20 April, Lille: International Day to Free Political Prisoners

3 April 2016

Wednesday, 20 April
6:00 pm
Grand Place de Lille
10 rue Royale
Lille, France

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/605529836289971/

In 1975, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), many of whose activists were locked in Zionist jails, called for the establishment of an international day of solidarity with all strugglers imprisoned for their commitment, including anti-colonial, anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist strugglers. The objective of this day is to combat isolation and erasure, continue the memory of struggles, and remember and support the cause of imprisoned comrades.

On April 17, this day is now marked as a global day of action. In Lille, too, we join in this day of struggle. The year 2014 saw a great success in the release of three Cuban heroes imprisoned in the US. We of course, include all political prisoners for justice.

However, we also highlight a few who have become, by the length of their detention and by their determination, symbols of the movement:

Leonard Peltier, struggler with the American Indian Movement, Native American political prisoner in the US since 1975

Mumia Abu-Jamal, a Black Panther activist, imprisoned since 1981 in US prisons. International mobilization has helped to transform his death sentence to life imprisonment.

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Lebanese Communist struggler sentenced in France to life imprisonment. He has been imprisoned since 1984.

Ahmad Sa’adat, General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), jailed since 2002

Abdullah Ocalan, founder and leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) jailed by Turkey since 1999.

We also should mention many other prisoners of US imperialism, thousands of Kurdish comrades in Turkey, thousands of Palestinian strugglers, hundreds of Basque political prisoners in Spanish and French prisons, Sahrawi prisoners in Morocco, the 16 Mapuche political prisoners in Chile and many others around the world. Join in the rally to free political prisoners! Wednesday, 20 April, 6:00 pm, Grand Place, Lille (Metro Rihour)

En 1975, le Front Populaire de Libération de la Palestine (FPLP), dont de nombreux militants sont enfermés dans les geôles sionistes, appelle à l’instauration d’une journée internationale de solidarité avec tous les militants emprisonnés en raison de leur engagement, qu’il soit anticolonialiste, anticapitaliste, anti-impérialiste, etc. Les objectifs de cette journée sont de lutter contre l’oubli, transmettre la mémoire des combats et rappeler les revendications de nos camarades emprisonnés.

Le 17 avril est désormais devenu une journée de mobilisation mondiale. A Lille aussi, nous voulons nous inscrire dans cette journée de combat.

L’année 2014 a été celle d’une grande victoire avec la libération des trois héros cubains qui étaient emprisonnés aux États-Unis depuis 17 ans.

Nous ne pouvons bien sur citer tous les prisonniers politiques. Il nous faut cependant en nommer quelques-uns, ceux qui sont devenus, par l’ancienneté de leur détention et par leur détermination, des symboles de lutte :
– Leonard Peltier, militant de l’American Indian Movement, amérindien prisonnier politique aux USA depuis 1975 ;
– Mumia Abu-Jamal, militant des Black Panthers, enfermé depuis 1981 dans les prisons états-uniennes. La mobilisation internationale a permis de transformer sa condamnation à mort en prison à perpétuité ;
– Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, militant communiste libanais condamné en France à la réclusion à perpétuité. Il est emprisonné depuis 1984 ;
– Ahmad Sa’adat, Secrétaire Général du Front Populaire de Libération de la Palestine (FPLP) emprisonné depuis 2002 ;
– Abdullah Öcalan, fondateur et dirigeant du Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), emprisonné par la Turquie depuis 1999.

Il faudrait aussi citer les nombreux cubains emprisonnés par l’impérialisme étasunien, les milliers de camarades kurdes en Turquie, les milliers de militants palestiniens, les centaines de prisonniers politiques basques dans les prisons françaises et espagnoles, les soixante-douze prisonniers politiques sahraouis au Maroc, les seize prisonniers politiques mapuches au Chili et de nombreux autres, partout dans le monde.
Soyons nombreux au rassemblement de soutien aux prisonniers politiques !

Rendez-vous le Mercredi 20 avril, à 18h00, Grand Place, à Lille (métro Rihour)

Cornell University’s Johnson Museum of Art to terminate G4S contract in victory for student organizing

3 April 2016

Cornell University’s Herman F. Johnson Museum of Art is terminating its contract with G4S, the British-Danish security conglomerate that runs private prisons in the United States and provides control rooms, equipment and security services to Israeli prisons holding Palestinian prisoners, reported the Cornell Sun.

Black Students United at Cornell University campaigned for the contract to be cancelled due to G4S’ involvement in the private prison industry. The victory follows the divestment of the University of California and Columbia University from G4S, following campaigns led by Black students and prison divestment campaigns against the investment of their universities in the private prison business.

“We would also like to take this moment to announce that we have just received notice from Acting President Kotlikoff that the Johnson Museum will no longer hold a contract with G4S, the oppressive securities company linked to the private prison industry, both domestic and abroad. Incarceration across the globe has wreaked havoc on communities of color. Any step the University takes in distancing itself from that brutal system is a step in the right direction,” said Black Students United in a statement.

G4S is a major target of prison divestment movements targeting the private corporations profiting from mass imprisonment in the United States, especially of Black people and Black youth. It is also subject to an international call for boycott, by Palestinian prisoners and Palestinian movements, because of its involvement in the imprisonment of Palestinians, Israeli checkpoints, and the siege of Gaza – G4S provides security equipment for Israel’s Beit Hanoun/Erez crossing to Gaza. Samidoun in New York City is working with CUNY Prison Divest and NYC Students for Justice in Palestine to organize a prison divestment speakout on 17 April, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, that will highlight the role of G4S, Corrections Corporation of America and other private corporations in global mass incarceration.

The Black4Palestine statement, signed by over 1,000 Black organizers, activists, artists and intellectuals, highlighted G4S as a target of particular importance for struggle by Black and Palestinian movements for justice and liberation.

G4S recently announced that it was planning to close down its youth incarceration business in the US as well as selling off its Israeli subsidy, labeled as “reputationally damaging.” G4S has lost millions of dollars in contracts and investments due to its role in private imprisonment in the United States and in providing support for Israeli occupation and apartheid. However, both the US prison divestment movement and the Palestinian movement have emphasized that it is critical to continue to target G4S which profits daily from ongoing imprisonment, oppression and injustice in the US, Palestine, and internationally.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network congratulates and salutes Black Students United at Cornell University and the leadership of Black student movements across the United States in confronting and challenging mass incarceration and prison profiteering, and the complicity of US universities in structures of racism and oppression.

Palestinian prisoners postpone protest escalation until Tuesday

3 April 2016

Palestinian prisoners affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Islamic Jihad are postponing their protest escalation until Tuesday evening, said Mohja Jerusalem Foundation after receiving a letter from the prisoners on Sunday, 3 April.

Over 100 prisoners affiliated with the two organizations were to launch a series of one-day hunger strikes leading up to an open hunger strike against isolation and solitary confinement on Sunday.

A tentative agreement was reached with the prison administration to hold a hearing with Ziad Bseisi, representing the prisoners of Islamic Jihad and to provide a response to the demands of the prisoners: ending the isolation of Nahar Saadi, Munir Abu Rabie, Hosni Issa Khaizaran, and Said Saleh; ending solitary confinement; and addressing overcrowding issues.

The prisoners stated that this suspension does not mean that the protest is cancelled, it is a last opportunity for the administration to respond to their just demands. If the prison authorities’ response is negative, the escalation will continue toward an open hunger strike.

Previous protests by the prisoners of the PFLP and Islamic Jihad began on 24 March, including Bseisi’s three-day strike, and a three-day strike by 30 PFLP and Islamic Jihad prsoners in Megiddo, calling for an end to isolation, arbitrary transfers, and prison overcrowding.

A number of individual hunger strikes are ongoing, including those of Nahar Saadi, Essam Zinedine and Abdullah Mughrabi against solitary confinement, and those of Sami Janazrah, Imad Batran, Abdel-Rahim Sawayfeh and Abdul-Ghani Safadi against administrative detention, as well as Mohammed Daoud’s ongoing strike demanding his release after the five years of his former sentence were arbitrarily reimposed upon him four years after his release in a prisoner exchange.

3-8 April, Italy: Day of the Land commemorations with former prisoner Ayman Hajj Yahya

3 April 2016

On the occasion of the 40th commemoration of Land Day, Fronte Palestina in Italy will be hosting a series of events, focusing on the Intifada developing since October 2015, the Palestinian struggle for freedom against Zionist colonialism, and the struggle for the liberation of Palestinian prisoners.

The events will feature Ayman Hajj Yahya, from occupied Palestine ’48, vice-secretary of the Kefah movement and a former prisoner in Israeli jails.

The events are scheduled as follows:

Turin, Italy
Sunday, 3 April
10:30 am
Corso Vigevano 33
https://www.facebook.com/events/1701552333434043/

Milan, Italy
Monday, 4 April
9:00 pm
Calusca City Light
Via Concheta 18, Milan
https://www.facebook.com/events/1104327106256041/

Padua, Italy
Tuesday, 5 April
6:00 pm
Mensa Marzolo Occupata
Via Marzolo 4, Padua

Parma, Italy
Wednesday, 6 April
9:00 pm
Infopoint Barricate
Palazzo Stimmatini P.le San Giacomo 7

Florence, Italy
Thursday, 7 April
10:00 pm
Cantiere Sociale Camilo Cienfuegos
Via Chiella 4, Campi Bisenzio

Rome, Italy
Friday, 8 April
7:00 pm
Villaggio Globale – Lungotevere Testaccio, Roma

Parma, Italy – Event and Location TBA.

Flyers below:

Photos and Video: New Yorkers protest against G4S, for release of Palestinian prisoners

2 April 2016

New York activists protested on Friday, 1 April outside the NYC office of G4S, the British-Danish security corporation that provides security systems, control rooms and equipments to Israeli prisons, checkpoints, police training centers and the Beit Hanoun/Erez crossing with Gaza. Because of its involvement in the imprisonment of oppression, Israeli apartheid and even the siege of Gaza, a Palestinian and international boycott campaign has highlighted G4S’ role, demanding that G4S get out of Palestine and that institutions and businesses end their contracts with the corporation.

G4S is also involved with the detention of migrants, including children, in the United States; deportations and juvenile detention in the UK; and repressive actions in Canada, South Africa, Australia and elsewhere. After international pressure, including losses of contracts in Jordan and Colombia, G4S announced that it will sell off its Israeli subsidiary and get out of the business in Palestine within one to two years. However, Palestinian BDS organizers have emphasized that it is critical to keep up the pressure, both to make G4S stick to its commitment and because Palestinians are currently suffering due to G4S’ security systems.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network organizes weekly protests outside the offices of G4S in New York, to support Palestinian prisoners and demand G4S get out of the business of providing security equipment to imprison Palestinians.

The protest also highlighted the struggles of hunger striking Palestinian prisoners, including Sami Janazrah, Imad Batran, Abdel-Rahim Sawayfeh, Abdul-Ghani Safadi, all on administrative detention without charge or trial and demanding their release; Mohammed Daoud, a re-arrested former prisoner who has had five years imprisonment reimposed without charge or trial; and Nahar Saadi, Abdullah Mughrabi and Essam Zeineddine, all demanding their release from solitary confinement and return to general population.

Photos and footage by Joe Catron

17 April, NYC: Speak out for prison divestment on Palestinian Prisoners’ Day

2 April 2016

Join CUNY Prison Divest, NYC Students for Justice in Palestine and Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network as we launch the second Prison Divestment National Week of Action and mark the 42nd Palestinian Prisoners’ Day.

Speak out against massive public investments and subsidies for private prison companies that profit from social repression and mass incarceration from New York to Palestine.

Demand boycotts and divestments against G4S and other prison contractors, and fight the tax breaks that help some of these companies, like the Corrections Corporation of America and the GEO Group, buy elections and own politicians through tax-free Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) status for their private prisons.

Facebook event
Sunday, April 17 at 1:30 PM
Cadman Plaza Park (Tillary Street between Cadman Plaza East and Cadman Plaza West)
Brooklyn, New York 11201

#PalestinianPrisonersDay #PrisonDivest #RevokeREIT #StopG4S

17 April, Toulouse: Palestine Afternoon for Refugees and Prisoners

2 April 2016

Sunday, 17 April
1:00 pm
La Chapelle
36 rue Danielle Casanova
Toulouse, France
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/568947733283747/

As part of the 10 Days of Popular Self-Defense (15-24 April), organized by the CREA in Toulouse, anti-imperialist collective Coup Pour Coup 31 is organizing a Palestine Afternoon at 1 pm at La Chapelle (36 rue Danielle Casanova).

On the International Day for Palestinian Prisoners, we will connect the struggles of Palestinian prisoners and Palestinian refugees. The program will include a graffiti workshop, workshop of writing letters to prisoners, an exhibition and a concert. From 4 pm, we will screen the film, “Ca suffit, on rentre” which highlights the situation of the Palestinian refugees in Ain el-Helweh camp. All proceeds from this event will be donated to the Palestinian Youth Center in Ain el-Helweh, as part of the campaign of solidarity with Palestinian refugees.

Dans le cadre des 10 jours d’autodéfense populaire du 15 au 24 avril 2016 initié par la CREA (Campagne de Réquisition, d’Entraide et d’Autogestion), le collectif anti-impérialiste Coup Pour Coup 31 organise un après midi Palestine le 17 avril à partir de 13h, à La Chapelle (36 rue Danielle Casanova – Métro Compans Cafarelli). A l’occasion de la Journée Internationale des Prisonniers Palestiniens, nous ferons le lien entre la situation des prisonniers et celle des réfugiés palestiniens.

Au programme : Cantine populaire, atelier graff, atelier écriture aux prisonniers, expo, concert. A partir de 16h, nous diffuserons le film “Ca suffit, on rentre” qui revient sur la situations des réfugiés palestiniens dans le camps d’Ain El-Héloué au Liban. La diffuserons sera suivie d’une discussion.

Tous les bénéfices de cet après midi seront reversé à la collecte pour le Palestinian Youth Center d’Ain El Héloué, dans le cadre de notre campagne de solidarité avec les réfugiés palestiniens.

8 April, NYC: Protest to demand justice and accountability for Omar Nayef Zayed

2 April 2016

Friday, 8 April
4:00 pm
Bulgarian Consulate
121 E. 62nd St
New York, NY
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/946540888769306/

Join us to remember the life of Omar Nayef Zayed, a Palestinian fighter, former hunger striker and liberated political prisoner found dead inside the Palestinian embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria on 26 February, and to call for justice and accountability in his death.

At 5:00 pm, we will march west on East 62nd Street, north on Park Avenue and east on East 65th Street before rallying outside the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations at 115 East 65th Street.

The Committee to Commemorate Omar Nayef Zayed issued a call for demonstrations, events and protests inside and outside Palestine to mark the 40th day of his death inside the Palestinian Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria:

“In order to achieve justice for Omar Nayef Zayed, to build international pressure to deeply investigate the crime against him, in order to hold accountable those responsible and those who were accomplices in his death, the Committee to Commemorate the Martyr Omar Nayef Zayed calls upon the Palestinian people in Palestine and in exile and diaspora, and the solidarity movement and friends of the Palestinian people and Palestinian cause everywhere in the world, to organize protests, demonstrations and actions to mark the 40th day after the death of the martyr Omar Nayef Zayed – on Friday and Saturday, 8 and 9 April, 2016.

“The Committee to Commemorate Omar Nayef Zayed emphasizes that action and international attention is necessary to struggle for justice and accountability in this critical case, and to ensure that the cause for which Omar struggled – freedom for the Palestinian people, the Palestinian prisoners, and justice for Palestine – will continue to live and grow.”

Protesters in Sofia seek results, action in the case of Omar Nayef Zayed

1 April 2016

The Palestinian community in Sofia, Bulgaria protested outside Sofia’s central courthouse on Friday, 1 April, calling for urgency in following up the case of Omar Nayef Zayed, the former Palestinian prisoner found dead in the Palestinian embassy on 26 February.

Nayef Zayed, 52, had taken refuge inside the embassy from an Israeli extradition demand being carried out by Bulgarian police in December 2015. Nayef Zayed had lived in Bulgaria for 22 years after escaping Israeli imprisonment in 1990 and fleeing Palestine. He was married, with three children, and an active member of the Palestinian community; he was a permanent resident of Bulgaria, while his wife and children are Bulgarian citizens.

Nayef Zayed’s wife, Rania, and three children participated in the demonstration, as did Mohammed Khatib of Samidoun Europe, urging that the medical report and autopsy report on the death of Nayef Zayed be quickly released. To date, no official report has been released, nor have any conclusions from the criminal investigation been reported.

Palestinian political forces have denounced his killing, and highlighted the Israeli intelligence agency’s historic and present role in assassinations of Palestinian leaders and activists inside and outside Palestine, especially those who have been declared “wanted” by Israel. He was found in the garden of the embassy after being pushed or falling from a height; there were no security cameras or security guards in the building.

They have also emphasized the reaction of the embassy and of the Palestinian Authority to Nayef Zayed’s case, including repeated attempts to pressure him to leave the embassy, denying him visits, and threatening to prevent Rania from seeing him, during his time in the embassy.

Next weekend, 8-9 April, is the date of a call to action for international protests on Nayef Zayed’s case; events are scheduled in New York, Berlin and elsewhere.

Photos: Mohammed Khatib

Report: 647 Palestinians arrested in March; 750 now held in administrative detention

1 April 2016

Four prisoners’ advocacy organizations in Palestine (Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Prisoners Affairs Commission and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights – Gaza) issued a report on Israeli occupation arrests and imprisonment of Palestinians in March 2016. The following is a translation of their report:

647 Palestinians were arrested in the West Bank and Gaza in March 2016, including 128 children and 16 women and girls. This raises the number of arrests since the beginning of the popular uprising in October 2015 to more than 4,767 Palestinians arrested.

The highest number of arrests was in Jerusalem area, with 149 arrests, followed by 110 in Al-Khalil, 88 in Jenin, 87 in Ramallah, 63 in Bethlehem, 62 in Nablus, 30 in Qalqilya, 24 in Tulkarem, 10 in Jericho, 10 in Tubas, 9 in Salfit and 5 from the Gaza Strip.

192 administrative detention orders were issued in March; 95 of those were new orders and 97 of them were renewals of previous administrative detention orders. There are now over 750 Palestinians held without charge or trial under administrative detention in Israeli jails.

There are 68 women and girls imprisoned in Israeli jails, 18 of whom are girls under 18, including the youngest prisoner, Dima Wawi, who is 12 years old. There are over 400 child prisoners in Israeli jails, and 700 ill prisoners.

Repression of Journalists

Over seven Palestinian journalists have been arrested since the beginning of 2016; the offices of satellite channel Palestine Today and Trans Media company were closed by occupation soldiers at dawn in Ramallah on Friday, 11 March. Their equipment was confiscated and bureau chief Farouk Elayyat and journalist Mohammed Amer and camera operator Shabib Shabib were arrested; Amer and Shabib were released after interrogation. On 13 March, journalist Ibrahim Jaradat, also with Palestine Today, was arrested at a mobile military checkpoint. After 20 days of imprisonment, Elayyat and Jaradat were released on 31 March on bail of 2,000 NIS each. Journalist Musab Kufaisheh, 24, was arrested in March as was Mohammed Zaghloul, radio presenter.

Under pressure from the Occupying Power, the French satellite, Eutelsat, removed Palestinian channel Al-Aqsa TV from its broadcast on charges of “incitement.” Palestinian journalists inside Palestine received threats stating that they are under surveillance and threats to “Israeli security.”

The Israeli occupation in November 2015 closed Radio Al-Khalil and Radio Dreams; these closures by occupation forces against media organizations and the ongoing harassment of Palestinian journalists is a continuation of the occupation policy of repressing Palestinians’ expression of their cause and the crimes of the occupation before the world. The occupation is persecuting Palestinian human rights defenders and journalists in an attempt to empty the media and human rights organizations of experienced voices and silence their work, obscure the reality of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by occupation forces against Palestinian civilians.

Administrative and military actions by the occupation forces against Palestinian journalists and human rights defenders violate international humanitarian law and serve only the purpose of attempting to intimidate Palestinian civilians and pushing them to give up their rinalienable rights. The arrest of journalist violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. The organizations call on the international community to work and take action to stop these violations.

There are currently 16 Palestinian journalists imprisoned; the longest imprisoned journalist is Mahmoud Issa, serving a life sentence, who was a reporter before his arrest in 1993.

Hunger Strikes in Israeli Prisons

During March a number of prisons engaged in open hunger strikes for various periods against administrative detention without charge or trial, and against solitary confinement, including Yazan Hanani of Beit Furik, Nablus; Daoud Habboub of Ramallah; Mahmoud Al-Fasfous; Alaa Rayyan; and Karam Amer.

Other prisoners are continuing their hunger strikes against administrative detention: Sami Janazrah, Imad Batran, Abdel-Rahim Sawayfeh and Abdul-Ghani Safadi.

Abdullah al-Mughrabi, Nahar al-Saadi, Issam Zeineddine are on hunger strike against solitary confinement, as was Zaid Bseisi. Mohammed Daoud of Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem has launched a hunger strike against his re-imprisonment after his release in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange.

Arrest and imprisonment for Facebook posts

The Israeli government has, in recent months, formed a so called “cyber unit” in order to surveil, investigate and prosecute Palestinian social media use, in particular focusing on Facebook. Since October 2015 through mid-March, 148 Palestinians have been arrested due to Facebook posts, with many charged with “incitement;” others have been ordered to administrative detention without charge.

These arrests have focused especially on Jerusalem, and in many cases come in response to written statements of solidarity or support for Palestinian martyrs or prisoners, including publishing their photos. This attempt to suppress Palestinian expression on social media has not only been carried out through arrests and imprisonment, but also official attempts to force Palestinian youth, especially in Jerusalem and Occupied Palestine ’48, to be fired from their jobs over Facebook posts, or forcible transfer them from their homes, especially in Jerusalem.

Donya Musleh, 19, a student at Palestine National University, was arrested on 15 November 2015. Her home in Dheisheh camp was invaded by occupation soldiers and ransacked. She is a student activist, but the military court indictment against her was composed of three items, all of which related to Facebook postings, including comments on photos of wounded and killed Palestinians.

The Israeli indictment in the military courts stated that Musleh published a photo of a Palestinian demonstrator throwing stones with lines of Palestinian poetry about stones; the same indictment said that she published a photo of Moataz Zawahreh, Palestinian youth activist shot dead in Dheisheh while attending a demonstration, again with lines of poetry.

She was also accused of membership in a prohibited organization for posting photos of Palestinian martyrs who were part of the same political party, and on the basis of these postings accused of membership in the organization. The indictment also noted that she received numerous “Likes” on Facebook. The military court held that she “encouraged Palestinians to carry out operations against the security of Israel” by these facebook postings which “disturb public order.”

192 administrative detention orders in March

192 administrative detention orders were issued in March by the Israeli military, including 95 new orders, including orders against two women, six children, two members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and a journalist.

Among the most prominent cases of administrative detention in March were those of Mohammed Amarneh, 17 of Jenin, and Hamza Hammad, 15 of Silwad near Ramallah, ordered imprisoned without charge or trial.

Amarneh was interrogated and denied all accusations, yet administrative detention was used to arbitrarily imprison him. On 16 March 2016 an administrative detention order against him for three months was imposed by the occupation military court, alleging that he is a danger to the security of the area. When inquired as to the specifics by Amarneh’s lawyer, references were made to his Facebook account despite the admission of the prosecution that there was no evidence of any particular Facebook post.

Hammad, 15, was ordered to administrative detention for six months. He was earlier arrested in August 2015 and interrogated for 23 days, during which he was interrogated for lengthy periods and beaten, and was released without indictment. When he was arrested, the soldier arresting him told his mother that he “should be in prison” because his father, Mo’ayyad Hammad is serving a life sentence in Israeli jails, accused of participating in the Palestinian resistance and killing soldiers.

Arrests of Palestinians from Gaza

In March 2016, five Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, including three ill patients seeking treatment, were arrested. One of these was Fadi Al-Sharif, 28, a Palestinian football player with the Al-Hilal Football Club in Gaza City, arrested at Beit Hanoun crossing; he had been issued a permit for treatment at Al-Makassed hospital in East Jerusalem. He was then arrested when attempting to return to Gaza. These arrests came as part of the continuing land and sea blockade on Gaza imposed by the occupation, and its absolute authority over borders and the waters of Gaza, depriving the population of basic human rights. The Beit Hanoun/Erez crossing is used as a trap to arrest Palestinians, especially those who are ill. Palestinians’ need to travel through the crossing is exploited, including being issued a permit to pass and then being detained when arriving at the crossing. In addition, ill people in Gaza are vulnerable to deteriorating health conditions caused by procrastination and delays by occupation forces in requests for permits.

Photo: Tal King (Archive photo)

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