Nidal Abu Aker continues hunger strike, issues open letter on Eid: “We will battle until we achieve our goals”

25 September 2015

Nidal Abu Aker, imprisoned Palestinian journalist held under administrative detention without charge or trial who has been on hunger strike since 20 August, confirmed that he is continuing his open hunger strike, despite receiving an “assurance in principle” that his administrative detention will not be renewed beyond the current detention period. Click here for the Urgent Call to Action to support the Battle of Breaking the Chains.

Abu Aker, the host of a radio program that deals with prisoners affairs on Voice of Unity radio station broadcast from Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem, is on strike with 15 other Palestinian political prisoners in “The Battle of Breaking the Chains,” which he, Shadi Ma’ali, Ghassan Zawahreh, Munir Abu Sharar and Badr al-Ruzza launched on 20 August. The strike is demanding the end of administrative detention, the Israeli practice – continued from a British colonial law – of imprisoning Palestinians without charge or trial for indefinitely renewable periods on secret evidence, and the freedom of all administrative detainees.

Abu Aker has lost 20 kilograms of weight and is experiencing severe pain all over his body. He already suffers from several medical conditions, including high cholesterol and stomach ulcers. All of the strikers are being held in solitary confinement and denied medications.

Abu Aker was visited by Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association lawyer Farah Bayadseh, where he gave her the following letter for Eid al-Adha:

“From Asqelan Prison, from which many activists and strugglers of our people have emerged, from my small cell where I still remain after over a month, I send warm greetings and congratulations to the masses of our people in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, the 1948 Occupied Territories, and the diaspora, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, and wishing that on this feast day we achieve our freedom, return and self-determination. This holiday comes as we are amid the Battle of Breaking the Chains, which challenges the unjust policy of administrative detention which has affected many of our people; we have spent long years in Israeli jails as a result of this policy.

We also salute the masses of the Arab nation, which is looking forward to freedom and justice, and hoping to rid itself of internal crisis and extreme threatening forces that manufacture sectarian and religious division. And on this feast day, we hope for resolution and that the masses of our nation enjoy peace and democracy.

And we greet all of the free people of the world and all friendly movements that advocate for and support the cause of the Palestinian people, and especially the prisoners, at the forefront. I cannot fail to send my most sincere greetings to the families of the martyrs, the finest of all of us, and to our jailed prisoners, and to the families who ensure we will never be left alone, and to the wounded of our people.

Proceeding from the fact that we know that the will is stronger than the jailer, the cell and the prison, and we know the costs of the positions that we hold and practice and the school of thought to which we belong, we are engaged in fighting our battle. We enjoy all of the strength and courage of those who have deep faith in the justice of the cause which we carry. Because we belong to a revolutionary school with high values and ethics, and because we lived the life of misery mixed with hope of the camps, and because we drew our milk from the heroic, courageous mother Um Nidal, we remain struggling, and we are entering our battles bravely until we achieve our goals.

I cannot fail on this occasion also to express my deep thanks to all my fellow journalists, who have spared no effort in the recruitment of their pens and written reports, radio and television broadcasts, to engage in the press and satellite battle to advocate for our cause, as well as to thank all of the community institutions that support the efforts of this just battle, exposing the policy of administrative detention and building a broader struggle and pressure against this policy.

I also send my sincere salutes from the heart to my comrades in every location and especially in the Dheisheh refugee camp, who inspired all the reasons for the strength of my comrades and I to enter this battle. I smell your scent and feel the reverberations of your pounding the walls and hear the shouts of your throats. And I also greet all of the honorable brothers and sisters who have spared no effort to support this battle, and think that internal Palestinian unity is a key condition to move forwards to achieve our goals, and in this battle present a most positive model in united struggle to publicly support our cause. And I send my greetings to all of the Palestinian factions, whom I call upon to engage strongly in support of this just cause.

I cannot fail in the end to extend my highest and most personal human feelings of greetings and congratulations to my precious family, my strong, struggling mother Um Nidal, my compassionate, good father, Abu Nidal, my dear sisters and brothers, and my beloved, dear wife Manal, assuring her that we will meet again very soon and the sun of freedom will rise again. And to my beloved children, the most precious in my heart – Mohammed, Dalia and Areej – you are the most precious in the world in my heart, and the most beautiful days have not yet come. Rest assured that I love you deeply.

Ultimately, we are fighting this battle to end the unjust policy of administrative detention, that requires collective and united work, and complementary action on official, popular and institutional levels to expose this policy and mount the greatest pressure on the Israeli government and bring this policy to an end, through the activation of all of our relationships at the Palestinian, Arab and international level. All are called upon to participate in this battle.

And last but not least, I send my greetings of admiration and respect for all of the activists who spend day and night in the sit-in tents supporting the prisoners in all areas of Palestine. We appreciate this effort, which flows in the end in the interest of all of our Palestinian just cause, and note that your role brings to mind that people who do not fight for liberation will be treated as subjugated and enslaved. We assure our people that we are ready to struggle and sacrifice, with high optimism and conviction that our inevitable victory is certain.

Best regards and my love,
Nidal Abu Aker
21 September 2015″

Early release hearing for Sami Abu Diak postponed one month as he lies in coma

25 September 2015

An early release hearing for Palestinian prisoner Sami Abu Diak, currently in critical condition in Assaf Harofeh hospital after a serious infection set in following surgery for colon cancer, was postponed for one month until 25 October.

Kamel Natour, Palestinian lawyer, denounced the one-month postponement, noting that Abu Diak is breathing through a ventilator and in a coma, after four surgeries for colon cancer after which he developed an infection in Soroka Hospital, with serious health repercussions.

Abu Diak was transferred from Soroka Hospital back to prison before his recovery was complete, making him particularly vulnerable to infection. The Israeli prison administration’s mistreatment and abuse of sick Palestinian prisoners is a constant threat to the lives and health of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.

Issa Qaraqe, chair of the Prisoners’ Affairs Committee, also denounced the delay, saying that the full month of delay “reflets clearly Israel’s denial of the humanity of Palestinian prisoners, and its disregard and contempt for the lives of prisoners even when they are on their deathbed.”

The Palestinian lawyers demanded full investigation about medical negligence praticed against Abu Diak.

Urgent Call for Action: Join the Battle of Breaking the Chains!

25 September 2015

Arabic | English | Turkish

Urgent Call for Action on behalf of the Palestinian prisoners on Hunger Strike

Issued by: Handala Center for Prisoners and Released Prisoners and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Break the silence – join in the Battle of Breaking the Chains!

The Zionist occupation is currently holding hundreds of Palestinians without charge or trial, through the application of a British colonial law called “administrative detention,” under which the occupation operates sham military courts which convene time and again merely to renew these detention periods, with no stated reasons or justifications, and under the false pretext known as the “secret files.” These administrative detainees face difficult conditions and serious forms of torture and abuse practiced against them, after the confiscation of their most basic and natural human rights.

In rejection of this policy, demanding the end of administrative detention and the release of administrative detainees, five Palestinian strugglers have now been on open hunger strike for over 36 days in Israeli prisons: Nidal Abu Aker, Ghassan Zawahra, Shadi Ma’ali, Munir Abu Sharar and Badr al-Ruzza. According to information received from inside the prisons, their health is deteriorating daily, they are held in isolation and pressured by the occupation continuously. They reject the authority of the prison administration to transfer them to hospitals.

Handala Center for Prisoners and Released Prisoners and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network issue this urgent call for immediate action at all levels to save the lives of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike and abolish the policy of administrative detention. We call on all to participate and join the striking prisoners in their call to break the chains and march on the road to defeat the law and the system of administrative detention and expose this racist policy practiced by the Zionist entity.

Break the silence through all forms of organizing and protest to support the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, through marches, sit-ins and vigils of solidarity, escalating the boycott of Israel, and confronting Zionist and US embassies in cities around the world.

Handala Center for Prisoners and Released Prisoners
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Occupied Palestine
Friday, 25 September 2015

نداء عاجل بخصوص الأسرى الإدرايين المُضربين عن الطعام

صادر عن مركز حنظلة للأسرى والمحررين و شبكة صامدون لدعم الأسرى

لنكسر حاجز الصمت..ونشارك في كسر القيود

يحتجز الإحتلال الصهيوني مئات المواطنين الفلسطينيين دون محاكمة، من خلال تطبيق قانون الاستعمار البريطاني المُسمى الإعتقال الإداري الذي تعمل بموجبه محاكم الاحتلال ، كما يقوم بين الفترة والأخرى بتجديد فترة الاعتقال دون الإعلان عن ألاسباب والمبررات وتحت حجج وذرائع واهية تُعرف ” بالملفات السرية ” حيث يتم إحتجاز المعتقلين في ظروف صعبة و يمارس أبشع أنواع التنكيل بحقهم بعد مصادرة أبسط حقوقهم الانسانية والطبيعية.

ورفضاً لهذه السياسة، وللضغط من أجل إلغائها وإطلاق سراح الأسرى الإداريين ، يخوض منذ أكثر من ستة وثلاثين يوماً ، خمسة من المناضلين إضراباً مفتوحاً عن الطعام في السجون وهم: “نضال أبو عكر، غسان زواهرة، شادي معالي، منير أبو شرار، بدر الرزة” ، وتفيد المعلومات الواردة من السجون إلى تدهور حالتهم الصحية ، يَوماً بعد يوم ، اذ بالاضافة الى ضغوطات الاحتلال اليومية التي تمارس بحقهم ، ترفض سلطة السجون تحويلهم إلى المستشفيات.

وعليه ، فإن ” مركز حنظلة للأسرى والمحررين ” و ” شبكة صامدون لدعم الأسرى ” توجه هذا النداء العاجل من أجل التحرك الفوري على كافة المستويات لإنقاذ حياة الأسرى المضربين عن الطعام، وإلغاء سياسة الاعتقال الإداري، وندعو لمشاركة الاسرى المضربين في دعوتهم لكسر القيود ، وعلى طريق هزيمة قانون الاعتقال الادراي وفضح هذه السياسة العنصرية التي يُمارسها الكيان الصهيوني.

إكسروا حاجز الصمت من خلال تنظيم كافة اشكال الاحتجاج لدعم الحركة الوطنية الاسيرة ، من خلال المسيرات والاعتصامات والوقفات التضامنية ، ومحاصرة السفارات الصهيونية و الامريكية في مختلف مدن العالم.

شبكة صامدون لدعم الاسرى مركز حنظلة للأسرى والمحررين

فلسطين المحتلة / الجمعة 25/9/2015

Açlık grevindeki idari tutsaklarla ilgili acil eylem çağrısı

Esirler ve Özgürleştirilmiş Esirler Merkezi – Hanzala ve Esirlerle Dayanışma Ağı – Samidoun tarafından yapılan çağrı

Sessizlik duvarını kırın, Zincirleri Kırma Mücadelesi’ne katılın

Siyonist işgal, “İdari Tutukluluk” adlı, İngiliz mandacılığından kalma bir yasaya dayanarak yüzlerce Filistinliyi herhangi bir suçlama ya da yargılama olmaksızın esir almış durumda. İşgal, anı zamanda “gizli dosyalar” olarak bilinen sahte bahanelerle, danışıklı askeri mahkemelerde, herhangi bir neden belirtmeksizin tutukluluk süresini sürekli uzatmakta ve esirleri zor koşullar altında tutup en basit insani ve doğal haklarından mahrum bırakarak en ciddi işkence ve taciz yöntemleri uygulamaktadır.

Nidal Ebu Akar, Gassan Zevahre, Şadi Maali, Munir Ebu Şarar ve Bedir El-Ruzza adlarını taşıyan beş Filistinli esir bu politikaları reddetmek, iptal edilmesi için baskı oluşturmak ve idari esirlerin serbest bırakılması için 36 günden fazla bir süredir ucu açık açlık grevi sürdürüyor. Hapishanelerden gelen bilgilere göre sağlık durumları gün ve gün kötüleşiyor. Tecritte tutuluyorlar ve işgal sürekli baskısı altındalar. Hapishane idaresinin kendilerini hastaneye nakletmesini reddediyorlar.

Esirler ve Özgürleştirilmiş Esirler Merkezi – Hanzala ve Esirlerle Dayanışma Ağı – Samidoun, açlık grevine devam eden esirlerin hayatını korumak ve idari tutukluluk politikasını ortadan kaldırmak için acilen her düzeyde hemen eyleme geçilmesi için bu çağrıyı yapıyor. Herkesi, açlık grevindeki esirlerin zincirlerini kırma ve idari tutukluluk kanununu yenilgiye uğratılmak ve Siyonist oluşumun bu ırkçı politikasını teşhir etme çağrısına katılmaya davet ediyoruz.

Filistin Ulusal Esir Hareketini destekleyen yürüyüşler, protestolar ve nöbetler organize ederek dünyanın her yerindeki kentlerde Siyonist ve ABD elçiliklerini kuşatarak sessizlik duvarını kırın.

Esirler ve Özgürleştirilmiş Esirler Merkezi, Hanzala

Esirlerle Dayanışma Ağı, Samidoun

İşgal altındaki Filistin

25 Eylül 2015

Take Action!

1. Sign on to this statement in support of the prisoners’ demand to End Administrative Detention. Organizational and individual endorsements are welcome – and organizational endorsements particularly critical – in support of the prisoners’ demands and their actions. Click here to sign or sign below:http://bit.ly/EndAdministrativeDetention

2. Send a solidarity statement. The support of people around the world helps to inform people about the struggle of Palestinian prisoners. It is a morale booster and helps to build political solidarity. Please send your solidarity statements tosamidoun@samidoun.net. They will be published and sent directly to the prisoners.

3. Hold a solidarity one-day hunger strike in your area. Gather in a tent or central area, bring materials about Palestinian prisoners and hold a one-day solidarity strike to raise awareness and provide support for the struggle of the prisoners and the Palestinian cause. Please email us at samidoun@samidoun.net to inform us of your action – we will publicize and share news with the prisoners.

4. Protest at the Israeli consulate or embassy in your area. Bring posters and flyers about administrative detention and Palestinian hunger strikers and hold a protest, or join a protest with this important information. Hold a community event or discussion, or include this issue in your next event about Palestine and social justice. Please email us atsamidoun@samidoun.net to inform us of your action – we will publicize and share news with the prisoners.

5. Contact political officials in your country – members of Parliament or Congress, or the Ministry/Department of Foreign Affairs or State – and demand that they cut aid and relations with Israel on the basis of its apartheid practices, its practice of colonialism, and its numerous violations of Palestinian rights including the systematic practice of administrative detention. Demand they pressure Israel to free the hunger strikers and end administrative detention.

6. Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law. Don’t buy Israeli goods, and campaign to end investments in corporations that profit from the occupation. G4S, a global security corporation, is heavily involved in providing services to Israeli prisons that jail Palestinian political prisoners – there is a global call to boycott it. Palestinian political prisoners have issued a specific call urging action on G4S. Learn more about BDS atbdsmovement.net.

Sacramento campaign calls on transit authority to dump G4S

25 September 2015

Ride Human Sacramento, the Sacramento Regional Transit Riders for Human Rights, are organizing a campaign to get Sacramento (California, United States) Regional Transit (Sac RT) to not extend its contract with G4S, the British-Danish security multinational that provides security systems and control rooms to the Israeli prisons that imprison Palestinian political prisoners.

Palestinian prisoners have urged action to boycott G4S, and over 220 international organizations have called on the United Nations to drop its contracts with G4S.

Below is the call to action from Ride Human:

Please support the effort to get Sacramento (California) Regional Transit (Sac RT) to not extend its contract with human rights-violating G4S.

G4S, the largest private security company in the world, is complicit in and profiting from violation of human rights and international law around the globe. Churches, foundations, colleges and universities have divested from and refused to contract with G4S.

1000 Black activists, artists and scholars have recently called for join struggle again G4S, because “G4S harms thousands of Palestinian political prisoners illegally held in Israel and hundreds of Black and brown youth held in its privatized juvenile prisons in the US. The corporation profits from incarceration and deportation from the US and Palestine, to the UK, South Africa, and Australia.”

You can support this effort by:

– Signing and sharing the petition
– Liking & sharing our Facebook page
– Following us on Twitter @RideHuman.

Learn more at: www.SacRideHuman.org

If you live in Sacramento County or ride the SacRT light rail, please consider sending a personal message to the Sac RT Board.

27 September, London: Call on Labour Party to End its G4S Contracts

25 September 2015

ALERT: 27th Sept 2015 – Protest Labour Party Conference – End Your G4S Contracts!

Date: Sunday 27th September 2015, 12 noon – 2:30pm
Location: Brighton Centre, King’s Rd, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 2GR ( on beach front 0.7 miles from train station / 0.4 miles from coach station)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/410365259168180/
Web: http://www.inminds.com/article.php?id=10686
23th September 2015, www.inminds.com

Assalaamu Alaikum

The Labour Party are again this year contracting the British security firm G4S to provide security for the Labour Party conference in Brighton. Please join us outside the conference on its opening day at lunch time to tell the Labour Party to stop its collusion with a company that is complicit in Israel’s torture of Palestinian child prisoners.

Since 2007 the British security firm G4S has been contracted by the Israeli prison service to secure many of its prisons and interrogation centres where Palestinian political prisoners including women and children and caged and tortured. 61% of all Palestinian political prisoners are caged in G4S secured prisons, this includes 98% of all administrative detainees (those held indefinitely without charge or trial). All women prisoners and all the children are also caged in G4S secured Israeli prisons.

In June 2015, Palestinian lawyer Hiba Masalha visiting abducted Palestinian children from an orphanage in Tulkarem, being caged in Israel’s notorious G4S secured dungeon at Megiddo, reported that the children had been beaten and tortured in a “heinous” way by Israeli soldiers during interrogation. The children had been “terrified, threatened and blackmailed” in contravention of international law and conventions advocating children’s rights.

Schoolboy Mahir Hussein, told Masalha that Israeli soldiers had fired gunshots into the air to threaten him and two other teenagers when they were detained. Israeli soldiers threatened to kill him before two soldiers beat him “violently.”He was left bleeding for six hours with hands and feet cuffed. The boy was afterwards moved to a hospital in a military base in Petah Tiqva where doctors required “24 stitches” to seal the wound on his head. The next day he was taken to al-Jalame interrogation center for a period of 20 days during which he was beaten and mostly confined to a wooden chair with his hands and feet cuffed. G4S provides the entire security system for Al Jalame, its infamous for its torture of children and its tiny ‘hole in the ground’ children’s cells three floors below the surface.

The Labour Party has been lobbied for several years over its contracts with G4S and last September there were protests outside its conference in Manchester. Its own senior MPs including past and current leaders and shadow cabinet members, and leading trade unionists have all criticised the contracts, and yet nothing has been done and and again this year the Labour Party is giving money to G4S to secure the party conference.

With recent changes in the leadership and membership of the party we are confident that given encouragement (and a push) the party could finally end its shameful partnership with G4S. Please join us this Sunday 27th September 2015 at 12 noon outside the Brighton Centre to tell the Labour Party to end its shameful partnership with war criminals incorporated aka G4S.

At the protest we will be reading out messages from the parents of two children who were tortured at Israel’s G4S secured Al-Jalame interrogation centre and who are currently caged at Israel’s G4S secured Megiddo prison, and also a message from the father of a 15 years old schoolboy who was abducted and caged at Israel’s G4S secured Ofer prison on the West Bank.

Please note that a second protest organised by Brighton & Hove PSC will take place later in the day at 4:30pm outside the Brighton centre when the first day of conference comes to an end. Please do try and join that protest as well – two opportunities to tell the Labour Party to dump its G4S contracts!

TRANSPORT FROM LONDON

National Express coach leaves London Victoria coach station every hour, the 9am coach reaches Brighton at 11:20am and costs £13 return journey (inc booking fee, depart Brighton 2:50pm). Brighton coach station is near the beach front – just 0.4 miles from the protest – turn right at the beach. see http://www.nationalexpress.com for booking.

Railway is more expensive at £22 with trains leaving Victoria every 15mins (9:47am Victoria train arrives Brighton 11:26am). The rail station is about 0.7 miles from the protest – just head towards the beach and turn right once you reach the beach.

LIVE UPDATES DURING PROTEST

We will, inshAllah, be tweeting live from the protest with live photos being uploaded to our twitter and facebook page. So if you can’t join us on the day, please help us by sharing the photos as they get uploaded.

https://www.facebook.com/inmindscom

https://twitter.com/InmindsCom

12 October, Albuquerque: March for Indigenous Peoples’ Day of Resistance & Resilience

25 September 2015

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network endorses the below event and encourages all to attend. Stand together against settler colonialism and for indigenous resistance, from Turtle Island to Palestine!

A March for Indigenous Peoples’ Day of Resistance & Resilience
Monday, October 12, 2015
Downtown ABQ: First St. & Central Ave @ 5pm

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1622859537952771/

Columbus Day celebrates the death and disappearance of Native people, land and life. We call on all people to unite and declare an end to this racist, colonial holiday. Come out to march for Indigenous resistance and resilience against racist bordertown violence, government and corporate plunder of sacred lands and water, and the continued violation of treaties and Indigenous human rights.

We call on tribal nations and all communities of Albuquerque, the state, and region to come together and take a stand against racism and the corporations who profit from the exploitation of Native people and lands.

#ABQAbolishColumbus #BordertownJustice #NoDeadNatives #WaterIsLife

ABOLISH COLUMBUS DAY IN THE CITY & STATE!
Natives continue to be marginalized and exploited by racist holidays, mascots, & imagery.

Call on the city and state to abolish Columbus Day!

STOP RACIST BORDERTOWN VIOLENCE AGAINST NATIVES!
Natives experience catastrophic rates of racial violence and discrimination in NM bordertowns and across the nation. Police kill Natives at the highest rate of any group in the nation. In NM, where Natives are 10% of the population, police killed people at a higher rate in 2014 than in any other state. 13% of Albuquerque’s Native population is chronically homeless and urban Natives in NM have the worst access to health care of any group in the nation.

This is a crisis and we demand an emergency response that matches the scale of the crisis!

EVICT CORPORATE POLLUTERS! U.S. GOVERNMENT & CORPORATIONS: HANDS OFF NATIVE SACRED SITES, LANDS, AND WATERS.
The Gold King mine spill dumped over 3 million gallons of toxic sludge into the San Juan River Basin, a vital and sacred source of water for Navajo people. The 1979 Church Rock uranium mill spilled over 1,000 tons of solid radioactive waste and 93 million gallons of radioactive tailings into the Rio Puerco. After 36 years, it has never been properly cleaned up and continues to devastate Navajo communities. The 2015 Defense Reauthorization Act authorized the illegal sale of Oak Flat, a sacred site, to a multinational mining company against the will of the San Carlos Apache people.

Corporations continue to destroy and lay waste to Native life in order to reap huge profits. We demand the seizure of these corporations’ assets to pay for the clean up and restoration of contaminated land!

UPHOLD & DEFEND TREATY LAW FOR ALL NATIVES, ON RESERVATION & OFF!
In 1871 the U.S. government formally refused to uphold treaties, contrary to the sovereignty of Native Nations.

We demand the reinstatement of treaty making and the acknowledgement of Native independence.

Volunteer today! Organize a caravan from your community! Endorse the march!

Contact The Red Nation to get involved
E: contact@therednation.org
T: (505) 670-1110
TheRedNation.org
Facebook.com/TheRedNation

24 October, Lannemezan, France and around the world: Day of Action to Free Georges Abdallah!

22 September 2015

The original call (and French call) may be found at Coup Pour Coup 31:

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a 64 year-old Lebanese communist, was arrested in Lyon (France) on 24 October 1984 and sentenced to life imprisonment for actions for which the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF) claimed responsibility.

In 1978 he fought with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) to push back the Israeli invasion of the Lebanon.

He was due for release in 1999, and keeping him in jail responds to a political decision on the part of the French State, with the backing of Israel and the United States. The latest request for parole for Georges Ibrahim Abdallah filed in 2014 was once again turned down. But we will not be deterred by this decision; it will only make us all the more determined! We will not be silenced by this decision; we will make our voice heard!

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah is an antiimperialist, pro-Palestinian militant held in jail by the French State.

At a time when hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are fighting against their imprisonment and the occupation of Palestine, it is our duty as antiimperialist militants in France and around the world to join forces more than ever for the release of Georges Abdallah so that he can return to the Lebanon.

The 24 October 2015 will mark the 32nd anniversary of his detention, when a large demonstration is being organised in France and around the world:

– National demonstration in front of Lannemezan prison on Saturday 24 October 2015 at 2 p.m.

– Actions, rallies and demonstrations in towns and cities around the world around the 24 October 2015.

“The best solidarity for a political prisoner is to get increasing involvement on the ground in the fight against the system of exploitation and domination.” Georges Abdallah.

An open-price coach will be leaving from Toulouse (Basso Cambo metro station at 11 a.m.).

First signatories: Action Antifasciste de Périgueux (24), Collectif “Bassin minier” pour la libération de Georges Ibrahim Abdallah (62), Collectif Coup Pour Coup 31, Collectif pour la Libération de Georges Ibrahim Abdallah (Paris), Collectif Palestine Libre (Toulouse), Collectif de soutien à la résistance palestinienne (CSRP 59), Collectivo Palestina Rossa (Italie), Comité « Libérez-les ! » (59 – 62) de soutien aux prisonniers et réfugiés politiques, Comité Solidarité Georges Abdallah Lille, Fronte Palestina (Italie), GUPS Aix-Marseille, OCML Voie Prolétarienne, Samidoun, Secours Rouge International, Sortir du Colonialisme

To sign the call, send an e-mail to: couppourcoup31[at]gmail.com

Seven more Palestinian prisoners join hunger strike to break chains of administrative detention

22 September 2015

Seven more Palestinian prisoners have joined the Battle of Breaking the Chains hunger strike demanding an end to administrative detention. As Nidal Abu Aker, Ghassan Zawahreh, Shadi Ma’ali, Munir Abu Sharar and Badr al-Ruzza entered their 31st day of hunger strike, along with Bilal Daoud Saifi and Suleiman Skafi, seven more prisoners joined the strike and many more announced they would begin on 10 October if the Israeli state does not respond to the prisoners’ demand to end the practice of administrative detention. Administrative detention is the imprisonment of Palestinians without charge or trial by the Israeli military on the basis of secret evidence.

The Israeli Prison Services proposed deportation to the prisoners in exchange for ending their strike over the weekend, which was firmly rejected by all the strikers. Nidal Abu Aker communicated through his lawyers that no further negotiations have taken place by the prison administration. All of the strikers are rejecting medical examinations and vitamins.

Muaz Abu Nassar, Uday Bayoumi, Mohammed Huarin, Moatassem Rakabban, Ahmad Badawi, Ashraf Zagara and Hassan Zagara joined the strike on 20 Octover. Bayoumi is from Jerusalem, while the other six are all Palestinian refugees residing in Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem. Abu Aker, Zawahreh, Ma’ali and Al-Ruzza are also all Palestinian refugees resident in Dheisheh camp. (See Reham Alhelsi’s interviews with their mothers here.) All seven have joined the open hunger strike and are on their third day of strike.

Abu Aker, Zawahreh, Ma’ali, Abu Sharar and al-Ruzza have now been on hunger strike for 34 days; Saifi for 26 days and Skafi for 23 days. Despite the lengthy strike, significant medical symptoms and the loss of large amounts of weight, all of the strikers continue to be held in small solitary confinement cells and denied access to cold water, fresh air and their personal belongings.

The Israeli Prison Administration closed off all of the cells shared by Palestinian prisoners affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, after PFLP prisoners undertook a one-day hunger strike in support of the Palestinian administrative detainees’ hunger strike, the Battle of Breaking the Chains, on Saturday 19 September. This comes after reports that the prison administration threatened imprisoned PFLP General Secretary, Ahmad Sa’adat, as well as PFLP leader Wael Jaghoub, with isolation and solitary confinement.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses its strongest solidarity with the striking prisoners, and calls for international actions, mobilizations and events to demand their freedom. Samidoun emphasizes that the Israeli occupation is fully responsible for the lives and health of the strikers. We cannot wait until these brave strugglers are facing death to act and demand not only their freedom as individuals, but the abolition of administrative detention – on the road to freeing every Palestinian prisoner held in Israeli occupation jails. It is not the case that Israeli military courts are any more legitimate, fair or acceptable than administrative detention – they are just as arbitrary, racist and illegitimate. But administrative detention is a weapon of mass terror used against the Palestinian people, and it is critical to bring this practice to an end. These Palestinian prisoners have put their bodies on the line in order to end administrative detention – and it is imperative that we act to support them. These prisoners’ struggle is not only about their individual freedom – it is part of their struggle for return and liberation for Palestine.

Take Action!

2. Send a solidarity statement. The support of people around the world helps to inform people about the struggle of Palestinian prisoners. It is a morale booster and helps to build political solidarity. Please send your solidarity statements to samidoun@samidoun.net. They will be published and sent directly to the prisoners.

4. Protest at the Israeli consulate or embassy in your area. Bring posters and flyers about administrative detention and Palestinian hunger strikers and hold a protest, or join a protest with this important information. Hold a community event or discussion, or include this issue in your next event about Palestine and social justice. Please email us at samidoun@samidoun.net to inform us of your action – we will publicize and share news with the prisoners.

Steadfast for Palestine: The Heroes of the Battle of “Breaking the Chains” by Reham Alhelsi

22 September 2015

Samidoun is pleased to repost the following important article, highlighting the voices of the steadfast mothers of the striking prisoners, by Palestinian writer Reham Alhelsi. It is reposted from her blog, A Voice from Palestine:

Seven Palestinian administrative detainees have been waging the battle of “Breaking the Chains” against administrative detention; Nidal Abu Aker, Shadi Ma’ali, Ghassan Zawahreh, Bader Al-Ruzza and Munir Abu Shara are on day 31 of an open hunger strike, Bilal As-Seifi is on day 25 of an open hunger strike, Sleiman Skafi is on day 19 of an open hunger strike. With their joint hunger strike, they united Palestine: united Al-Walaje with Nablus, Al-Jora with Dura, Ras Abu Ammar with Hebron. From behind Zionist bars they raise their voice against the illegal administrative detention and against injustice. Their struggle is for all of us, their message is unanimous, their demands are clear: an end to the policy of administrative detention, establishing an international commission on arbitrary administrative detention, physical and psychological compensation for administrative detainees, and defeating the law of force-feeding hunger strikers.
I sat with Im Nidal, Im Shadi, Im Ghassan and Im Bilal in their living rooms, simple houses in the steadfast refugee camp… I hadn’t been to Dheisheh since my beloved grandfather passed away one and a half years earlier… the refugee camp was the same… Im Nidal’s living room was the same… the graffiti leading to Im Shadi’s house was the same, Dheisheh’s narrow alleys and neighbourhoods were the same… it seemed that some things never change; you could still feel the power, the strength, the struggle in the narrow alleys of Dheisheh, you could smell the resistance coming from the simple houses, the same simple houses that produced the heroes and the martyrs of the First and Second Intifadas and the time before and after. Some things never change, the steadfastness, the dream of return and the belief in victory never change… We talked about the old days, about Dheisheh, talked about family members, and exchanged greetings, talked about relatives we hadn’t seen in a while because of work and other daily matters that keep people apart even when they are so close and shared so much… we talked about the hunger strikers, about the resistance, about those who sacrifice their lives so Palestine may live free and about those who betray Palestine so they may continue to live as slaves…. And it seemed, in the sea of all things constant, something do change; to some, betrayal and treachery have become a point of view … betrayal is no more a crime against man and land, but an opinion… this more than anything else pained us and still does, but we are partly to blame, because we, the Palestinian people, as the force leading one revolution after another, we don’t hold popular revolutionary courts for the traitors who are betraying Palestine, Palestinian constants and Palestinian rights. In Dheisheh I sat with them, the mothers of the four hunger strikers; steadfast and defiant like their children, strong and patient for their children, and always present at the tent of solidarity with the hungers strikers. These four Palestinian women from Ras Abu Ammar, Al-Jora, Al-Walaja and At-Ta’amra, together with their hunger striking sons, are the heroes of the battle of “Breaking the Chains”. I asked them the same questions; what was the latest news coming from the isolation cells where their sons are held captive, how do they see the solidarity actions with their children, what messages do they have for the Palestinian people, for those standing in solidarity with their children and for their children resisting the occupation with their empty stomachs and leading the battle of “Breaking the Chains”.

Nidal Abu Aker: 47 years old from Ras Abu Ammar, temporarily resident of Dheisheh refugee camp, is on day 31 of an open hunger strike. Nidal spent a total of 13 years in Israeli captivity, including 9 years in administrative detention. His home was raided by Israeli occupation soldiers on the dawn of 28.06.2014; and since then he’s been held in administrative detention without charge or trial. On 20.08.2015, Nidal and his comrades started an open hunger strike to protest their administrative detention and their captivity on the basis on so-called secret files. As punishment, the IPS transferred him to isolation cells in ‘Asqalan prison to pressure him to end his strike, after which he was transferred to Ela isolation. His cell is 150 x 180 cm, with a bed, a toilet and a shower, his hands and feet are shackled when he is to leave the cell, and all his personal belonging were taken from him when he was sent to isolation. On 12.09.2015, and while on hunger strike, Nidal’s administrative detention was renewed for another 3 months. It is worth noting that Nidal suffers from various health problems, including blood pressure, weakness of the heart muscle, ulcer, acute rheumatic and haemorrhoids. Since the beginning of the hunger strike, Nidal lost 12 kilos and has developed an infections in the throat. He refuses to take his medicines.

Malka Abu Aker (Im Nidal): Today is the 27th day of hunger strike for Nidal and his comrades… they don’t see anyone, they are not allowed to see the representatives of the Red Cross. I just came back from the Red Cross, and they told me they were not allowed to see the hunger strikers. Nidal, Allah yirda 3aleh and stand with him, and protect him, and free him and free all the young men … May God protect them and free them all. I remember the day they came to arrest him… did you see the pictures? The destruction they left in his house? They surrounded the house, beat him and beat his son Mohammad, they pointed the gun at Mohammad’s head…. There was a resistance operation in Beit Ummar or Halhoul, I don’t remember exactly, so the Israeli intelligence searched in their computers for the names of those who are often imprisoned, they searched for the names of the activists… they caught the ones who did the operation, but nonetheless they searched for names of those active in resisting the occupation… They surrounded the refugee camp on that night, at 12 am. We heard that the Israeli occupation soldiers were in the camp; the first house they raided was our house, 50 soldiers came and surrounded the house… this is our life, I knew that they will come to our house and they did… Nidal was outside, I told him that the soldiers are in the camp, he decided to stay away, so when they came, they went to his house, broke everything inside and beat his son… this was one week before his arrest. Every night since that night, Nidal would leave the house and stay away till 4-5 in the morning, because usually the soldiers leave the camp when the mosques start calling for Morning Prayer. This went on for a whole week… On the dawn of 28.06.2014, Israeli occupation soldiers raided our house; they attacked Nidal and his family and ransacked the house, before taking Nidal with them. Since then, he’d been held in administrative detention without any charge or trial.

I respect everyone who comes and feels with these young men and stands with their cause. I thank Dheisheh residents… everyone is good to us, everyone cares for our cause, the cause of the hunger strikers. Groups come from everywhere, from Aida refugee camp and from Al-Azza refugee camp, from everywhere they come… many tell me they know Nidal because they were detained with him… they met him behind Israeli bars…. Abu Mazen called me from Egypt after Nidal’s sentence was renewed for another 3 months; he said he stands in solidarity with me and with those on hunger strike… When he called, I was outside sitting in the solidarity tent, and there was much noise. I told him I wish you were here with us sitting on the chairs in the tent in Dheisheh and I thank you for your call….

We don’t know how these young men will come back home; alive or I don’t know what … May God give them strength. We don’t hear any news from them, but I know that Nidal is growing weak because of the hunger strike. The last news we received from Nidal was through Addameer; it was a letter from him written on 09.09.2015 in which he says … it was read by the young men in the solidarity tent… he says: “I am isolated in ‘Asqalan in a cell that is only 1,5 meter by 1,40 meters. I can’t leave the cell and no one is allowed to visit me. I don’t eat and I don’t take medicine; a doctor came and told me that I am sick, it’s my chest, and that I need treatment. I told him: No, I will not take any treatment until you bow to our demands.” He adds: “I ask Dheisheh residents, I ask everyone to stand with us, and I ask all those with a conscience; women, men, children, to be present at the solidarity tent, and I ask from all the institutions to talk about us and our cause, in Palestine and abroad. I ask you to be active for my mother and father. We ask you all for more mobilization.”

Don’t worry, yamma ya Nidal, even if I am sick and crawling on my knees, I will continue to support your cause and your struggle. I see that no one is failing the hunger strikers, many participate in actions in their support, even in France they have protests, in Italy, in Jordan, in Ramallah… There are sit-ins, also in Hebron…. Everywhere people stand in solidarity with the hungers strikers because these are 6 young men on hunger strike, you don’t know what will happen to them… today is their 27th day of hunger strike… to them I say: stay strong, yamma, and God willing, you will achieve all your demands, and God willing you will always stay strong and will leave the jails with your heads high, yamma, you are unjustly held in administrative detention and your hunger strike is in protest of the administrative detention, 6 months after 6 months…. I am sure they will emerge victorious and that they will hold their heads high and defeat the Zionist enemy. I ask all administrative detainees to stand in solidarity with you, and if you would follow each other and joint the strike, it would be stronger. They were six, and now there are two hunger strikers from Hebron, so they are eight. I only hope that everyone will stand in solidarity with Nidal and his comrades.

Shadi Ma’ali: 39 years old from Al-Jorah, temporarily resident of Dheisheh refugee camp, on day 31 of an open hunger strike. Shadi spent a total of 12 years in Israeli captivity and was tortured during interrogation. On 20.08.2015, Shadi and his comrades started an open hunger strike to protest their administrative detention and their captivity on the basis on so-called secret files. As punishment, the IPS transferred him to isolation cells in Ela prison to pressure him to end his strike. Shadi suffers from chronic ulcer in addition to the weakness of the cornea. On 11.09.2015, it was reported that Shadi was transferred from Ela isolation to Naqab isolation.

Su’ad Ma’ali (Im Shadi): Shadi was first arrested when he was 15 years old, now he is 40. He has 2 girls and 3 boys, but was not able to spend much time with them because he was often held captive in Israeli jail, he spent more than 10 years in Israeli jails, and was also detained once by the PA. Shadi had been released from Israeli captivity only one and half month earlier, when on 28.06.2014, Israeli occupation forces raided and ransacked his home before detaining him. Since then, he’d been held in administrative detention, which was renewed 3 consecutive times for 6 months each. We knew about the hunger strike 3 months before it started; Shadi told us when we visited him in jail. I told him: for God’s sake, the strike is difficult. The decision to start a hunger strike is not an easy one, and they had been preparing for this for 3 months. Yesterday, we were told that Shadi sent a letter through the lawyer, in it he tells us that he is steadfast and will continue the strike until the last breath… its either victory or martyrdom. He has been on hunger strike since 30 days now… imagine, when you fast one day, in the evening, when it is time to break the fast, you feel very tired and frail, so imagine someone fasting and not eating at all for 30 days. So, without anyone telling us, we know that their health is deteriorating and that they are getting weaker by the day. But the lawyer tells us that Shadi and his comrades are steadfast and their spirits are high, they are determined to continue the battle of “Breaking the Chains” until victory, thank God, but they are very tired and fatigued. The IPS resorts to various means to pressure the hunger strikers to end their strike, such as isolating them, and placing food in front of them and telling them individually that their comrades have broken their strike. The hunger strikers say that, in case of any agreement with the IPS, one of their conditions is that all hunger strikers and their lawyer be present to discuss the agreement. Issa Qaraqe’ (Prisoners’ affairs Minister) told us that they spoke with the Red Cross in order to demand that the hunger strikers be transferred to a hospital, but till now we haven’t heard anything from the Red Cross. The Red Cross calls us asking for information about our children, they know nothing and they do nothing, they call us when they want information about our detained children instead of giving us information. You know, I don’t want money, or houses, or high positions or anything, I just my son back, I want him to come back home… everything can be compensated, but not a son…

I want to thank everyone who stands in solidarity with our children, and I call on everyone to show a real stand of solidarity with our children, because, as they say, a rubble supports a stone, and I ask Arab and foreign countries and all organizations to stand in solidarity with our children. We wish that the PA officials would support the hunger strikers, we ask them to stand with our children now and not wait for the last minute. Bethlehem governor didn’t even bother to come to the solidarity tent in Dheisheh, they don’t care. In Dheisheh there is a solidarity tent, in Ramallah there is a solidarity tent, we hear of support actions in Gaza, in France, in other places… On the popular level, there is support and solidarity with the hunger strikers, but it is not enough and the mobilization is not enough, the tent in Dheisheh is full every night, but, in general, there is still not enough mobilization everywhere. I ask everyone to stand in solidarity with our children and not wait till they reach the point of danger. We don’t want them to wait till the hunger strikers are close to death and then everyone remembers them. Our children are struggling to defeat the policy of administrative detention, not only for themselves but for everyone… they are struggling for the freedom of every detainee. They are fighting with their stomachs only, they have no weapons but their stomachs. I have another son in Israeli captivity; Mohammad received 21 life sentenced. Palestinian political prisoners resist the occupation inside jails, and the only means to resist the jailor is their empty stomachs. I pray that the Palestinian people, as a whole, stand with them. Wherever there is a solidarity action we go; to Ramallah, to Dura, to Bethlehem… for the sake of the hunger strikers we will walk on our eyelashes, for their sake we will walk on water

My son Shadi is the eldest; I have 9 sons. When he was resisting the occupation as a 12 year-old, I used to follow him and beat him in front of the people and in front of his friends so he be ashamed and stop going and resisting the occupation, but he never listened to me. I used to hide his sneakers so he can’t leave the house, but he used to wait till when I am not paying attention, and he would run out of the house barefoot and go and resist the Israeli occupation soldiers and throw stones at them. Resistance is in his blood since he was a kid; he was first imprisoned as a 15 year-old. They locked him behind bars as a 15 year-old and they still lock him behind bars. Shadi is stubborn; one time the Israeli occupation forces came to arrest him, and he ran up to the roof. There is some distance between our house and that of our neighbours. He jumped to the neighbour’s roof, and then from one roof to the other, and he escaped. The Israeli occupation soldiers were mad, but later they arrested him after someone informed them about his hideout. Shadi loves to smile, he loves to joke, but to him his homeland and resistance are the most important thing. To Shadi I say: May God give you and your comrades the strength to continue and make you victorious over your jailors… continue your battle and, God willing, victory is yours… We are with you all the way. To me a life sentence and a 100-year detention is the same. God is the judge, but, God willing, they will all be free… soon… we are always full of hope.

Ghassan Zawahreh: 34 years, temporarily resident of Dheisheh refugee camp, on day 31 of an open hunger strike. Ghassan spent a total of 10 years in Israeli captivity, including 3 years in administration detention. He was detained on 08.04.2015 at a flying checkpoint in Bethlehem, and has since been held in administrative detention, which was renewed 3 times for 4 months each. On 20.08.2015, Ghassan and his comrades started an open hunger strike to protest their administrative detention and their captivity on the basis on so-called secret files. As punishment, the IPS transferred him to isolation cells in Eshel prison to pressure him to end his strike. His cell his cramped, dirty, with only one mattress and the IPS confiscated all his personal belongings. On 04.09.2015, Ghassan stopped consuming any liquids or medicine for 3 days. He suffers from ulcers and arthritis. It was reported lately that Ghassan’s health deteriorated and his weight dropped sharply due to the strike, but he is steadfast, has strong belief that they will beat the jailors and be victorious, he is in high spirits and is determined to continue until the end.

Najiyyeh Zawahreh (Im Ghassan): Ghassan is my eldest son, he is 33 years old, married and father to 2 boys and 1 girl. He studied Social Service at the university, and has only one semester left till graduation. Ghassan was detained by the Israeli occupation forces several times; the first time was in 2002 and he was sentenced to 7 years in jails, he was detained at Al-Qubbe checkpoint. The second detention was in 2009, the Israeli intelligence sent Ghassan an order to go for an “interview” at the detention center, where he was held and received an administrative detention order for 6 months, which was renewed twice afterwards totalling 18 months without charge or trial. The thirds time was in 2014, the Israeli soldiers came to our house searching for Ghassan, he wasn’t home, they cut off the telephone lines and raided his and our houses. They later arrested him at a flying checkpoint in Al-Khader while he was coming back from Hebron. Ghassan was sent to administrative detention for 4 months, which were renewed another three times, totalling 16 months. Ghassan started his hunger strike together with his comrades on 20.08.2015, he stopped drinking water for two days. We were informed about the hunger strike during our latest visit to Ghassan; he told us they were planning a hunger strike, but did not tell us when the strike will start. The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) separated the hunger strikers in various jails and placed them in isolation cells, but they are all steadfast and they all are in high spirits. The lawyer tells us that Ghassan is still strong. The hunger strikers boycott the Israeli courts and the medical tests, a doctor comes once every two days but no real medical treatment is provided to the Palestinian political prisoners, so the hunger strikers boycott the doctors. We ask all administrative detainees to stand in solidarity with the hunger strikers. Ghassan’s father and grandfather were also former detainees; his father was held captive in Israeli jails and his grandfather was held captive in jails of the British Mandate. I used to visit Abu Ghassan in Israeli jails carrying 7-month-old Ghassan on my arm.

The level of solidarity is acceptable, but not the level we want, and the level of solidarity from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the civil society organizations is still below acceptable. We follow up the solidarity actions; in France, in Gaza, there are always solidarity sit-ins in Gaza. We see the pictures, and we hear they will have solidarity tents in all Palestinian cities, tents in solidarity with the hunger striking prisoners. We have organized to go to Ramallah and deliver letters to the foreign consuls and a letter to Abu Mazen. I ask everyone to take action to help the hunger strikers.

Ghassan sent us a letter about the demands of the hunger strikers; the demands of our brave children have a high ceiling, there are 4 demands:

1. To break the administrative detention.
2. To boycott Israeli courts; already 70 administrative detainees have joined the boycott.
3. Material and psychological compensation for administrative detainees because they were detained without charge or trial.
4. In case of an agreement with the Israeli Prison Service, the hunger strikers should be brought together to discuss the agreement, and sign a joint agreement and not separate ones, and that the decision to break the hunger strike should be unanimous.

But to be honest with you, we are afraid from the forced feeding… they can bring any doctor who can force feed the hunger strikers. Issa Qaraqe’ frightened us the other day; he told yes he was afraid, and that the IPS is isolating every hunger striker in a separate cell. They are singling them out to try and trick them, but the men are stubborn and have a strong will. You know, the decision to start a hunger strike is very hard; before a prisoner decides to go on hunger strike, he thinks a million times because he know he is walking to death… either death or life… They can’t back down. Sometimes I cry alone, but I tell myself to remain strong for Ghassan, I tell myself to remain strong in front of the occupation soldiers, I want them to see that we are steadfast, and that we don’t surrender.

We encourage the hunger strikers because their demands are just and they have the right to be free and be released from jail. There are no charges against them, their demands are just and God willing they will be free. I call their battle the “Battle of Steel Stomachs”. You know, they are not asking for freedom for themselves only, when they went on hunger strike the first week, the Israeli intelligence personnel sat with them and told them: “give us a week to study your files and decide whether or not to renew your administrative detention”. The hunger strikers replied that this was not their demand; “Our demand is to end administrative detention for ALL”. You see, we support them and clasp their hands, and encourage them… and God willing, they will be victorious… I ask the administrative detainees to join the hunger strike and not to leave our children alone, I ask them to join the hunger strike in waves. When their numbers increase, the Israelis will be confused and will not know what to do. I ask everyone to support the hunger strikers, everyone should support them; every Palestinian, the PA, the organizations, the Red Cross, everyone, because the hunger strikers continue through our support… they receive the news about our solidarity and they continue with their struggle through our support. Although our hearts are breaking for them, although we can’t eat or drink while they are on hunger strike, isolated, held captive, but we stand with them… even if I have to step on my heart, I have to encourage Ghassan till the last minute.

Bilal As-Seifi: 26 years old from Al-Walaje, temporarily resident of Dheisheh refugee camp, on day 25 of an open hunger strike. Bilal has been held captive in administrative detention since 01.03.2015, which was renewed twice for six months. On 27.08.2015, Bilal started an open hunger strike to protest his administrative detention and his captivity on the basis on so-called secret files. As punishment, the IPS transferred him to isolation cells in Naqab prison to pressure him to end his strike. He suspended his hunger strike for two days, following promises from the Israeli intelligence to reconsider his administrative detention order, but resumed the hunger strike after turning down an “offer” to be deported for two years. According to latest reports, Bilal stopped drinking water since 18.09.2015, to protest against his continued detention without charge or trial. He refrains from taking supplements and medicine, despite the seriousness of his health condition, as he suffers from epilepsy and has to take a total of 13 pills a day. He described his situation in isolation as extremely bad, and that the jailers were deliberately humiliating and insulting him, he remains shackled throughout the day and that his weight dropped from 94 to 72 kg.

Nawal As-Seifi (Im Bilal): This is not Bilal’s first detention, it is his fourth: the first time he spent three years in Israeli jails, he was 15 years old at the time. The second detention was when the Israeli occupation soldiers came to arrest his brother Hamza, and they detained both, he spent one and a half years in administrative detention. The third detention was when Bilal was working in Ramallah, there were problems at Qalandia checkpoint and the Israeli occupation forces stopped the car he was travelling in and detained him. He didn’t stay long in detention, only a couple of days, but they beat him on his head and caused him fractures in the skull. The fourth detention, the current one, started when the Israeli soldiers came to detain his brother Mohammad who was wanted at the time. They took Bilal instead, and sent him to 6 months in administrative detention, which was renewed for another 6 months. Bilal is 26 years old now, he has been on hunger strike since 26.08.2015 and he is currently held in an isolation cell. He suspended the hunger strike for two days following promises from the IPS to reconsider his detention, only to resume it when his demands were not met. The latest information we got is that he sends his greetings and that he is still on hunger strike and in isolation. He received only two visits from the lawyers, and they are the only ones who inform us about his situation. His situation is getting difficult, he refuses medicine, and this is all the information we have. Bilal was beaten several times on the head while in Israeli detention, but during his third arrest, he was beaten so badly that he had to go and see a doctor. The doctors said that he has a “problem” in the head as a result of the beating. The last time, when the Israeli soldiers took his brother, they beat Bilal violently, everyone saw how they were beating him. They wanted to arrest Mohammd, they shot at Mohammad but he ran away, this made them angry and they beat Bilal violently on the head.
I find that the popular interaction with the cause of the hunger striker is not good, but I would say acceptable. Those who are active, those who come to the protest and the sit-ins are those who have a detainee in the family, or those who passed through the experience of detention, or the relatives of detainees, or human rights institutions, that is all… simple people…. But it is not the needed level of interaction… I can only say it’s acceptable, no more. Today everyone is busy with one’s issues… I remember during the First Intifada, the women would surround the occupation soldiers to free the young men and prevent their detention… today, no one…. no one at all cares…. no one. I send my thanks and appreciation to all those standing in solidarity with us, when I hear that people stand in solidarity with us in Italy or elsewhere, I can’t say thank you enough, they are far away and they care, and here some who are in the country and who are close and don’t care about the prisoners. I hope that the other administrative detainees will stand with the hunger strikers. I hope that everyone will stand with them. I ask everyone to stand with us in the struggle against administrative detention.

Yamma ya Bilal, to you and your comrades I say: God willing you will come out victorious, may God give you strength. Yamma ya Bilal, I send you messages of love and appreciation, and may God give you strength… Yamma, listen, I say this because you are sick, as a mother I speak, I say this because you are sick… if you can yamma, if you can break the hunger strike, then break it… I say this because my son is in jail and one day, no matter how long it will take, the doors of the jails will open and he will be free, but, God forbid, the grave doesn’t open its door once it’s closed… I am talking as a mother, not talking slogans, die or don’t die… no… no mother tells her son to die… Yes, I stand with him, I support him, but I tell him at the moment when you feel it’s enough, then it’s enough… you did what you can, every person and their abilities. I tell him: you will be free from jail one day, it will never close its doors on you forever, but the grave closes its doors forever and I don’t want you to reach the grave.

I would like to send a message to all Israeli mothers, I just want to ask them: if someone comes and places your son in a jail without charge or trial, what we call administrative detention, how would you feel? What would your reaction be? We are no terrorists… to detain someone without charge or trial, to imprison someone according to your whim, to renew the detention two, three, six months… why? I tell you my son is held unjustly, they held him for 6 months in administrative detention and renewed it for another 6 months, and before that, he spent one and a half years in administrative detention, without any charges, without any trial… I ask Israeli mothers that they put themselves in my place… I am a mother and they are mothers: Would they accept that someone should detain their sons and imprison them without any charge? Without being tried in a court? My son is held unjustly… would they accept that their sons be held unjustly? Without a charge? Injustice has a name: Administrative Detention, being locked up behind bars without charge, without court trial, without a court case.

Freedom for ALL Palestinian and Arab political prisoners and detainees held captive in Zionist dungeons.

Khalida Jarrar’s military court session postponed until 12 October

21 September 2015

Palestinian leftist, parliamentarian and political prisoners’ advocate Khalida Jarrar faced an Israeli military court again on Sunday, 20 September for a hearing that was again postponed, this time until 12 October.

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association – Jarrar’s lawyers, as well as the organization of which Jarrar serves as vice-chair and formerly executive director – reported on the Ofer military court hearing. The Israeli military prosecution failed to secure the participation of witnesses, only presenting one witness forcibly compelled to testify as he is held in Israeli prison.

Addameer reported that this witness – a Palestinian political prisoner – denied all allegations against Jarrar, and that “As a result the military prosecution declared him a hostile witness and the military court approved their request. The military prosecution further requested the court to issue arrest warrants for the witnesses who did not attend so they would be in custody during the next hearing.”

The military prosecution declared the witnesses they presented at Jarrar’s last hearing – again, Palestinian political prisoners – to be “hostile” as well, after they stated their confessions against Jarrar were obtained through torture.

Jarrar, 52, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for the Abu Ali Mustafa Bloc, a prominent leftist, feminist and advocate for Palestinian prisoners, was arrested by the Israeli occupation military in her home on 2 April. This arrest came following her rejection – and defeat – of an attempt to forcibly displace her from her Ramallah home to Jericho by the Israeli military in August 2014. Jarrar was initially held under administrative detention without charge or trial; following an international outcry, she was then charged in an Israeli military court with 12 charges, all of which are entirely political in nature and many of which directly pertain to her advocacy to free Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes Khalida Jarrar and urges her immediate freedom. The solidarity and outrage from around the world, alongside her steadfastness, forced the cancellation of her administrative detention and of the forced displacement order; now it is time to step up the struggle to win her freedom and keep protesting and organizing.

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