3 Palestinians on hunger strike for freedom, against administrative detention

22 March 2016

Palestinians held under Israeli administrative detention without charge or trial are continuing hunger strikes to demand their freedom.

Yazan Hanani, of Beit Furik south of Nablus is on hunger strike for 35 days; he has been held under administrative detention since 28 October 2015. He is demanding his freedom. Hanani, 24, has spent three years in Israeli prisons and was not able to complete his university studies due to ongoing arrests.

The Women’s Committee of Beit Furik is holding an open solidarity tent in support of Hanani’s strike.

Hanani is not the only Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike; Sami Janazreh, 43, from Al-Khalil, has been on hunger strike for 20 days. He has been held without charge or trial under administrative detention since 15 November 2015.

Reports also indicate that Imad Batran, 41, said in a letter to Al-Muhja Jerusalem Foundation on Thursday, 17 March that he hwas been on hunger strike since 25 February in protest of his administrative detention without charge or trial since 27 April 2015. Batran also stated that he is boycotting the occupation courts and rejects participation in the administrative detention hearing or transport via Bosta to the court, stating that “they are a sham that implement the orders of the Zionist intelligence apparatus to give a veneer of legality to its decisions.”

Batran has been held in Israeli prisons seven previous times and has served over seven years in Israeli jails. He previously waged a hunger strike for 105 days against his administrative detention without charge or trial in 2013.

On Mothers’ Day: Freedom for Palestinian mothers and their children

22 March 2016

Palestinians and Arabs marked Mothers’ Day on 21 March, at a time when 13 Palestinian mothers are held behind Israeli bars and thousands of Palestinian mothers’ children are imprisoned. Palestinian mothers are at the forefront of the movement to free Palestinian prisoners, leading protests, mobilizations and demonstrations to demand the freedom their sons and daughters and of the Palestinian people.

Imprisoned Palestinian mothers are among over 60 Palestinian women imprisoned by Israel, and 7000 Palestinian political prisoners in total. They suffer alongside their fellow prisoners the injustices of Israeli occupation: torture, abusive interrogation, sleep deprivation, denial of proper medical care, administrative detention without charge or trial, military charges that rubber-stamp their imprisonment. Further, Palestinian mothers, like their fellow prisoners, are frequently denied family visits, including visits with their own children; in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, they are held in HaSharon or Damon prisons, inside occupied Palestine ’48, where their families are often denied special security permits required to visit prisoners. Palestinian mothers are also targeted with their children for “house arrest,” including one case in which a mother has been forced into house arrest herself, preventing her from her work as a schoolteacher, despite there being no allegations against her.

Several Palestinian mothers are suffering severe health situations due to Israeli occupation violence and medical neglect inside the prisons. Addameer highlighted the case of Israa Jaabes of Jabal Mukaber, Jerusalem. Israa’s car burst on fire internally near al-Zayem military checkpoint on 10 October 2015, in which she was severely burned and injured. Addameer notes that “Israeli Occupation Forces accused Israa of attempting to engage in an attack by exploding her car, however, the car did not explode and Israa was the only person injured in the fire inside the car. Israa’s child has been unable to see his mother since her arrest.” She was transfered to Ein Karem Hospital, then Al-Ramle Prison Clinic and then HaSharon Prison, all without completing her necessary medical treatment. She continues to require a wheelchair because of her injuries, and is cared for by fellow prisoners rather than by medical staff.

Abla al-‘Adam, 45, mother of nine, is suffering from severe pain and risk of infection in HaSharon prison. She is supposed to be taken to Hadassah Ein Karem hospital for medical examination, which has been postponed repeatedly. Al-‘Adam was shot in the head by Israeli occupation soldiers in Al-Khalil on 20 December 2015. She was accused of attempting to stab Israeli soldiers; there were no injuries to Israelis. She was held in the hospital before a speedy transfer to the prison, despite the fact that she cannot see from her right eye and suffers constant pain, reported the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

In addition, Palestinian writer Reham Alhelsi reported that seven Palestinian mothers have been killed by Israeli occupation forces since 1 October 2015: Noor Hassan, Huda Darwish, Tharwat Shaarawy, Mahdia Hammad, Zainab Rashayda, Fadwa Abu Teir and Amani al-Sabatin, while 200 Palestinian mothers have lost their sons and daughters killed by occupation forces. Fifteen Palestinian mothers are still awaiting the release of the bodies of their children, which have been held captive by the Israeli occupation for months.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society noted that the following thirteen mothers are imprisoned by Israel:

1 Tamara Shreiteh, imprisoned since 15 November 2015
2. Haifa Abu Remaileh, imprisoned since 14 December 2015
3. Abla al-‘Adam, imprisoned since 20 December 2015.
4. Amira Hmeidat, imprisoned since 16 November, 2015.
5. Yasmeen Shaaban, imprisoned since 3 November 2014.
6. Alia al-Abbassi, imprisoned since 15 April 2015
7. Israa Jaabis, imprisoned since 10 October 2015.
8. Samia Mashahra, imprisoned since 9 November 2015.
9. Khalida Jarrar, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, imprisoned since 2 April 2015.
10. Helwa Hamamreh, imprisoned since 8 November 2015.
11. Amina Salah, imprisoned since 5 January 2016.
12. Nisreen Hasan, imprisoned since 18 October 2015.
13. Sana al-Hafi, imprisoned since 25 May 2015.

Photo: Joe Catron

Mass march in DC protests AIPAC, demands justice for Palestine

21 March 2016

Large crowds of protesters marched from the White House to the annual convention of AIPAC (America-Israel Public Affairs Committee), denouncing U.S. support for the Israeli state and the racism and colonialism of the Zionist movement, on Sunday, 20 March.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network activists participated in the protest, organized by Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition and the ANSWER Coalition. Buses joined the protest from New York, Cleveland, Chicago and elsewhere. Protesters chanted and carried signs and banners demanding justice for Palestine, the implementation of the Palestinian right of return, and an end to Zionist colonialism and AIPAC’s war-mongering.

Outside the White House, protesters gathered before marching to the AIPAC convention, where US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich spoke, each escalating the rhetoric of Zionist racism against the Palestinian people and the centrality of U.S. support and alliance for the Israeli state and its colonization of Palestine. Protesters denounced the statements and participation of the presidential candidates in the AIPAC event, chanting “Shut it down!” as activists sat in front of the doors to AIPAC, blocking entrance and exit to the hall.

Joe Catron of Samidoun, a US-based journalist who spent years in Gaza, living through the Israeli assaults of 2012 and 2014, spoke at the rally. He noted the impact of mass demonstrations in the US in encouraging people in Gaza under siege and under fire, confirming that people are resisting the policies and practices of the US government. In particular, he noted that the Ferguson uprising – coming as it did during the Israeli attack on Gaza – was particularly significant to Palestinians under attack, demonstrating the real power of opposition in the United States and the organized resistance of oppressed communities inside the US.

Speakers, including Abbas Hamideh of Al-Awda, Brian Becker of ANSWER, kickboxing champion Rami Ibrahim, and Iyad Burnat of the Bil’in Popular Commitee Against the Wall, frequently noted the struggle of Palestinian prisoners for freedom, especially imprisoned Palestinian children and youth and the approximately 700 Palestinians imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention.

The annual AIPAC convention is one of the biggest events of the Zionist movement, fully showcasing its partnership with U.S. imperialism not only in the colonization of Palestine but in threats to the entire region.

Photos by Joe Catron

10399750_10154041887078675_2495232481463965509_n

Maastricht event highlights struggle of Palestinian prisoners for liberation

21 March 2016

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network’s international coordinator, Charlotte Kates, presented on the struggle of Palestinian prisoners in the context of the Palestinian national liberation struggle on 16 March at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

At the event, organized by Students for Justice in Palestine Maastricht, Kates reviewed the current situation of Palestinian political prisoners, as well as the structural framework that sees mass numbers of the Palestinian people incarcerated in Zionist jails.

The event covered the process of violent arrest raids, interrogation and torture, administrative detention and military courts, and ongoing imprisonment, as well as the resistance of Palestinian prisoners through history and the leadership of prisoners in the national liberation struggle.

Discussion highlighted the fact that political imprisonment is an issue for all Palestinians, including Palestinians in exile, noting the cases of Rasmea Odeh – a former prisoner now persecuted in the United States; the Holy Land Five; and Omar Nayef Zayed, killed in the Palestinian Embassy in Sofia while seeking refuge from extradition to Israel.

In addition, the event highlighted the repression of Palestinian and solidarity political activity not only inside Palestine, where political parties and movements are labeled “illegal organizations” by military order, but outside Palestine, where those same organizations are often labeled on US, Canadian and EU “terrorist lists,” and the grassroots movement harassed and attacked by repressive legislation. For example, the examples of anti-BDS legislation in the United States and the prosecution of BDS activists in France were highlighted alongside such cases as the imprisonment of Lebanese Arab communist struggler for Palestine, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah.

The cases of specific Palestinian prisoners were discussed, including Mohammed Abu Sakha, the 24-year-old circus trainer held in administrative detention without charge or trial; Shireen Issawi, the Palestinian lawyer and activist imprisoned for helping Palestinian prisoners; Ahmad Sa’adat, Palestinian political leader; and Dima al-Wawi, the 12-year-old girl who is the youngest Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails.

One attendee, himself a former Palestinian prisoner, discussed the long-term impacts of torture and violent interrogation inside Israeli prisons, on both youth and adult prisoners. He also discussed the mass experience of imprisonment for Palestinians under occupation – 40% of Palestinian men in the West Bank have been detained by Israeli occupation forces – and its use to deny visas and travel to former prisoners throughout their lives, noting the case of Bassam Tamimi’s recently revoked US visitor visa. Questions and answers highlighted the use of administrative detention without charge or trial, the impact of political imprisonment and repression on Palestinian citizens of Israel, and the threat of force-feeding against Palestinian prisoners.

Students for Justice in Palestine Maastricht is planning future events in solidarity with Palestine, including actions and meetings focusing on the struggle of Palestinian political prisoners.

16 April, Brussels: Juggling to #FreeAbuSakha

21 March 2016

Saturday, 16 April

2:00 pm
Place de l’Albertine
Brussels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/201369956898344/

Juggling to support Mohammed Abu Sakha, Saturday, 16 April at Place de l’Albertine in Brussels, near Central Station. Dress up as a clown and show your solidarity with Abu Sakha and other Palestinian political prisoners on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day.

Why do we juggle for Abu Sakha?

Mohammed Abu Sakha, 24, is a Palestinian circus trainer with the Palestinian Circus School; he teaches about 150 students weekly, including 30 students with disabilities. On 14 December, he was arrested by Israeli occupation forces and ordered to six months in administrative detention without charge or trial on the basis of “secret evidence” by the occupier.

Every person has the right to a speedy and fair trial, according to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. Israel violates these treaties, accusing the prisoner without even allowing his lawyer to see the evidence.

What do we do?

As Friends of the Palestinian Circus School, we want to show our solidarity with Abu Sakha and over 600 other Palestinian prisoners in administrative detention. We will dress as clowns and gather in the square to juggle.

You never juggled?

No problem, we expect a small training so that all can participate. Besides our performance, you can sign the Amnesty International letter and have your picture taken with the “Free Abu Sakha” sign.

Message of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah to unified solidarity meeting on 19 March

21 March 2016

The following letter and statement from Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, the Lebanese Communist struggler imprisoned in French jails for the past 32 years, was delivered to the Unified Meeting to Free Georges Abdallah in Paris on 19 March (Statement in French):

Dear comrades and friends,

Your coming together tonight and the diversity of your commitment, fills me with strength and enthusiasm and warms my heart.

These are not merely complimentary words of convenience or politeness. As you see, comrades, when one is behind these heinous walls for decades, one’s speech in such circumstances becomes far more honest than usual.

Indeed, I have followed with great interest and passion the various initiatives that you have been able to develop recently. Certainly, the coordination of various forms of solidarity is not always easy to implement. However, the resurgence of social struggle in the country and the ongoing and significant mobilization of youth and labor unions support, more or less, the emergence and development of an overall atmosphere of struggle, which is generally conducive to local exchanges of ideas and experiences, which thus enrich all activities confronting expressions of counter-revolution. Naturally, such an atmosphere of struggle revives the collective memory about the national and internationalist heritage of the struggles of the popular classes and the countless successful revolutionary experiences..

Comrades, I have often stressed, repeating myself, that “solidarity on the basis of the ongoing class struggle in all of its dimensions is that which provides the most effective support to our fellow prisoners” and that “together we will win, and we will win only together.”

Today, we all live under the hegemony of globalized capital. No country is immune to the destructive mechanism of such hegemony. Certainly, we do not suffer in the same way, in Paris or Cairo, London or Algiers, Moscow or Damascus. However, it is still based on this hegemony that extends and expands class stratification and thus creates the dynamics of the really existing class struggle. And that, at both the regional and global levels, to the extent that the various strategies of imperialist poles are readily visible on this scale.

Of course, it should be noted that the center of gravity of the working class has shifted from the centers of the globalized imperialist system to its peripheries. Certainly this is not the place nor the time to develop this approach, but it is in this context that I write the two quotes above. And it is precisely in this same context that the popular masses (proletarians and other precarious social strata) in urban neighborhoods in the imperialist countries occupy a place of particular importance. Somehow, they serve as a vector and a link between the two shores of the Mediterranean…

Certainly, there is room for another future aside from submission to imperialist dictates, which we have seen over time, the negative consequences in the form of the destruction of entire cities, the dismemberment of states, and the processions of dead, displaced persons, and oppressed migrants.

Comrades, Palestine continues in these days to provide a daily number of young martyrs. The resistance continues, and certainly will continue so long as the occupation continues. Of course, the Palestinian masses can count, more than ever, on your active solidarity. Of course they are well aware of the position of French imperialism which seeks by all means to support the Zionist entity.

May a thousand solidarity initiatives bloom in support of Palestine and the growing intifada!

May a thousand solidarity initiatives bloom for the Lebanese yout in struggle!

May a thousand solidarity initiatives bloom in favor of the Kurdish masses and their brave fighters!

Solidarity with the resistance in Zionist jails, in isolation cells in Morocco, Turkey, the Philippines, and elsewhere in the world!

Capitalism is nothing but barbarism; honor to all who oppose it in all of their diverse means of confrontation!

Comrades, together we will win – we will win only together!

Comrade Georges Abdallah
19 March 2016

23 March, Montreal: Nahla Abdo on Imperialist Feminism and Arab Women’s Struggle: The Palestinian Case

21 March 2016

Co-presented by Israeli Apartheid Week Montreal and the Simone du Beauvoir Institute

Date: Wednesday, March 23 at 6:30 PM
Location: Concordia Hall Building, 7th Floor, Montreal

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/184895415219645/

This event is presented as part of Israeli Apartheid Week Montreal
March 14-23
IAW Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1508245686151460/

The struggle of Arab women goes back as far as the beginning of colonialism. Throughout the Arab world, from al-Mashreq (the Eastern part of the Arab world) to al-Maghreb (the Western part of the Arab world), women have been heavily involved in the anti-colonial anti-imperialist struggle. This is also, and perhaps more true for Palestinian women. Still, and not unlike the struggles of their people in general, women’s struggle has largely been ignored, if not silenced. Both western (including Israeli) imperialist/Orientalist voices along with local/national masculinist voices have contributed to the silencing of women’s voices and ignoring their experiences. When Palestinian women began to be involved in the armed struggle against settler colonialism, the west in general and its feminist movement more specifically began to take interest in their struggle: an interest that was mostly damning, and incriminatory. This talk focuses on the Western feminist discourse on Palestinian women’s struggle and the responses to such discourse by Palestinian women political activists. Special emphasis in this talk will be placed on the struggle of Palestinian women Political prisoners.

Dr. Nahla Abdo is an Arab feminist activist and Professor of Sociology at Carleton University. She has published extensively on women, racism, nationalism, and the State in the Middle East, with a special focus on Palestinian women.

7 April, NYC: Resistance & Bil’in: In Conversation with Iyad Burnat

21 March 2016

Thursday, 7 April
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
St. Joseph’s College, Tuohy Hall Student Lounge – 245 Clinton Ave, Brooklyn
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1619137931640134/
Organized by Students for Justice in Palestine at St. Joseph’s College

FREE REFRESHMENTS AND ADMISSION. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
TUOHY HALL STUDENT LOUNGE AT SAINT JOSEPH’S COLLEGE

Contributer to and brother of the director of Oscar nominated documentary “Five Broken Cameras” comes to SJC to discuss facts on the ground highlighted in his new book, “Bil’in and the Nonviolent Resistance.” It explores Israeli occupation, land grabs, and the expanding apartheid wall since 2005 from a deeply personal perspective. He is head of the “Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall” and in 2015 received the James Lawson Award for Achievement in the Practice of Nonviolent Conflict.

Paris event demands freedom for Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, revolutionary prisoners of imperialism

21 March 2016

The Unified Meeting to Free Georges Ibrahim Abdallah convened in a packed room in Paris on Saturday, 19 March, demanding freedom for the Lebanese communist struggler who has spent over 30 years in French prison, despite his eligibility for release.

Speakers at the event, including Khaled Barakat, coordinator of the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat, and Kristian Davis Bailey of the US-based Black4Palestine, urged freedom for Abdallah and fellow revolutionary political prisoners around the world, including Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and US prisoners, including Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Mutulu Shakur, Oscar Lopez Rivera, and Sundiata Acoli.

Speakers from a number of organizations linked Abdallah’s case to the repression being carried out by the French state today, including the attempts to suppress and criminalize organizing for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, as part and parcel of a French colonial policy toward Palestine working hand in hand with U.S. imperialism and the Zionist state.

“There are two central issues that Georges Ibrahim Abdallah reminds us of: international solidarity of peoples, and the centrality of Palestine to the struggle against imperialism and occupation, and for liberation. Today, we need Georges Ibrahim Abdallah’s thoughts and ideas more than he needs us,” said Barakat. “The fact that he is in prison shows that we have not yet achieved the strength that we need in order to free him and to free Palestine. The responsibility for the continuation of his imprisonment lies primarily with the French government, Lebanese government, U.S. and Israel – in other words, the camp of imperialism, Zionism, and reactionary forces.”

“No faction, party or group by itself can confront the challenges and tasks facing us alone. We need an international anti-imperialist front because our struggles are connected. As the enemy forces back each other, support each other, we need to do the same, but for justice and liberation, rather than for oppression and exploitation. Today, there is a new generation on the rise, in Palestine and in the impoverished areas and oppressed communities in the United States, France and around the world. This generation is living up to the legacy of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Malcolm X, Fred Hampton, Che Guevara and many other leaders who continue to represent the true need to revive the revolution,” said Barakat.

Bailey highlighted the role of Black political prisoners within the Black Liberation Movement, not only as symbols of oppression and struggle, but also as leaders of the movement. He highlighted the case of Assata Shakur, labeled as one of the US’ “most wanted,” who continues to be pursued in Cuba today, as well as the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is currently being denied necessary and life-saving Hepatitis C treatment by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

Screening the video, “When I see them, I see us,” which highlights Black-Palestinian solidarity and joint struggle, Bailey discussed the history and present of connections between the Palestinian and Black liberation movements on grassroots and political levels. He noted the involvement of Black leaders such as former political prisoner and renowned academic Angela Davis in the campaign to support Rasmea Odeh – former Palestinian prisoner and torture survivor today facing imprisonment and deportation in the U.S. – as well as the involvement of Odeh and others in supporting Black movements in Chicago. He also called for a united movement to confront oppression, racism, imperialism and capitalism.

A letter from Georges Ibrahim Abdallah from inside Lannemezan prison was read to the event, which joined parallel events in Bordeaux and Grenoble. A live Skype link with the event in Bordeaux shared greetings between the two mobilizations. “The resurgence of social tensions in the country and the significant ongoing mobilization of youth and unions are leading to the emergence and assertion of an overall atmosphere of struggle, which is conducive to an exchange of ideas and experiences, and thus enriches all of our activity…such an atmosphere of struggle revives our collective memory and the national and international heritage of the struggles of the masses, and the countless revolutionary experiences that are necessary for victory,” wrote Abdallah.

Speakers were frequently interrupted with enthusiastic chants in Arabic and French calling for freedom for Abdallah and liberation for Palestine. Barakat, Bailey and others particularly highlighted the case of Omar Nayef Zayed, former Palestinian political prisoner who escaped Israeli custody in 1990, killed on 26 February inside the Palestinian embassy in Bulgaria, where he had sought refuge for 72 days from an Israeli extradition demand. The discussion of Nayef Zayed’s case – which will be focused on in worldwide events on 8-9 April – was highlighted by enthusiastic chanting in honor of Omar and his struggle.

Bailey presented a poster designed by Noura Ballout as a collaboration between Black4Palestine and the z collective, an Arab and Muslim Feminist Collective in Detroit, to Barakat and Mohammed Khatib, Palestinian youth activist and Samidoun organizer. Numerous organizations and parties came together to organize the event, which was also part of Anti-Colonialism Week and Israeli Apartheid Week in Paris and its surrounding areas.

Photos and Video: New York City protest calls for freedom for imprisoned circus teacher Mohammed Abu Sakha

21 March 2016

Activists in New York City protested on 18 March, calling for freedom for imprisoned Palestinian circus trainer Mohammed Abu Sakha outside the offices of G4S, the security corporation that provides security equipment and control rooms to Israeli prisons, checkpoints and police training centers.

Abu Sakha, 24, was arrested in December 2015 as he traveled from his home in Jenin to the Bir Zeit-based Palestinian Circus School, where he is an accomplished circus performer and teacher, specializing in working with children with intellectual disabilities.

He and the Palestinian Circus School’s troupe have traveled widely in Europe and the United States, performing with fellow circuses and performers.

Abu Sakha was ordered to six months in administrative detention without charge or trial on the basis of so-called “secret evidence.” People around the world have joined the campaign for his freedom, with Amnesty International campaigning for his release and protests in Brussels, London, Toulouse, Copenhagen, Madrid, Heidelberg and a number of other cities. Circuses, performers and musicians have joined the call for Abu Sakha’s freedom.

Abu Sakha will appeal his administrative detention before the Israeli military court on 21 March; a protest outside Ofer Prison will support Abu Sakha’s appeal and call for his release.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network protests weekly outside the offices of G4S, which recently announced that it would be selling off its subsidiary in occupied Palestine after a sustained international campaign, that led to significant contract losses for the corporation. In the same announcement, G4S indicated that it would be getting out of the UK and US private juvenile prison business; however, activists, including the Palestinian Boycott National Committee have emphasized the importance of continued pressure on G4S to ensure that it is held to its commitments.

Photos by Joe Catron

Video:

1...513514515...692 Page 514 of 692

Follow us on Instagram @samidounnetwork