence of [Jerusalem’s] Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Since 1996, Salah is the leader of the northern wing of the Islamic Movement, which organizes Palestinian citizens of Israel. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the movement banned last year, sparking widespread protest and condemnation. Salah has been imprisoned in the past for incitement and related charges; this imprisonment is related to a 2007 rally against Israeli construction work near Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Salah arrived for his sentence at Beersheba prison, and was then transferred to Nafha prison by Israeli occupation forces. He has repeatedly stated that his imprisonment is an attempt to shut down Palestinian defense of Al-Aqsa from attacks by settlers and the Israeli government.

He served as mayor of Umm al-Fahm between 1987 and 2001. In 2010, he participated in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla aboard the Mavi Marmara, the ship attacked by Israeli special forces who killed ten Turkish and American activists, as the armed forces took over the ship and prevented it from breaking the siege of Gaza.

In 2011, Salah was targeted during a visit to the UK for deportation and exclusion. Arrested in the UK, he was kept in the country until March 2012 fighting the charges, which he eventually defeated in a significant court victory.

Israeli court closes door on supporters of Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour

9 May 2016

Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour faced an Israeli court hearing on Sunday, 8 May. Closed to the public after a large number of supporters showed up to express their support of the Palestinian poet, the court heard testimony from an Israeli police officer about the contents of Dareen’s smartphone and computer. Dareen is currently held under house arrest and prohibited from access to the internet. The next hearing in the case was set for 17 July. In order to support Dareen’s case, please follow the Free Dareen Tatour facebook page.

The following report on the hearing and the solidarity protest is reprinted from Free Haifa. Photo above by Yoav Haifawi.

Nazareth vigil supporting poet Dareen Tatour and the court hides behind closed doors

It is almost 7 months since Dareen Tatour, a Palestinian poet from Al-Reineh (near Nazareth), fell into the black hole of persecution by Israel’s oppression apparatus. The case was rarely noticed before the first hearing of the court on April 13 (see reports in Arabic and Hebrew), when it was published that the main accusation against her is posting a poem on youtube and Facebook calling for resistance to the occupation. Apparently Israel expects all Palestinian poets to devote their poems to pour praise and show love for their torturers.

The new “Free Dareen Tatour” Facebook page called for a vigil in front of the Nazareth court before the second hearing of the prosecution witnesses today, May 8 2016. By 12:00, the designated time, there was already a dedicated group of activists waiting in the sun in front of the court building. They received gleefully Dareen that had to travel a hundred kilometers from her exile and home-detention in a suburb of Tel Aviv. Many of the activists (and some of her family members) didn’t see Dareen since her detention, and it was a very warm meeting.

There were signs in Arabic, Hebrew and English, all calling for the freedom of Dareen Tatour, freedom to Palestinian arts, free speech and freedom to the people. People kept coming and we kept writing new signs to let them all show their solidarity. Many Palestinian journalists and a team from Haaretz were busy taking photos and making interviews, as can be seem from the multitude of news items about the event that were published today.

Finally a group of high-school students that came to visit the court as part of their “citizenship” class joined the demonstration. They were taking pictures of themselves, proving in practice that this time they really learned something about democracy and freedom of expression and the need to struggle for them.

At 13:15 we packed the vigil and some 50 of Dareen’s supporters entered the court’s building in order to attend the hearing, filling all the waiting halls in the second floor. We had to wait more than an hour before the previous (closed) hearing finished. But as we gathered to enter the courtroom we were blocked by the guards. They announced that the hearing will be held behind closed doors.

With no legal grounds, Judge Adi Bambiliya decided that it will be more pleasant and efficient to shut out Dareen’s family and supporters, including Knesset members Haneen Zoabi and Basel Ghattas. After some time Dareen’s father, alone, was allowed in. Only at 16:55, after almost all the supporting public went away in despair, the ten of us that still hanged around were allowed in.

All that the court achieved today was hearing one more policeman witness for the prosecution, named Salman ‘Amer. He is the guy that inspected Dareen’s smartphone and computer. From his words in court he seems not to be much of a computer expert, just like the policemen translator of Dareen’s poem, who witnessed in the previous hearing, had no qualifications in poetry or translation.

What we did learn about was the police’s racist viewpoint that stands behind the whole persecution of Dareen, like thousands of more Palestinians:

The witness mentioned many times that he had found in Dareen’s smartphone and computer “a picture of the ‘Mekhabelet’ from Afula”. ‘Mekhabel’ is a special Hebrew word for Palestinian resistance fighters, designated to de-humanize them. But Israa Abed, the women that was shot in Afula central station, was harmless and defenseless. Luckily she survived her cold-blood shooting – and was not accused by the Israeli police of any security offences.
One special ‘accusation’ against Dareen, coming up in Amer’s written testimony, was that she read a poem in “Woman’s Day” in Nazareth. My feminist friends commented that educated women are really a great danger to the regime.
Another proof of Dareen’s criminality, according to Amer, was that she participated in commemorating the Kafr Qasim massacre. On October 29, 1956, the Israeli army declared a curfew in Kafr Qasim near Tel Aviv, and killed 49 innocent Palestinians, mostly coming back from their fields or work and not knowing that they are in breach of the army’s orders. To the question of Abed Fahoum, the defense lawyer, what is wrong about commemorating this massacre Amer replied that it is “politics” and “goes against state security”!

Before we dispersed the judge tried to convince the parties to negotiate an agreed settlement. She told the defense lawyer that he should forget about abolishing the indictment. But she also pressed the prosecution to notice that they have some deep flaws in their case. The super-motivated prosecution lawyer, Elina Hardak, who doesn’t spare any effort to make life harder for Dareen, said that she can’t give ground. She claimed that the State Prosecutor and the Attorney General stand behind the case.

The hearing finished at 18:00. There are 5 more witnesses for the prosecution, and the next hearing was set for July 17, at 16:00. Another hearing was set for September 6. By this schedule Dareen will be denied her basic freedoms for more than a year before her case will be decided.

Marking Al-Nakba 68: Events Around the World for Palestinian Return

8 May 2016

Events and actions are being organized around the world to mark the 68th anniversary of the Nakba, the expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and lands in order to create a Zionist settler-colonial state on the land of Palestine. These events both remember over 68 years of Palestinian struggle, steadfastness, and resistance, but also support the ongoing struggle for Palestinian refugees’ return and the liberation of Palestine.

The imprisonment of Palestinians has always been a tool of the colonial project in Palestine, meant to maintain occupation, apartheid and oppression and criminalize the existence and resistance of Palestinians. From the martial law imposed in 1948 on the Palestinians who remained in the 78% of historic Palestine occupied at that time, to the imprisonment of 7,000 Palestinian political leaders, journalists, and freedom fighters today, the imprisonment of Palestinians and their leaders has always been part and parcel of the Nakba.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is directly involved in Nakba events in several cities internationally and supports mobilizations around the world on this critical day. Numerous events will be taking place throughout occupied Palestine and in the refugee camps of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

This list focuses on international events organized by Palestinian communities in exile and diaspora and solidarity movements. In order to add your city’s event to the list below, please email samidoun@samidoun.net or message us on Facebook. This page will be updated regularly!

AUSTRALIA

Sydney

Saturday, 14 May – Palestine Will Be Free Panel, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1558629097769523/
12 pm, part of the Socialism for the 21st Century Conference, University of Sydney.

Sunday, 15 May – Commemorating the Nakba Demonstration: 68 Years On, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1402030143429918/
1 pm, Town Hall, Sydney. Organized by Palestine Action Group Sydney

Adelaide

Sunday, 15 May – Migration Museum of Adelaide Plaque Ceremony. More info: http://www.afopa.com.au/plaque-ceremony-2016/
11:00 am, Migration Museum, 82 Kintore Ave, Adelaide
Sponsored by Australian Friends of Palestine Association (AFOPA).

Monday, 16 May – Al-Nakba Commemoration. More info: http://www.afopa.com.au/nakba-commemoration-2016/
6:00 pm, State Library of South Australia, Adelaide. Speaker: Paul Heywood-Smith QC Sponsored by Australian Friends of Palestine Association (AFOPA).

Glebe

Sunday, 15 May – Nakba Commemorative Forum and Film. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1712655955639902/
5 pm – 7 pm, Glebe Town Hall, St. John’s Road, Glebe. Organized by Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine.

Perth

Friday, 13 May – Al Nakba Remembrance Quiz Night, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1322542767761772/
6:30 pm, Uniting Church in the City, 97 William Street, Perth. Organized by Palestinian Community of Western Australia

Brisbane

Friday, 13 May – Al Nakba 2016 Vigil. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1528327857474082/
6 pm, King George Square, Brisbane. Organized by Justice for Palestine Brisbane.

SOUTH AFRICA

Johannesburg

Sunday, 15 May – Nakba 1948: Palestinian Catastrophe and Israeli Ethnic Cleansing
1 pm, Zoo Lake, Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg. Organized by Women’s Boat to Gaza, BDS South Africa, Media Review Network, Palestine Solidarity Alliance, South African Jews for a Free Palestine, Food for the Soul

SPAIN

Madrid

Saturday, 14 May – Performance at School of Decolonization. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1557093397918178/
5:00 pm, Puerta del Sol, Madrid.

Saturday, 14 May – Demonstration followed by performances, dance and Palestinian, African and Latin American food. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1557093397918178/
6:00 pm, Glorieta de Marques de Vadillo – General Ricardos – Luisa Munoz, followed by La Kupula sala.

Sunday, 15 May – Nakba demonstration for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1557093397918178/
1:30 pm, Puerta del Sol, Madrid.

Sunday 15 May – Anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba
5:30 pm, Recinto Ferial, Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain.
Includes collaborative mural, debate with Majed Dibsi, Palestinian journalist and political analyst, theatrical action, photo exhibition. Organied by Madrid Para Todos, the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine, CJA and Alco Sanse en Lucha

Asturias

Friday, 20 May – Book Presentation: Against Forgetting – Photographic Memory of the Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/274333386238422/
7 pm, Library of Fontan, Plaza Daoiz y Velarde, Oviedo

Gijon

Saturday, 21 May – Book Presentation: Against Forgetting – Photographic Memory of the Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/274333386238422/
12:30 pm, Conference Room, Antiguo Institute, Gijon.

Barcelona

11 May – 15 May – Series of events organized by the Coalició Prou Complicitat amb Israel (CPCI). Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1613965512264082/

Wednesday, 11 May – Seminar: Why is it important to break ties with Israel? Ways toward a just peace. 7 pm, Aula Magna, Faculty of Geography and History, University of Barcelona. With Raji Sourani, Riya Hassan, and Blanca Campos. Moderated by David Bondia and joined by Catalan municipalities who have adopted BDS.

Thursday, 12 May – Raji Sourani at Catalonia Parliament. 4 pm, Parliament of Catalonia.

Friday, 13 May – Hope Award to recognize individuals and groups defending Palestine. 7 pm, Palau Robert, Passeig de Gracia 107, Barcelona. Organized by the Palestinian Community of Catalonia, and hosted by actress Rosa Boladeras.

Saturday, 14 May – Film Screening, “The Land Speaks Arabic.” 6 pm, La Sedeta, Carrer de Sicilia 321, Barcelona, with the participation of Riya Hassan, BNC. Organized by Sodepau and Association Helia.

Sunday, 15 May – Demonstration for Palestine – Long live Palestine! 6 pm, Plaza Catalonia.

BASQUE COUNTRY

Bilbao

Friday, 13 May – Nakba Commemoration: End the Occupation. Facebook: Click here
7 pm, Areatzan, Bilbao. Organized by Nodo BDS Bilbo

SLOVENIA

Ljubljana

Monday, 9 May – Monday, 22 May – Flavor of Jaffa: Palestine through the story of the city and the orange. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/604182366414409
Slovenian Ethnographic Museum, Metelkova 2, Ljubljana. Organized by BDS Slovenija

GERMANY

Berlin

Sunday, 15 May – Nakba Day Demonstration, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/226921581019252/
3:00 pm, Karl-Marx-Platz, Berlin. Organized by the Nakba-Tag-Bundnis

17-19 May, Nakba Exhibition. Facebook: click here
4 pm – 9 pm, 6:30 for program. Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Franz Mehring Platzz 1, Berlin. Film Screenings, cultural performance, and more. Organized by Deutsche Jugend fur Palastina, Fluchtlings Kinder im Lebanon.

Stuttgart

Saturday, 7 May – Palestine Nakba Day
1 pm – 6 pm, Schlossplatz, Stuttgart. With speakers George Rashmawi, Shir Hever, Attia Rajab, Reiner Weigand, Annette Groth, and performers Aeham Ahmed, Muhammad Tamim, Yalla Dabke. Organized by Palestine Solidarity Committee Stuttgart and the Palestinian Community of Stuttgart.

Wuppertal

Sunday, 15 May – Festival in commemoration of the Nakba
6 pm, Uppsalla Eventhalle, Porschestrasse 22, Wuppertal, Germany.

NETHERLANDS

Rotterdam

Saturday, 14 May – Demonstration in Commemoration of the Nakba. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/701962599944259/
2 pm – 4 pm, between Markthal and Hoogstraat, organized by Palestijnse Gemeenschap Nederland, Aidoun-Group Nederland, al Awda, Palestijnse Vrouwenunie, het Samenwerkingsverband Rotterdam voor Gaza and Nederlands Palestina Komitee

Groningen

Saturday, 14 May – Demonstration in Commemoration of the Nakba
1 pm – 3 pm, on the Grand Market by the town hall, organized by Palestijnse Gemeenschap Nederland, Aidoun-Group Nederland, al Awda, Palestijnse Vrouwenunie, het Samenwerkingsverband Rotterdam voor Gaza and Nederlands Palestina Komitee

Den Haag

Saturday, 14 May – Commemoration of the Nakba
12:30 pm – 3 pm, entrance to the Passage Passage across from the Hema and Bijenkorf, Den Haag. http://www.palestina-komitee.nl/agenda/1226

Nijmegen

Event TBA, http://www.palestina-komitee.nl/agenda/1226

Amsterdam

Saturday, 14 May – Demonstration in Commemoration of the Nakba
1 pm – 4 pm, on the Dam and the Spui, organized by Palestijnse Gemeenschap Nederland, Aidoun-Group Nederland, al Awda, Palestijnse Vrouwenunie, het Samenwerkingsverband Rotterdam voor Gaza and Nederlands Palestina Komitee

Sunday, 15 May – Forum on the Nakba, 1948-2016. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1107523392631820/
3 pm, International Institute for Research and Education, Lombokstraat 40, Amsterdam. With speakers Mohammed Matter, Hatem Bazian, Amin Abou Rashed, Mohammad Altamary, Sami Shabib and Saleh Salayma, Sarah, and Khouloud Ajarma. Organized by Back to Palestine

SWITZERLAND

Zurich

Sunday, 15 May – Organizing for Palestine to Break the Silence. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/271803619829403/
2:30 pm, Autonomous School Zurich, Sihlquai 125, Zurich, Switzerland. Organized by Wir sind mit Ihnen

MALTA

Valletta

Friday, 13 May – Commemorating the Nakba. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1595983344052254/
7 pm, 67 Strait Street, Valetta. Organized by Palestine Solidarity Network Malta.

DENMARK

Copenhagen

Series of events from May 9-May 15
Organized by the Nakba Initiative (Democratic Palestine Committees in Denmark, Boykot Israel, FN Forbundet, Human Rights March, Palaestina Orientering) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1701774023414034/, https://www.facebook.com/events/231959850498870/

Monday, 9 May – Palestinian film screenings, 5 pm – 9 pm, Verdenskulturcentret, Norre Alle 7, 2200 Norrebro

Tuesday, 10 May – History of Al-Nakba – presentation by Professor Nur Masalha of the University of London, 7 pm – 9:30 pm, Verdenskulturcentret, Norre Alle 7, 2200 Norrebro

Wednesday, 11 May – Palestinian culture and music, with dabkeh dance and traditional music performed by Nassim al-Dogom, 6 pm – 9 pm, Verdenskulturcentret, Norre Alle 7, 2200 Norrebro

Friday, 13 May – Demonstration for justice for Palestine, remembering the Nakba of 1948. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/231959850498870/ , 3 pm – 5 pm, Radhusplads, Copenhagen. With speakers: Trine Petrou Mach, Bilal al-Issa, Gerd Berlev, and music with Nassim al-Dogom,

BELGIUM

Brussels

Saturday, May 14 – Rally to Commemorate the Palestinian Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1062648220458440/
1 pm – 4 pm, Place de la Monnaie, Brussels, Belgium. Organized by the Palestinian Community of Belgium.

Maasmechelen

Sunday, 15 May – Movie Screening for Al-Nakba: 5 Broken Cameras. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/629274427223623/
6:30 pm, Valkeniersplein 19B, Maasmechelen. Organized by the Palestine Committee Maasmechelen.

Antwerp

Sunday, 15 May – Silent Wake to Commemorate Al-Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1720577544889621/
7:00 pm, Koning Albertpark, Kiosk, Antwerp, Belgium. Organized by Antwerp for Palestine.

FRANCE

Marseille

Saturday, 14 May – What Road for Palestine? Marking the Palestinian Nakba, discussion with Khaled Barakat. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1735832763364560/
6:30 pm, Manifesten, 59 Rue Thiers, 13001 Marseille. Organized by the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) Aix-Marseille and Generation Palestine Marseille

Lyon

Saturday, 14 May – Demonstration to Support the Palestinian People, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1564176307216565/
2:30 pm, Place Bellecour, 69002, Lyon

Paris

Saturday, 14 May – Nakba: Mass rally in Paris, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1044453862291686/
3 pm – Place de la Republique. Exhibition on the Nakba, street theater, speeches and more. Organized by CAPJPO-EuroPalestine

Sunday, 15 May – Palestine at Place de la Republique. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1040660489359802/
2 pm – 10 pm, Place de la Republique, Paris. Films, discussions and presentations commemorating the Nakba. Organized by Cineluttes, Artists for Palestine, Festival Cine-Palestine, Campagne BDS and #PalestineToujoursDebout, Union of Palestinian Associations and Institutions of France (Aljaliya), GUPS Paris, PALMED France, Palestinian Youth Movement France and more.

Montpellier

Saturday, 14 May – Nakba Commemoration, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1693639234236227/
2:30 pm, Place de la Comedie, Montpellier, France. Organized by BDS France 34

SWEDEN

Stockholm

Friday, 13 May – Palestinian Family Dinner and Evening Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1689505781301901/ 7 pm – 10 pm, Byblos Restaurant, Storgatan 75, Huvudsta Centrum. Organized by the Palestinian Association in Stockholm.

Saturday, 14 May – Palestinian Cultural Festival 2016, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/490506727788987/
11:30 am – 6 pm, Hallunda Folkets Hus, Borgvagen 1, 145 69 Norsborf (Stockholm)

Malmo

Sunday, 15 May – Demonstration in memory of the Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/890420817746611/
12:30 pm, Gustav Adolfs Torg, Malmo. Organized by Malmo Palestine Network

Sunday, 15 May – Public Meeting on Palestinian Right of Return
3 pm, Studieframjandet, Ystadgatan 53 (following demonstration). Organized by Group 194

Vaxjo

Sunday, 15 May – Al-Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/517421361793105/
2 pm, NBVs, Kronobergsgatan 12, Vaxjo. Organized by Palestinagruppen i Kronoberg

NORWAY

Kristiansand

Thursday, 12 May – Commemoration of Al-Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1591388601174743/
6 pm, City Hall, Square, Kristiansand. Organized by Palestinian Association in Oslo.

Oslo

Saturday, 14 May – Sunday, 15 May – Objections III: Nakba without end? Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/629311963884408/
Saturday, 12 pm – 9 pm, Deichmanske, Schous place; Sunday, 12 pm – 8 pm, House of Literature. Literary and performance event – authors from Palestine and Norwegian actors and musicians interpreting.

ITALY

Milan

Friday, 6 May – Nakba – The Catastrophe after 68 Years. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1062237983822251/
7:30 pm, CSOA Lambretta, Milan. Featuring a speech by Rajeh Zayed and concert by Al-Raseef. Organized by UDAP (Arab Palestinian Democratic Union.)

Saturday, 14 May – Al Nakba: The day of memory. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1122523901163241/
8:30 pm, Milano Via Mercanti, Milan. Film Screening of “Al Nakba” documentary. Organized by BDS Milano

Sunday, 15 May – Commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/777360559031857/
3 pm, Piazza Gabrio Rosa, Milan. With Militant Rap performances by Beppe Rebel, Zasta NCF, Liam Vik, Hafiz X and Romio X, Palestinian Poetry, speeches and more. Organized by Fronte Palestina, Palestina Rossa, Global Campaign to Return to Palestine

Sunday, 15 May – Remembering the Nakba 2016, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/967855899977637/
7 pm, Spazio Libero Micene, Milan

Redona

Monday, 16 May – Nakba 1948-2016, the Catastrophe Continues Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1720129394926553/
8:30 pm, Qoelet di Redona. Presentation by Nandino Capovilla, Pax Christi. Presented by Gruppo Iabbok.

Florence

Sunday, 15 May – Commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba
6 pm, Piazza De Ciompi, Florence. Organized by Associazione Amicizia Italo Palestinese

Imperia

Saturday, 14 May – Remembering the Nakba: Book Presentation. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/244932092531241/
8 pm, ARCI Camalli ACPO, Via Bastioni di Mezzo 6, Imperia. Organized by ARCI Handala Imperia

Parma

Friday, 13 May – Remembering Nakba, Film Screening, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/630030603817428/
7 pm, Piazetta San Giacomo, Parma. Organized by Gruppo Azione Palestina.

Naples

Saturday, 14 May – Anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1778344012437171/
6 pm, Santa Fede Liberata, via San Giovanni Maggiore Pignatelli 2, Naples, Italy. Organized by Santa Fede Liberata.

Turin

Sunday, 15 May – Nakba 1948-2016. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1121999567859190/
6:30 pm, Centro Studi Sereno Regis, Via Garibaldi 13, Turin, Italy

Sunday, 22 May – Palestine: The Nakba to BDS. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/283473038655043/
5 pm – 11 pm, Association Comala, C.so Ferrucci 65/a, Turin, Italy. With Palestinian poetry, readings, Palestinian food and a screening of “The Wanted 18.” Organized by the Arab Palestinian Democratic Union (UDAP) and BDS Torino.

Trieste

Monday, 16 May – Nakba anniversary film screening and meeting. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/820710224729453/
8 pm – Sala Bar/Libreria Knulp, via Madonna del Mare 7/a, Trieste, Italy. Screening of “Nakba” documentary by Monica Maurer. Speaker Bassima Awad of the Al-Quds Italian/Palestinian Cultural Institute and the Palestinian Community of Veneto.

TURKEY

Istanbul

Sunday, 15 May – We will not forget the Nakba! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1742029749372347/
4 pm, Galatasaray Meydani, Istanbul, Turkey. Organized by BDS Turkiye.

GREECE

Athens

Saturday, 14 May – Crossroads: Castastrophe, Resistance, Freedom. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1774925339409272/
7:30 pm, Dora Stratou Dance Theatre, Arakynthou 33, Athens, Greece. Cultural event, Organized by the General Union of Palestinian Students – Greece

PORTUGAL

Lisbon

Tuesday, 17 May – 68 Years of Nakba, Solidarity with Palestine. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1678654302395719/
6:30 pm – 8 pm, Espaco Bento Martins, J.F. Camide, Largo das Pimenteiras, 6A (Junto ao Colegio Militar). Speeches by Hikmat Ajjuri, Pezarat Correia, Jorge Cadima.

AUSTRIA

Vienna

Saturday, 14 May – Groovy Palestine, Alternative Music from Palestine on Nakba Day, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/605375089624773/
7 pm, OKAZ, Gusshausstrasse 14/3, 1040 Vienna. Includes discussion and performance by Jowan Safadi, Palestinian musician, followed by DJ sets by Kolonel Blip, El Captagon and Neva-i Solomon. Organized by OKAZ, Österreichisch Arabisches Kulturzentrum

IRELAND

Belfast

Thursday, 12 May – BADIL Speaking Tour on Palestinian Refugees
Time and Location TBA. More info: http://www.ipsc.ie/press-releases/nakba-week-badil-speaking-tour-on-palestinian-refugees. Organized by Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Sunday, 15 May – Tesco, Stop Trading With Israel Nakba Vigil 2016. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1738915249676703/
2 pm, Tesco, 2 Royal Ave, Belfast. Call on Tesco to boycott Israeli goods.

Cork

Monday, 9 May – BADIL Irish Speaking Tour on Palestinian Refugees. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/124262787978021/
7 pm, Quay Co-Op, 24 Sullivan’s Quay, Cork. With speakers Lubnah Shomali and Nidal al-Azzah from BADIL. Organized by Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Tour info: http://www.ipsc.ie/press-releases/nakba-week-badil-speaking-tour-on-palestinian-refugees

Limerick

Tuesday, 10 May – BADIL Irish Speaking Tour on Palestinian Refugees. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1603383736655913/
7 pm, Perys Hotel Limerick, Glentworth Street, Limerick. With speakers Lubnah Shomali and Nidal al-Azzah from BADIL. Organized by Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Tour info: http://www.ipsc.ie/press-releases/nakba-week-badil-speaking-tour-on-palestinian-refugees

Dublin

Wednesday, 11 May – BADIL Speaking Tour on Palestinian Refugees. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1804239273138237/
6:15 pm, Academy Plaza Hotel, 10-14 Findlater Place, Dublin. With speakers Lubnah Shomali and Nidal al-Azzah from BADIL. Organized by Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Tour info: http://www.ipsc.ie/press-releases/nakba-week-badil-speaking-tour-on-palestinian-refugees

Saturday, 14 May – March and “Moving Gallery” for Palestinian Refugees. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1157920480940081/
2 pm – 3 pm, St. Stephen’s Green (Grafton St Entrance), Dublin 2. March down Grafton St to the Spire. Organized by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Derry

Friday, 13 May – BADIL Speaking Tour on Palestinian Refugees.
7 pm, UNISON Building, Clarendon St, Derry. With speaker Lubnah Shomali from BADIL. Organized by Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

CHILE

Valdivia

Wednesday, 11 May- Al-Nakba, 68 Years of Exile. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1403070739992193/
6 pm, Sala Auditorium, Austral University of Chile, Valdivia, Chile. With speaker Karmach Elias, Nakba survivor born in Palestine in 1948. Organized by Arab Youth for Palestine Valdivia.

Valparaiso

Wednesday, 18 May – 68 Years of Al-Nakba: Palestinian and Mapuche Resistance. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1721646601443138/
6:30 pm, En El Blanco, Blanco 1065, Valparaiso, Chile. Organized by Comité Chileno de Solidaridad con Palestina

Santiago

Thursday, 19 May – Palestine at 68 Years of Al-Nakba. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1721646601443138/
7 pm, Universidad Alberto Hurtado Almirante Barroso 10, Santiago, Chile. Organized by Comité Chileno de Solidaridad con Palestina

Temuco

Series of events from 9 May – 15 May, organized by the Arab Union for Palestine of Temuco. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/212047955847319/

Monday, 9 May – 7 pm – 9 pm, Documentary: Occupation 101, Universidad Catolica de Temuco, Sala C-301, Campus San Francisco

Tuesday, 10 May – 12 pm, Cultural Event, Dance, and Palestinian music, Plaza de Armas, Temuco

Wednesday, 11 May – 1 pm, Event on the history of the Palestinian struggle, UCT, Sala C-407, Campus San Francisco. Speaker: Samy Silhi

Thursday, 12 May – 6 pm, Documentary: Checkpoint, University of the Frontera, Sala D-106, Campus Andres Bello.

Friday, 13 May – 6 pm, Film: Omar. UCT, Sala C-301, Campus San Francisco

BRAZIL

Sao Paulo

Wednesday, 11 May – Mothers of May, Palestinian Mothers, Mothers Without Borders. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1712800118984523/
7 pm, Al Janiah, Alvaro Carvalho Street 190, Sao Paulo. Cultural event connecting struggles of Brazilian and Palestinian mothers. Organized by MOP@T (Movimento Palestina Para Tod@s) and the May Mothers Movement.

Saturday, 14 May – Palestine, Brazil and Colombia: New frontiers of control and the Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1845655745661800/
6 pm, Al Janiah, Rua Alvaro de Carvalho 190, Sao Paulo. Organized by MOP@T

Sunday, 15 May – 68 Years of the Palestinian Nakba. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/819368468167030/
11 am, in front of MASP, walk from Paulista to Rua Augusta. Organized by Frente em Defesa do Povo Palestino

URUGUAY

Montevideo

Friday, 13 May – 68 Years of Al-Nakba, the Resistance Continues. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1783788015170163/
6 pm, AFFUR – Canelones 2033 esq. Pablo de Maria. Organized by Comite Palestina Libre Uruguay

MEXICO

Mexico City

Tuesday, 17 May – Act to remember the 68th anniversary of Al-Nakba. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1548298882141310/
6 pm, Museo de la Memoria Indomita, Regina 66, Centro Historico. Organized by Palestina Mexico Corsopal.

PERU

Lima

Sunday, 15 May – Al-Nakba Day. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1096681890373243/
7 pm, Chabuca Amphitheatre, Granda, Miraflores Central Park. Dance performance and documentary film.

COSTA RICA

San Jose

Monday, 9 May – Cine Palestino Al Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1622746134715065/
5 pm – 8 pm, Audiovisual Rooms, Monge Alfaro Library, University of Costa Rica. Organized by Partido Obrero Socialista Costa Rica

THAILAND

Bangkok

Tuesday, 17 May – Commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/608959602591319/
6 pm, Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, Penthouse, Maneeya Center Building, 518/5 Ploenchit Road. Sponsored by PSC Thailand.

TUNISIA

Tunis

Saturday, 14 May – Intifada as a bridge of return. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1013240552106904/
6:30 pm, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, Tunis, Tunisia. Organized by a coalition of parties and groups.

CANADA

Montreal, Quebec

Saturday, 14 May – Nocturnal Demonstration to Commemorate the Nakba; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1522138648094029/
7 pm – midnight, Station Metro Mont-Royale, Montreal. Organized by Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU), Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights – UQAM (SPHR-UQAM) and Tadamon

Sunday, 15 May – Palestinian commemoration festival, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/927354794008542/
11 am – 5 pm, Concordia University, 1455 boulevard de Maisonneuve W., Montreal. With Palestinian cultural show, dance, music and children’s activities.

Toronto

Tuesday, 10 May – Personal stories of Palestinian Nakba Survivors. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1539654333004677/
7 pm, Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham St, Toronto. Part of the North America Nakba Tour, organized by Free Palestine Movement and Al-Awda Coaliation and co-presented in Canada by the Palestinian Canadian Congress and Canada Friends of Sabeel.

Sunday, 15 May – Commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/214844732229034/
2 pm – 5 pm, Celebration Square, Mississauga. Organized by the National Committee to Commemorate the Nakba 68 – Toronto

Sunday, 15 May – Toronto Palestinian Film Festival Nakba Commemoration, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/997858870282775/
2 pm, Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham St, Toronto. Film Screening of Encounter with a Lost Land with director Maryse Gargour over Skype. Organized by TPFF, Palestinian Canadian Congress, Students for Justice in Palestine – Ryerson.

Winnipeg

Sunday, 15 May – Commemoration of Al-Nakba 1948-2016, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/487890394740895/
1 pm – 4 pm, Memorial Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Including commemoration, community voices, Palestine dance, flag making and film screening. Organized by Winnipeg Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, Canadian Palestinian Association, Canada Palestine Support Network, Independent Jewish Voices, Peace Alliance Winnipeg

Ottawa

Sunday, 8 May – Personal Stories of Palestinian Nakba Survivors. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/966654723404454/
7 pm, Ben Franklin Place, Chamber Hall, 101 Centrepoint Dr, Ottawa. Part of the North America Nakba Tour, organized by Free Palestine Movement and Al-Awda Coaliation and co-presented in Canada by the Palestinian Canadian Congress and Canada Friends of Sabeel.

Kitchener

Wednesday, 11 May – The Exiled Palestinians. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1708770512722607/
6:45 pm, Forest Hill United, 121 Westmount St. E., Kitchener, Ontario. Part of the North America Nakba Tour, organized by Free Palestine Movement and Al-Awda Coaliation and co-presented in Canada by the Palestinian Canadian Congress and Canada Friends of Sabeel.

London, ON

Thursday, 12 May – Personal Stories of Palestinian Nakba Survivors. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1609037986088608/
7 pm, MAC Youth Centre, 366 Oxford St E, London. Part of the North America Nakba Tour, organized by Free Palestine Movement and Al-Awda Coaliation and co-presented in Canada by the Palestinian Canadian Congress and Canada Friends of Sabeel.

UNITED STATES

New York

Thursday, 12 May – Nakba Remembrance Day Protest. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250461684981640/
1:30 pm, Washington Square Park. Organized by NYU Students for Justice in Palestine.

Sunday, 15 May – Nakba Day March for Resistance and Return, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1720235081568888/
1:30 pm, Rally at City Hall Park before march over Brooklyn Bridge to Cadman Plaza for activities. Organized by NY4Palestine coalition.

Monday, 16 May – #PeoplesMonday for Nadim Siam Nuwara, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1728822340698555/
7 pm, 39th St and Broadway, NYC. Organized by Shut it Down NYC/#PeoplesMondays

Chicago

Sunday, May 8 – Nakba commemoration, with speakers, and entertainment and a children’s program, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/510727702462408/
1:30 pm – 6:30 pm, speakers including Dr. Ahmad Tibi, Debkeh performances, Palestinian food and fashion show; Prayer Center of Orland Park, 16530 104th Ave, Orland Park, Illinois. Hosted by American Muslims for Palestine – Chicago.

Wednesday, 11 May – Nakba: Not Something to Celebrate Vigil, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1713140805622497/
5:30 – 6:30 pm, 3751 N. Broadway, Chicago. Organized by Jewish Voice for Peace – Chicago.

Thursday, 26 May – USPCN Chicago Nakba Day Commemoration, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/521190604733100/
6:30 pm, Jerusalem Restaurant, 8310 S. Harlem Ave, Chicago. Live testimony from a Nakba survivor, Palestinian folkloric music from Hamze Allaham and Ronnie Malley, USPCN updates. Organized by US Palestinian Community Network Chicago.

Minneapolis

Friday, 13 May – AMP Minnesota Annual Nakba Commemoration
7 pm – Doubletree Hotel, 2200 Freeway Boulevard, Brooklyn Center, MN. Speakers Abdallah Maarouf and Hatem Bazian. Organized by American Muslims for Palestine – Minnesota

Sunday, 15 May – Al-Nakba Protest. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/260517614279372/
1 pm, Loring Park, Minneapolis. Initiated by Anti-War Committee with many endorsers.

Oakland/Bay Area

Sunday, 15 May – George Jackson in the Sun of Palestine. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/551591961667213/
4 pm, Uptown Auto Body and Fender, 401 26th Street, Oakland. Remember the Nakba, Black Panthers and Indigenous Resistance. Art exhibition and performance highlighting a multimedia exhibition, curated by Greg Thomas. Organized by Art Forces and AROC.

San Francisco

Saturday, 14 May: Stompin Up: Youth Resist through Story and Dance
6 pm, Mission High School, 3750 18th St, San Francisco, CA. Featuring Silk Road Dabke Troupe, Aljuthoor, and more. Organized by Palestinian Youth Movement and Silk Road Dabke Troupe.

Baltimore

Sunday, 15 May – Nakba Day 2016 – Performances by Ryan Harvey and Kareem Samara. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/232554823767805/
6 pm, Location TBA. Check Facebook, organized by Baltimore – Palestine Solidarity.

Tampa

Saturday, 14 May – Still Walking: Nakba 68, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1717651068510404/
5 pm – 8 pm, Joe Chillura Courthouse Square. 600 E Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, FL. Street theatre and reenactment of the Nakba of 1948. March from Joe Chillura Courthouse Park past Jose Marti Park, to the Immigration Statue in Centennial Park.

Monday, 16 May – Commemorating Al-Nakba. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/606896479488076/
5 pm, MSC2708, University of South Florida. Sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine USF.

Knoxville

Sunday, 15 May – Nakba Day Poetry Reading. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1695026577430712/
12 pm, Market Square, Knoxville, Tennessee. Palestinian poetry read by friends, poets and community members.

San Diego

Saturday, 14 May – Commemorating 68 Years of Al-Nakba. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1585392255108855/
5 pm, Balboa Park, 1549 El Prado, San Diego. Includes Palestinian dinner, talk by Dr. Jamal Nassar, music by Naima Shalhoub, testimonies of Nakba survivors. Organized by Nakba Committee (includes Jewish Voice for Peace, KARAMA, BDS San Diego, PAWA SD and CAIR)

Austin

Sunday, 15 May – Nakba Film Screening: The Land Speaks Arabic. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/523942177805713/
7 pm, Friends Meeting of Austin, 3701 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Austin, TX. Organized by the Interfaith Community for Palestinian Rights

Cincinnati

Saturday, 14 May, Nakba Tour: The Exiled Palestinians. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1697292343892426/
5:00 pm, Islamic Association of Cincinnati. Speakers: Nakba survivor Mariam Fathalla, 86, and Amena Ashkar, granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Nakba survivors. Organized by Cincinnati Palestine Solidarity Coalition

Syracuse

Sunday, 15 May – Nakba Commemoration. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1546641618969252/
4 pm – 6 pm, ArtRage Gallery. 505 Hawley Avenue, Syracuse. Speakers: Kawthar Shomar, Pat Carmeli, Ava Carmeli. Organized by Syracuse Peace Council

Davis

Monday, 16 May – Nakba Day, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/988447621251026/
12 pm, University of California – Davis Quad, Davis, California

Nashville

Sunday, 22 May – Nakba Day Coalition Forum, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1298272276962157/
4 pm – 7 pm, Workers Dignity/Dignidad Obrera, 335 Whitsett Rd, Nashville, Tennessee. Organized by Nashville Coalition to Drop G4S.

Seattle

Monday, 16 May – Roshmia: Film on Palestine and the Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1596515377331485/
5:30 pm – 9:30 pm, University of Washington, exact location TBA (check Facebook)

Boston

Sunday, 15 May – Boston Nakba Day. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/594093894087135/
12:30 pm, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. Organized by Boston Students for Justice in Palestine

Memphis

Friday, 13 May – Commemorating Al Nakba: Protest Against Israeli Apartheid. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1020845741336440/
4:30 pm – 6 pm, Poplar and Highland, Memphis, Tennessee. Organized by Memphis Voices for Palestine.

Washington, DC

Friday, 13 May – Nakba Commemoration. More info: http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/events/upcoming/nakba-commemoration-day-may-13-2016
11 am – 5 pm, Jerusalem Fund, Washington, DC. Including film screenings, recordings, more.

Saturday, 21 May – African Liberation Day and Palestine Nakba Day, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/503178043195441/
12 pm – 6 pm, St. Stephen’s Incarnation, 1525 Newton St NW, Washington, DC. Organized by All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party GC.

Columbia

Tuesday, 17 May: North America Nakba Tour in Columbia. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1680223835578264/
6 pm, Columbia Public Library, 100 W Broadway, Columbia, Missouri

Dorchester

Sunday, 22 May – 68th anniversary of the Nakba in Palestine, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1284882781525335/
3 pm – 5 p, The City School, 614 Columbia Road, Dorchester. Organized by the Go There Collective.

Fort Lauderdale

Saturday, 4 June – Funeral Service Commemorating 68 Years of Continuing Nakba, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1069873416421115/
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm, Broward Federal Court House, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Organized by Al-Awda Florida, POWER, SJP FIU, SJP FAU

Los Angeles

Sunday, 15 May – Palestine: Healing Mother and Child. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1019948171417152/
5:30 pm, Phoenicia Restaurant, 343 N Central Ave, Glendale, California. Fundraiser for KinderUSA. Featured Speaker Dr. Ramzy Baroud

Anaheim

Sunday, 15 May – Dealing with Identity in Diaspora: interactions with Nakba
6 pm – 8 pm, 720 South Illinois St, Anaheim, California. Organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement

Albuquerque

Saturday, 7 May – Commemorating Al-Nakba with Nadia Ben-Youssef. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/488400578020681/
11 am – 1:30 pm, Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, 202 Harvard Drive SE, Albuquerque. With speaker Nadia Ben-Youssef of Adalah.

UK

List of activities below via Palestine Solidarity Campaign Nakba Week Schedule. Additional events below.

Tue 3 – Dr. Christos Giannou, A Surgeon in the Siege of Shatila, Guilford

Tue 3 – Prof. Manuel S. Hassassian, Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, Milton Keynes

Wed 4 – Mahmoud Zawahra, Nottingham

Fri 6 – Film screening: The Lab (dir. Yotam Feldman), Wolverhampton

Fri 6 – Mahmoud Zawahra, Cardiff

Sat 7 – Prof. Karma Nabulsi, Palestine, Freedom of speech and Prevent, Luton

Sat 7 – Nakba presentation, Bradford upon Avon

Sat 7 – Tower Hamlets-Jenin Friendship Association Stall for Nakba, London E3

Sat 7 – Nakba commemorative vigil, Hereford

Sat 7 – Sabrina Tucci, Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme, Birmingham

Sat 7 – Nakba stall, Bradford

Sun 8 – Sponsored Walk for Palestine, Bristol

Sun 8 – Olive & PSC present- Palestine: A Journey Through The Culture, London NW10

Sun 8 – Nakba Week stall, Peterborough

Mon 9 – Live music, poetry & film screening, Tatreez Cafe, London N16

Mon 9 – Tim Sanders and Mahmoud Zawahra, Tower Hamlets, London E2

Mon 9 – Film Screening: Nakba, Bristol

Mon 9 – Eat for Palestine, Fundraiser, Norwich

Tue 10 – Nakba, Round Table Discussion with Prof. Karma Nabulsi, Parliament

Tue 10 – Film screening: Jaffa, the Orange’s Clockwork (dir. Eyal Sivan), London W4

Tue 10 – Screening of Miko Peled, The General’s Son, London SW9

Tue 10 – Mahmoud Zawahra, Oxford Town Hall

Wed 11 – Film screening: Five Broken Cameras, Wellingborough

Wed 11 – Awad Abdelfattah (National Democratic Assembly / Balad), London N15

Wed 11 – Kate Cargin, Living Under Military Occupation, Norwich

Wed 11 – Dr Khader Abu-Hayyeh, Nakba survivor, Hastings

Thu 12 – Haya al Farra (Palestinian Mission), Darlington

Wed 11 – Film screening: Five Broken Cameras, Wellingborough

Wed 11 – Awad Abdelfattah (National Democratic Assembly / Balad), London N15

Wed 11 – Kate Cargin, Living Under Military Occupation, Norwich

Wed 11 – Dr Khader Abu-Hayyeh, Nakba survivor, Hastings

Thu 12 – Haya al Farra (Palestinian Mission), Darlington

Thu 12 – Jafar Ramini, The Catastrophe that is Palestine, Salisbury

Thu 12 – Film screening: Life in Occupied Palestine (by Anna Baltzer, JVP), Exeter

Fri 13 – Film screening: The Time That Remains (dir. Elia Suleiman), SOAS, London WC1

Fri 13 – The Israel lobby and the European Union, Report Launch, London NW1

Fri 13 – Film screening: When I Saw You (dir. Annemarie Jacir), Shrewsbury

Fri 13 – Film screening: Palestine Blues (dir. Nida Sinnokrot), Hereford

Sat 14 – Day-School Conference: Prof Nur Masala, Awad Abdelfattah & more, London WC1

Sat 14 – Palestinian Forum in Britain, Nakba anniversary protest, London W8

Sat 14 – Nakba Stall, Edinburgh

Sat 14 – Remember the Nakba in quiet contemplation, Lancaster

Sat 14 – Nakba Stall, Barnstaple

Sat 14 – Paveen Yaqub, Palestinian activism and its relevance to the Nakba, Leeds

Sat 14 – Nakba Stall, Glasgow

Sat 14 – Nakba commemoration, Sheffield Town Hall

Sat 14 – Mahmoud Zawahra, Portsmouth

Sat 14 – Friends of Al Aqsa: Palestine Exhibition and Fun Day, Edinburgh

Sat 14 – The Nakba: Palestine Exodus, Video Conference with survivors, Bristol

Sat 14 – Nakba stall, Kettering

Sun 15 – The Tragedy of Palestine, Huddersfield

Sun 15 – Nakba stall, Northampton

Sun 15 – Interpal: Nakba Tube Trail, London E17

Sun 15 – Nakba Day, Lest We Forget, Kingston upon Thames

Sun 15 – Rafeef Ziadah, We Teach Life Sir album launch, Birmingham

Sun 15 – Nakba Day Vigil, Manchester

Sun 15 – Nakba Day, ‘Registered Alive’, with Maxine Peake, Ahmed Masoud & more, London N1

Islington

Friday, 13 May – Evening for Palestine. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/942198729227447/
7 pm, Hargrave Hall, Hargrave Road, Islington. Palestinian music, food, short film and talks by Palestinian youth. Organized by CADFA.

Manchester

Saturday, 14 May – Nakba Day Commemoration. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1140770009308235/
12 pm – 9 pm, Piccadilly Gardens, Live Feed from Gaza, talks, music, drama and poetry. 9 pm, Film screening and music.

London

Monday, 16 May – Book Launch and Seminar, “Mapping My Return, A Palestinian Memoir,” by Salman Abu Sitta. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/210407026005655/
6:30 pm, Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS, London. Organized by Palestinian Return Centre and Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Saturday, 21 May – Nakba Narratives 2016 Annual Dinner. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1595195460797894/
6 pm, Royal Nawaab London. Annual dinner for Interpal with speakers Majdi Aqil, Ang Swee Chai, Yvonne Ridley, Ibrahim Hewitt.

Cambridge

Monday, 16 May – Nakba Talk – One Democratic State with Awad Abdelfattah and Karl Sabbagh. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/580838385418582/
7:30 pm, Friends Meeting House, Jesus Lane, Cambridge. Event chaired by Dr Ruba Salih (Reader at SOAS) and supported by One Democratic State (ODS) and Cambridge Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Medway

Saturday, 28 May – Remembering the Nakba 1948, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1049924925102455/
5 pm – 8 pm, Sunlight Centre, 105 Richmond Rd, Gillingham, Medway.

Interrogation extended for detained Palestinian journalist and human rights defender Hasan Safadi

8 May 2016

The detention and interrogation of Palestinian journalist and human rights activist Hasan Safadi, the Arabic media officer of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, was extended on Sunday, 8 May for six additional days, until Friday, 13 May.

Safadi, 25, was arrested by Israeli occupation forces on 1 May while crossing Al-Karameh/Allenby bridge between Palestine’s West Bank and Jordan; he has been held since then in Moskobiyyeh interrogation center in Jerusalem. His detention was originally ordered until today, 8 May, and was extended in the Jerusalem Magistrate Court.

The arrest of Safadi is part of the continued attack on Palestinian journalists and media workers, which includes the administrative detention without charge or trial of Omar Nazzal, member of the General Secretariat of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate; Mohammed al-Qeeq, who conducted a 94-day hunger strike for his release; Sami al-Saee, reporter for Al-Fajr; Musab Kafisheh, freelance journalist; Mohammed Kaddoumi, freelance journalist; and Ali Al-Oweiwi, an announcer on Arabah radio station.

Other Palestinian journalists like Samer Abu Aisha and Samah Dweik are imprisoned on “incitement” charges for posting on Facebook about Palestinian politics and struggle, while Abu Aisha also faces charges for visiting neighboring Lebanon, an “enemy country.” Other imprisoned journalists targeted for membership in political parties include Hazem Nasser and Mujahid Saadi. They are among 19 journalists imprisoned in Israeli jails.

Further, the arrest of Safadi also continues attacks on Palestinian human rights defenders, particularly those who work to free Palestinian prisoners, including Addameer vice-chair and Palestinian Legislative Council member Khalida Jarrar; imprisoned land defender and advocate Samer Arbeed, held without charge or trial; civil society leader Eteraf Rimawi, executive director of Bisan; and repeatedly targeted prisoners’ advocates like Ayman Nasser of Addameer and Osama Shaheen of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Center for Studies.

Samidoun calls for the immediate release of Safadi and his fellow imprisoned human rights defenders, journalists, and all 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons.

Statement of Palestinians in Europe against “French initiative,” in defense of Palestinian right of return

8 May 2016

English | Arabic | French

We reject the French initiative: No substitute for the right of return
A statement by Palestinian associations and institutions in Europe

To sign on: email rejectfrenchinitiative@gmail.com

We, the undersigned Palestinian organizations and associations in Europe, declare our categorical rejection of the so-called “French initiative for peace” being proposed as a final solution of the Arab-Zionist conflict, being marketed in the region by some European powers and official Arab and Palestinian parties.

This initiative lacks political credibility or moral legitimacy, and comes in the context of the systematic destruction of the Palestinian national cause and all of its national institutions, deliberately avoiding its essence, that of justice and national rights for a people who suffer, over half of them in exile and the other half under the bayonets of racist settler colonialism.

We emphasize the need to continue the struggle to confront and thwart any political initiative, whether international or regional, that disregards the rights of the Palestinian people to freedom, return, and full sovereignty and independence. We cannot abandon our people or barter their legitimate national rights, for which such great sacrifices were made to preserve and protect these rights by hundreds of thousands of martyrs, prisoners and the wounded.

The rejection of the French initiative is the natural expression of the position of our people in Palestine and everywhere they are located, who have carried on a popular uprising for nearly six months, and are struggling to circumvent and end the siege upon them.

The Palestinian people are demanding the achievement of national unity and its implementation in reality to confront the Zionist entity and its racist and eliminationist policies that target the entire Arab and Palestinian land and the entire Palestinian Arab people. This is an authentic popular demand that expresses our people’s awareness of the dangers that threaten their collective rights and national cause.

The Palestinian Arab people, who are preparing to mark the anniversary of 100 years of resistance to colonialism and Zionism, cannot accept the French initiative, which aims to preempt popular resistance and action, and aims to continue the absurd path of negotiations, granting the Zionist entity more time to continue its policy of settlements, assassinations, arrests, siege, and racism, against the daily life of the Palestinian masses in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and occupied Jerusalem.

We reject this French initiative which includes the recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist entity in the land of Palestine, and the recognition of the so-called “Jewish character of the state of Israel,” a Palestinian mini-state denied sovereignty or the right to arm itself, and writes off the right of return and real independence, which places the existence of our people at risk of further liquidation both inside and outside Palestine.

The French state, which has a long history of colonialism and hegemony, and provides arms, expertise, technology and capital to the Zionist entity, and criminalizes activists and the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, and continues to imprison the internationalist Arab struggler Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, cannot be considered an honest broker in any peace operation in the region.

We call on the masses of the Palestinian people to declare their rejection of this French initiative, by signing on to this statement by emailing rejectfrenchinitiative@gmail.com, as well as by participating in and organizing public events to mark the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba on 15 May, and through continuation of resistance and struggle until we achieve return, liberation, equality and the establishment of a Palestinian democratic state with full sovereignty on the entire land of Palestine.

Finally, we call on the national and Islamic forces to announce a clear and explicit position on the French initiative that firmly adheres to the rights of our people. This initiative aims to liquidate the Palestinian cause, deepen the Palestinian internal crisis, and liquidate our constants and national rights.

No to the dangerous French initiative
Yes to the continued struggle for return, liberation and justice

Initiating signatories:

Democratic Palestine Committees – Germany
Al-Karmel Society – Germany
Democratic Social Platform – Germany
Handala Palestinian Cultural Forum – Austria
Arab Palestinian Democratic Union – Italy
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network – Europe

Sign on: rejectfrenchinitiative@gmail.com

نرفض المبادرة الفرنسية ولا بديل عن حق العودة الى الديار

بيان صادر عن الجمعيات والمؤسسات الفلسطينية في اوروبا

نحن الموقعون أدناه ، مؤسسات وشخصيات فلسطينية في القارة الاوروبية ، نُعلن رفضنا القاطع لما يُسمى ” المُبادرة الفرنسية للسلام ” التي يجري تداولها في الآونة الاخيرة ، حلاً نهائيًا للصراع العربي الصهيوني ، والتي يجري تسويقها في المنطقة من قبل بعض القوى والدوائر الاوروبية والعرّبية والفلسطينية الرّسمية . ان هذه المبادرة فاقدة للمصداقية والشرعية السياسية والاخلاقية ، و تاتي في سياق التدمير المنهجي للقضية الوطنية الفلسطينية وكل مركباتها الوطنية ، تتجاهل جوهرها عن قصد ، باعتبارها قضية وطنية عادلة لشعب يرزح اكثر من نصفه في المنافي ونصفه الاخر تحت حراب الاحتلال الاستيطاني العنصري.

اننا نؤكد على ضرورة استمرار النضال لافشال و مواجهة اية مبادرة سياسية ، دولية كانت أم اقليمية ، تتجاهل حقوق شعبنا الفلسطيني في الحرية والعودة والاستقلال السيادي الناجز. ولا يمكن ان يتخلى شعبنا او يقايض حقوقه الوطنية المشروعة ، والتي بذل على طريق حمايتها و صونها الغالي والرخيص و قدّم من أجل تحقيق أهدافه الوطنية مئات الاف من الشهداء والاسرى والجرحى .

ان رفضنا للمبادرة الفرنسية المذكورة انما هو امتداد طبيعي لموقف شعبنا في الوطن وفي كافة اماكن تواجده ، والذي اعلن عن انتفاضة شعبية مستمرة منذ ستة شهور ونيف ، يجري محاولة حصارها والالتفاف عليها.

ان شعبنا يطالب بانجاز الوحدة الوطنية واقعا على الارض في مواجهة الكيان الصهيوني و مخططاته العنصرية والالغائية التي يستهدف من خلالها كل عربي وفلسطيني وكل ارض عربية فلسطينية. هذا المطلب الشعبي يعبر عن اصالة و وعي شعبنا للمخاطر التي تهدد حقوقه الجماعية وقضيته الوطنية.

ان الشعب العربي الفلسطيني الذي يستعد لاستقبال ذكرى 100 عام من المقاومة للاستعمار والصهيونية لا يمكن ان يقبل المبادرة الفرنسية التي تهدف الى اجهاض الفعل المقاوم الشعبي ، وتهدف الى استمرار مسار المفاوضات العبثية و منح الكيان الصهيوني المزيد من الوقت لمواصلة سياسة الاستيطان والاغتيالات و الاعتقالات والحصار والعنصرية و ما يقوم به يوميا من تضييق سبل الحياة والعيش على جماهير شعبنا في الضفة والقطاع و القدس المحتلة.

نرفض هذه المبادرة الفرنسية التي تتضمن الاعتراف بشرعية الكيان الصهيوني في أرض فلسطين ، والاعتراف بما يسمى ” الطابع اليهودي لدولة اسرائيل ” ، هذه المبادرة الخطيرة التي تدعو لدولة فلسطينية هزيلة ، منزوعة السيادة والسلاح ، وتشطب حق العودة و الاستقلال الحقيقي ، الامر الذي يعرّض كل وجود شعبنا للمزيد من مخاطر التصفية والتشويه ، داخل وخارج الوطن على حد سواء .

ان الدولة الفرنسية التي تملك باعا طويلا وتاريخا مستمرا في الاستعمار والهيمنة و قدمت السلاح والخبرة والتقنية والمال للكيان الصهيوني وتجرم نشطاء وحركة مقاطعة دولة العدو ، وتواصل اعتقالها للمناضل العربي الاممي جورج ابراهيم عبد الله ، لا يمكن ان تكون وسيطا نزيها في اية عملية سلام في المنطقة.

ندعو جماهير شعبنا الى اعلان رفضها للمبادرة الفرنسية المشبوهة ، من خلال التوقيع على هذه العريضة ، عبر البريد rejectfrenchinitiative@gmail.com ، وبالمشاركة في الفعاليات الوطنية الجماهيرية لاحياء ذكرى النكبة الفلسطينية في 15 ايار / مايو الجاري وبالتأكيد على استمرار المقاومة و النضال حتى تحقيق العودة والتحرير و المساواة واقامة دولتنا الديمقراطية ذات السيادة الكاملة على كامل التراب الوطني الفلسطيني.

واخيرا ، ندعو القوى الوطنية والاسلامية لاعلان موقفا واضحًا وصريحًا من المبادرة الفرنسية ، بالانحياز الواضخ لحقوق شعبنا فهذه المبادرة ترمي الى تصفية القضية الفلسطينية و تعميق الأزمة الفلسطينية الداخلية و شطب كل الثوابت والحقوق الوطنية .

لا للمبادرة الفرنسية المشبوهة

نعم لاستمرار النضال من اجل العودة والتحرير والمساواة.

وأورد البيان أسماء الجهات الموقعة على العريضة حتى وقت صدوره، وهي: لجان فلسطين الديمقراطية، وجمعية الكرمل، والمنبر الديمقراطي الاجتماعي بألمانيا، ومنتدى حنظلة الثقافي بالنمسا، والاتحاد العربي الفلسطيني الديمقراطي بإيطاليا، وشبكة صامدون لرعاية الأسرى بأوروبا.

Déclaration des associations et institutions palestiniennes en Europe
“Nous rejetons l’initiative française : pas de substitut au droit au retour”

Traduction par ISM France

Nous soussignées, associations et organisations palestiniennes en Europe, déclarons notre rejet catégorique de la soi-disant “initiative française pour la paix” qui est proposée comme solution finale au conflit arabo-sioniste, et que certains pouvoirs européens et partis arabes et palestiniens officiels vendent dans la région.

Déclaration des associations et institutions palestiniennes en Europe
‘Nous rejetons l’initiative française : pas de substitut au droit au retour’
Cette initiative manque de crédibilité politique ou de légitimité morale, et s’inscrit dans le contexte de la destruction systématique de la cause nationale palestinienne et de toutes ses institutions nationales, en évitant délibérément son essence, celle de la justice et des droits nationaux pour une population qui souffre, la moitié en exil et l’autre moitié sous la férule d’un colonialisme de peuplement raciste.

Nous insistons sur la nécessité de poursuivre la lutte pour nous opposer et contrecarrer toute initiative politique, qu’elle soit internationale ou régionale, qui méprise les droits du peuple palestinien à la liberté, au retour, à la pleine souveraineté et à l’indépendance. Nous ne pouvons pas abandonner notre peuple ni troquer ses droits légitimes, pour la préservation et la protection desquels des centaines de milliers de martyrs, de prisonniers et de blessés ont fait tant de sacrifices.

Le rejet de l’initiative française est l’expression naturelle de la position de notre peuple en Palestine et partout où il se trouve, qui mène depuis près de six mois un soulèvement populaire et lutte pour contourner et mettre au fin au siège auquel il est confronté.

Le peuple palestinien exige la réalisation de l’unité nationale et sa mise en œuvre pour affronter l’entité sioniste et sa politique raciste et d’élimination qui vise la terre arabe et palestinienne entière et la population arabe palestinienne entière. C’est une revendication populaire authentique qui exprime la conscience de notre peuple des dangers qui menacent ses droits collectifs et sa cause nationale.

Le peuple arabe palestinien, qui se prépare à marquer l’anniversaire de 100 ans de résistance au colonialisme et au sionisme, ne peut pas accepter l’initiative française, qui vise à préempter la résistance et l’action populaires, et à poursuivre le chemin absurde des négociations, octroyant à l’entité sioniste davantage de temps pour continuer sa politique de colonisation, d’assassinats, d’arrestations, de siège et de racisme, contre la vie quotidienne des masses palestiniennes en Cisjordanie , dans la Bande de Gaza et à Jérusalem occupée.

Nous rejetons l’initiative française qui inclut la reconnaissance de la légitimité de l’entité sioniste sur la terre de Palestine, la reconnaissance du soi-disant “caractère juif de l’Etat d’Israël”, un mini-Etat palestinien sans souveraineté ni droit à s’armer, et annule le droit au retour et à une indépendance réelle ; elle met l’existence de notre peuple au risque d’une nouvelle liquidation, à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur de la Palestine.

On ne peut pas considérer l’Etat français, qui a une longue histoire de colonialisme et d’hégémonie, fournit armes, expertise, technologie et capital à l’entité sioniste, criminalise les militants et le mouvement Boycott, Désinvestissements et Sanctions (BDS) et maintient en prison le combattant arabe internationaliste Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, comme un intermédiaire honnête dans n’importe quelle opération de paix dans la région.

Nous appelons les masses du peuple palestinien à déclarer leur rejet de cette initiative française en signant cette déclaration par courriel à : rejectfrenchinitiative@gmail.com ainsi qu’en participant et en organisant des événements publics pour marquer l’anniversaire de la Nakba palestinienne, le 15 mai, et pour la poursuite de la résistance et de la lutte jusqu’à ce que nous obtenions le retour, la libération, l’égalité et la création d’un Etat palestinien démocratique avec pleine souveraineté sur l’ensemble de la terre de Palestine.

Enfin, nous appelons les forces nationales et islamiques à énoncer, sur l’initiative française, une position claire et explicite qui adhère résolument aux droits de notre peuple. Cette initiative vise à liquider la cause palestinienne, à approfondir la crise palestinienne interne et à liquider nos constantes et nos droits nationaux.

Non à la dangereuse initiative française
Oui à la poursuite de la lutte pour le retour, la libération et la justice

Signataires :
Democratic Palestine Committees – Allemagne
Al-Karmel Society – Allemagne
Democratic Social Platform – Allemagne
Handala Palestinian Cultural Forum – Autriche
Arab Palestinian Democratic Union – Italie
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network – Europe

Pour envoyer votre signature : rejectfrenchinitiative@gmail.com

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