Home Blog Page 563

Update: Khader Adnan released again following Jerusalem rearrest

Khader Adnan has been released from Israeli detention to the Palestinian Authority military liason office and has been returned to his village of Arraba at 1 am on 14 July, reports Ma’an News, following several hours being held at the Qishlah police station in Jerusalem. Adnan, 37, a baker from Arraba near Jenin and a leading political activist, was freed Sunday, 12 July, from Israeli prison after a 55-day hunger strike. He had been held under administrative detention without charge or trial since 8 July 2014.

He was rearrested in Jerusalem, where he had travelled to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque for Laylat al-Qadr. While in Jerusalem, he visited the home of imprisoned Samer, Shireen and Medhat Issawi, greeting their parents; Palestinian lawyer Jawad Boulos, and others, Ma’an reports. Ha’aretz reported at the time of his arrest on the evening of 13 July that “the Shin Bet confirmed that Adnan had been arrested, saying that he had entered Jerusalem illegally. Adnan has been transferred to the police for questioning…the defense establishment viewed this violation with severity.” However, the arrest drew immediate attention and Adnan was released in the early hours of 14 July.

In 2012, Adnan won his release from administrative detention with a 66-day hunger strike that won the support of the world and helped to reinvigorate the mass movement for the freedom of Palestinian prisoners, and in particular, drew attention to administrative detention, the Israeli occupation practice of imprisoning Palestinians without charge or trial on the basis of secret evidence for up to six month periods, repeatedly renewable. There are currently over 400 Palestinians held in administrative detention, including two, Muhammad Allan and Uday Isteiti, on hunger strike.

 

Breaking News: Khader Adnan rearrested going to Jerusalem

UPDATE, 14 July: Khader Adnan has been released from Israeli detention to the Palestinian Authority military liason office and has been returned to his village of Arraba, reports Ma’an News. While in Jerusalem, he visited the home of imprisoned Samer, Shireen and Medhat Issawi, greeting their parents; Palestinian lawyer Jawad Boulos, and others.

Khader Adnan has been rearrested by Israeli occupation forces as he attempted to enter Jerusalem to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque, reports the Palestinian Prisoners Club and Ha’aretz. Adnan, 37, a baker from Arraba near Jenin and a leading political activist, was freed yesterday, 12 July, from Israeli prison after a 55-day hunger strike. He had been held under administrative detention without charge or trial since 8 July 2014.

In 2012, Adnan won his release from administrative detention with a 66-day hunger strike that won the support of the world and helped to reinvigorate the mass movement for the freedom of Palestinian prisoners, and in particular, drew attention to administrative detention, the Israeli occupation practice of imprisoning Palestinians without charge or trial on the basis of secret evidence for up to six month periods, repeatedly renewable. There are currently over 400 Palestinians held in administrative detention, including two, Muhammad Allan and Uday Isteiti, on hunger strike.

Ha’aretz reported, “Adnan told his family and friend that he was go to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, like thousands of other Palestinians…The Shin Bet confirmed that Adnan had been arrested, saying that he had entered Jerusalem illegally. Adnan has been transferred to the police for questioning…the defense establishment viewed this violation with severity.”

Although some Palestinian sources are reporting that he will be released, Adnan is currently still being held in Qishlah police station in Jerusalem. Samidoun will provide updates and action alerts on this breaking news event.

 

Khalida Jarrar: Letter from Prison – Next Hearing 13 July

Khalida Jarrar, the imprisoned Palestinian parliamentarian, feminist and leftist leader, will face another hearing in Israeli military court on 13 July. She recently had her first family visits, with her daughters Suha and Yafa Jarrar; all of her other family members, including her husband, have been denied permission to visit her.

Jarrar, originally held under administrative detention without charge, is now facing an Israeli military court on 12 charges, all of which are entirely political in nature and relate to her speeches and public events advocating for Palestinian political prisoners and a free Palestine. Her hearing on 22 June in Ofer military court was postponed until 13 July.

Click here to take action and demand the release of Khalida Jarrar!

The Anti-Imperialist Front has made available four translations of a letter imprisoned Palestinian leftist political leader and parliamentarian Khalida Jarrar sent from Hadarim prison on 2 June, where she is held by Israeli occupation forces:

Letter from Khalida Jarrar

In recent years, I have continuously spoken about the cause of the Palestinian prisoners, their numbers, their conditions of detention, statistics, figures and percentages. I talked about the million Palestinians that since 1967 had passed through Israeli prisons. This figure means that one in four Palestinians was arrested at least once in their lifetime. I have spoken to hundreds of arrested women, among them, 24 are still imprisoned; I spoke of the thousands of children arrested in violation of all laws and international conventions. To date, among the 6,000 Palestinian prisoners, 240 are children. In the prisons are also detained prisoners with serious and incurable diseases, some of whom are elderly, practically condemned to death. Another 500 prisoners are serving periods of administrative detention, without any legal justification or accusation against them, a practice dating back to the period of the British mandate in Palestine 70 years ago, the same time period as that of the Nazi occupation in Europe, a period which unfortunately reminds us of our present time because of all that I have just finished describing.

For more than 9 years, as an elected member by the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation, in the Palestinian Legislative Council I have served as President of the Commission, in charge of the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Previously, for 13 years, I was the general director of the association for prisoner support and human rights Addameer, one of the most important associations, whose mission is the defence of prisoners. This means that I have devoted the last 20 years of my life in support of the Palestinian prisoners in the jails of the occupation, for the freedom which is denied to prisoners by this colonial occupation.

During all these years, and especially after my election, which allowed me to be a representative of the people, I have defended with all my strength the prisoners, their rights, the fight against the conditions of their arrest, against the methods used during interrogation and in order to extract confessions and all the false accusations. I defended their right to have access to medical care, the right to life and freedom, because they would be only guilty of defending the freedom of their oppressed people, an action recognized by all international laws and by the United Nations, whose laws and conventions apply to all of us.

I have always referred to people from all over the world asking the representatives of the people’s deputies, representatives of governments and to the presidents, to stand alongside the Palestinian prisoners, to take the side of those who are on a quest for justice, freedom, values ​​and human rights. I always demanded for the condemnation of the occupation, its sanction and its end. I still believe that this is a duty for all of us, as much as for you, as it is for us Palestinians.

Today I confirm to you I have not changed: my stance, my beliefs and my will remain intact, although my position is different now: I look at the issue from another perspective and from that perspective I see things more clearly. Today, I’m part of the 24 female prisoners that I mentioned earlier, the 6000 prisoners, one of the many prisoners who suffers violence in prisons and who bears the weight of injustice every day, every hour, every moment.

Today, after being arrested in my house, in front of my family and of my husband, I took something from my people, by depriving them of my duty to serve them, those who elected me. Today, I’m well aware of the way the occupation soldiers arrive, armed with all their “tenacity” and “monstrosity”, as they came to my house in the middle of the night, handcuffed and blindfolded me and took me to a place that I didn’t know.

Today, I was informed that my detention had been confirmed, the detention under a decree which is older than me, a decree that doesn’t belong to the humanity of our time. Today, the government of the occupation began to shake, after suffering under your pressure and that of the free of the world who condemn this senseless arrest I was victim of. This, however, did not prevent the occupier to enforce its most racist laws, so I was sent to a court that we all know is completely illegitimate, before a court of which we all recognize the incompetence, since a perpetrator can never be the judge of his victim.

Although we know we will be able to find flaws in their obsolete laws, the last word is to the representatives of the entity of the occupier, the prosecutor, because there is no authority higher than that of the colonization with its unjust laws.

Never mind; this is the price we pay for our freedom, for our dignity and that of the World. We arm ourselves with your support and, when we hear your voice of solidarity with our resistance, we grow in strength and steadfastness.

Today, I write to you as a prisoner whose fate cannot be known, how long will I be in this dirty prison that is not suitable for humans. I do not know if I’ll find a doctor worthy of his title once sick, I do not know if the food they give me is poisoned or if the water is polluted, I do not know when my jailer will come to my cell to keep me awake and violate my intimacy. I do not know when I will be able to take my little girls, Yafa and Suha, in my arms, I do not know when I will kiss my husband again nor when I will be hugged by my mother and when I will be able to kiss my father’s face. All I know is that, in order to obtain all this, I need you, every free voice in the world to repeat with me and with my people: “Down with the occupation! And may the Palestinian people obtain their freedom!”

2nd June 2015
(Translated by E.D.P.)

النائب خالدة جرار تخص مؤتمر مناصرة الأسرى في أوروبا بكلمة هامة

أخبار الجبهة555 قراءة0 تعليق15:40 – 02 يونيو, 2015

متعلقات
الجبهة الشعبية تدين العملية الإرهابية التي استهدفت موكب النائب العام المصري
تصريحات الجبهة الشعبية
لجنة الأسرى في الجبهة تشارك في ورشة عمل نظمها المركز الفلسطيني لحقوق الإنسان تضامناً مع الأسير خضر عدنان
أخبار الجبهة
الشعبية في قلقيلية توزع عشرات الطرود الغذائية لعائلات الأسرى والشهداء والعائلات المعوزة
أخبار الجبهة
90% من الأسرى تعرضوا للتعذيب المتواصل والممنهج
أخبار فلسطينية
الأسرى الإداريون يبدأون بمقاطعة محاكم ‘الإداري’ بداية تموز
أخبار الأسرى
خصت القيادية في الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين والنائب في المجلس التشريعي والمعتقلة في سجون الاحتلال خالدة جرار المؤتمر الأوروبي الثاني لمناصرة أسرى فلسطين والذي عُقد في العاصمة الألمانية برلين، بكلمة من داخل زنازين الاحتلال ألُقيت على هامش المؤتمر استعرضت خلالها ظروف الأسرى ومعاناتهم، وإليكم النص الكامل للكلمة:

كلمة الأسيرة النائب خالدة جرار
التي ألقيت في مؤتمر مناصرة الأسرى في أوروبا

لطالما تحدثت خلال السنوات الماضية عن قضية الأسرى الفلسطينيين، عن أعدادهم وظروف اعتقالهم، عن إحصائيات وأرقام ونسب، عن مليون فلسطيني اعتقلوا على يد قوات الاحتلال منذ أن بدأ عام 1967، عن أن ربع الشعب الفلسطيني داخل فلسطين المحتلة قد اعتقل مرة أو أكثر، عن مئات النساء اعتقلن ولا زال منهن 24 قيد الاعتقال الآن، عن آلاف الأطفال اعتقلوا بما يخالف كل القوانين والمواثيق الدولية، عن 240 طفلا هم قيد الاعتقال الآن، عن ستة آلاف أسير هم رهن الاعتقال الآن ، منهم مرضى مصابين بأمراض مستعصية لا شفاء منها أبدا داخل الأسر، ما يعني الحكم عليهم بالإعدام ، ومنهم مسنين وكهلة ، منهم من مضى على اعتقاله أو إعادة اعتقاله نحو ثلاثين عاما وأكثر ، ومنهم نحو ( 600 غير متأكد من الرقم ) أسير إداري يقضون أشهر وسنوات داخل السجن دون أي اتهام أو سند قانوني سوى اتكاء سلطات الاحتلال على قانون سنه الانتداب البريطاني على فلسطين قبل سبعين عاماً، أي مع نهاية العهد النازي، ولكنه يشبه هذا العهد.

منذ ما يزيد عن تسع سنوات وإنا اشغل منصب رئيس لجنة الأسرى في المجلس التشريعي كوني منتخبة من ونائب عن شعب فلسطين الباحث عن حريته، وقبل ذلك شغلت لنحو عشر سنوات منصب مدير عام مؤسسة الضمير لرعاية الأسرى وحقوق الإنسان ، وهي واحدة من المؤسسات الهامة التي تتولى الدفاع عن الأسرى، أي أن آخر عشرون عاماً من حياتي وعملي كرستها تقريبا للعمل إسنادا لأسرى فلسطين في سجون الاحتلال ، وبحثا عن حرية افقدهم إياها هذا الاحتلال الأخير ألباق على وجه البسيطة.

خلال تلك السنين، وخاصة منذ أن أصبحت نائبة وممثلة عن الشعب، دافعت بقوة عن الأسرى وحقوقهم وظروف اعتقالهم، وعن أنواع الاعتقال وأساليب التحقيق وانتزاع وتلفيق الاعترافات والتهم، دافعت عن حق الأسرى بالعلاج وبالحياة وبالتحرر من أسرهم، لان لا ذنب اقترفوه سوى دفاعهم عن حرية شعبهم المقهور والمظلوم، دفاع أقرته القوانين الدولية، وخاصة الأمم المتحدة التي ننتمي إليها جميعا، ونستظل بقوانينها ومواثيقها.

لطالما طالبت الشعوب في كل مكان، طالبت نواب الشعب وممثليه، حكوماته ورؤسائه، بان يقفوا إلى جانب الأسرى من أبناء فلسطين، إلى جانب الباحثين عن العدالة والحرية والقيم الإنسانية وحقوق الإنسان، لطالما طالبت بإدانة هذا الاحتلال، ومعاقبته، والمطالبة بإنهائه، واعتقدت ولا أزال أن هذا واجبنا جميعاً، واجبكم انتم كما هو واجبنا نحن أبناء فلسطين.

اليوم ، وأنا لا زلت على ذات الموقف ، وبذات القناعة، وبذات الإرادة والتصميم ، ولكني في مكان مختلف، أقف في زاوية أخرى ، أرى المشهد أكثر وضوحاً، اليوم أنا أسيرة في سجون الاحتلال، أنا واحدة من 24 أسيرة فلسطينية ، واحدة من بين ستة آلاف أسير، واحدة ممن يعانون بطش السجان، ممن يرون حجم الظلم ويعايشونه يوم بيوم، ساعة بساعة، بل لحظة بلحظة.

اليوم، وقد اعتقلت من بيتي، من كنف أسرتي وزوجي، اليوم وقد انتزعت من بين أبناء شعبي ، وحرمت من خدمة من انتخبني، اليوم عايشت كيف يأتي جند الاحتلال مدججين بكل ما أتوا من شراسة ووحشية إلى منزلي ليلاً، ويقتادوني مقيدة ومعصبة الأعين إلى حيث لا اعرف.

اليوم وقد تسلمت أمرا بالاعتقال الإداري استناداً إلى قانون يكبرني سناً، إلى قانون لا يشبهنا نحن بني البشر في هذا العهد، اليوم وقد خجلت حكومة الاحتلال من هذا تحت ضغط أصواتكم وأصوات العالم الحر، ولكن لأنه الاحتلال فهو يبحث في جنبات عنصريته عن قوانين اشد ظلماً، فهو يحيلني إلى محاكمة نعرف جميعنا مسبقاً عدم شرعيتها، إلى قضاة نعرف جميعا عدم أهليتهم للحكم علينا، فليس للجلاد أن يحاكم ضحيته.

ومع هذا فإننا حين نجد ثغرات حتى في قوانينهم البالية، فان كلمة ممثلي كيانهم المحتل المسمى بالادعاء العام، لهم القول الفصل ، فلا سلطة تعلو على سلطة الاحتلال وشرائعه الدونية ، فالاحتلال يتهرب حتى من قوانينه المجحفة ، ومن قضاءه المائل . لا بأس ، فهذا ثمن ندفعه نحن الباحثين عن الحرية، نحن الذين ندافع عن كرامتنا وكرامة العالم اجمع، نتسلح بدعمكم لنا، نصمد ونواصل عندما نسمع صوتكم مجاهرا وعاليا داعما لنا ولنضالنا.

اليوم، إذ أخاطبكم وانأ أسيرة ، لا اعرف مصيري ، لا اعرف كم سأقضي هنا في هذا السجن القذر الذي لا يصلح لبشر، لا اعرف إن كنت قد أجد طبيباً أمينا على حياتي وصحتي حين امرض، أو حبة دواء قد تنفع وجعي، لا اعرف إن كنت آكل طعاما غير ملوث، أو اشرب ماء غير مسموماً، لا اعرف متى سيقتحم سجاني زنزانتي ويؤرق نومي ويغتصب خصوصيتي، لا اعرف متى سأحتضن ابنتاي يافا وسهى ، لا اعرف متى سأقبل زوجي، ولا متى ستحتضنني أمي أو اقبل جنين أبي . لا اعرف إلا أنني هنا احتاج لكم ، لكل صوت حر في هذا العلم يردد معي ومع كل أبناء شعبي ، فليسقط الاحتلال ، ولينعم شعب فلسطين بالحرية .

***

Khalida Jarrar: Lettera dal carcere (traduzione in italiano a cura del Comitato del Martire Ghassan Kanafani). Khalida Jarrar, arrestata in occasione delle irruzioni dell’esercito sionista della notte del 2 aprile a Ramallah e a Betlemme, e tuttora detenuta, lancia in suo appello chiedendo sostegno internazionale attraverso un’accorata lettera.

Negli ultimi anni ho continuamente parlato della causa dei prigionieri palestinesi, dei loro numeri, delle loro condizioni di detenzione, delle statistiche, cifre e percentuali. Ho parlato del milione di palestinesi che dal 1967 è passato per le carceri israeliane. Questo dato significa che un palestinese su quattro è stato arrestato almeno una volta nella vita. Ho parlato delle donne arrestate a centinaia, tra queste 24 sono tuttora prigioniere; ho parlato delle migliaia di bambini arrestati in violazione di tutte le leggi e le convenzioni internazionali. Ad oggi, tra i 6.000 prigionieri palestinesi, 240 sono bambini. Nelle carceri ci sono anche prigionieri con gravi malattie incurabili, alcuni dei quali molto anziani.. praticamente dei condannati a morte. Altri circa 600 prigionieri scontano periodi di detenzione amministrativa, senza alcuna giustificazione legale o accusa a loro carico, una pratica risalente al periodo del mandato britannico in Palestina 70 anni fa, lo stesso periodo della fine del periodo nazista, quel periodo che malauguratamente ricorda la nostra epoca per tutto ciò che ho descritto.

Per più di 9 anni, in qualità di membro eletto dal popolo palestinese nella sua lotta per la liberazione, all’interno del Consiglio legislativo Palestinese ho ricoperto la carica di presidente della Commissione incaricata delle questioni dei prigionieri palestinesi nelle carceri israeliane. In precedenza, per 13 anni, sono stata la direttrice generale dell’associazione Addameer per i diritti dei prigionieri e i diritti umani, una delle più importanti associazioni la cui missione è la difesa dei prigionieri. Questo significa che ho dedicato gli ultimi miei 20 anni di vita nel sostenere i prigionieri della Palestina nelle carceri dell’occupante, per la libertà negata ai prigionieri dall’occupazione coloniale, l’ultima esistente al mondo.

Durante tutti questi anni, e soprattutto dopo la mia elezione, che mi ha permesso di essere un rappresentante del popolo, ho difeso con tutte le mie forze i prigionieri, i loro diritti, la lotta contro le condizioni del loro arresto, contro i metodi utilizzati durante gli interrogatori e le confessioni estorte, le false accuse. Ho difeso il loro diritto ad avere accesso alle cure mediche, il diritto alla vita e alla liberazione, perché sarebbero colpevoli solo di difendere la libertà del loro popolo oppresso, un’azione riconosciuta da tutte le leggi internazionali e dalle Nazioni Unite, le cui leggi e convenzioni si applicano a tutti noi.

Mi sono sempre rivolta ai popoli di tutto il mondo chiedendo ai deputati rappresentanti del popolo, ai rappresentanti dei governi e presidenti, di schierarsi al fianco dei detenuti palestinesi, di schierarsi dalla parte di coloro che sono alla ricerca di giustizia, libertà, valori e diritti umani. Ho sempre chiesto la condanna dell’occupazione, la sua sanzione e la sua fine. Continuo a credere che questo sia dovere di tutti, è vostro dovere come lo è per noi palestinesi.

Oggi affermo di non essere cambiata: le mie posizioni, la mia convinzione e la mia volontà restano intatte, sebbene la mia posizione ora sia diversa: osservo la questione da un’altra prospettiva e da questa prospettiva vedo le cose in modo più chiaro. Oggi sono parte delle 24 prigioniere di cui ho parlato in precedenza, dei 6000 prigionieri, uno dei tanti prigionieri che soffrono la violenza carceraria e che sopportano il peso dell’ingiustizia ogni giorno, ogni ora, in ogni momento.

Oggi, dopo essere stata arrestata in casa mia, davanti alla mia famiglia e a mio marito, ho tolto qualcosa al mio popolo privandolo del mio dovere nel servire chi mi ha eletto. Oggi, ho consapevolezza di come arrivano i soldati dell’occupazione, armati di tutta la loro “tenacia” e “mostruosità”, sono arrivati a casa mia nel cuore della notte, mi hanno ammanettato, bendato gli occhi e portato in un posto che non conosco.

Oggi mi è stato comunicato che la mia detenzione amministrativa è stata confermata, la detenzione ai sensi di un decreto più vecchio di me, un decreto che non rappresenta l’umanità del nostro tempo. Oggi il governo dell’occupante ha cominciato a tremare, dopo aver subito la vostra pressione e quella dei liberi di questo mondo che condannano il mio arresto insensato. Questo però non ha impedito all’occupante di applicare le sue leggi più razziste, così sono stata mandata in un tribunale che tutti sappiamo illegittimo, dinanzi a giudici di cui tutti noi conosciamo l’incompetenza, perché un carnefice non potrà mai essere il giudice della sua vittima.

Anche se sappiamo essere in grado di trovare difetti nelle loro leggi obsolete, resta l’ultima parola ai rappresentanti della loro entità d’occupazione, il pubblico ministero, perché non vi è alcuna autorità superiore a quella della colonizzazione con le sue ingiuste leggi.

Poco male; questo è il prezzo che noi paghiamo per la nostra libertà, per la nostra dignità e per quella del mondo. Noi ci armiamo del vostro sostegno e, quando sentiamo la vostra voce di solidarietà con la nostra resistenza, in noi crescono forza e fermezza.

Oggi vi scrivo da prigioniera non sapendo ancora quale sarà il mio destino, quanto tempo rimarrò in questa prigione sporca che non è fatta per gli esseri umani. Non so nemmeno se troverò un medico degno del suo titolo una volta malata, non so se il cibo che mi danno è inquinato o se l’acqua è avvelenata, non so quando il mio carceriere piomberà nella mia cella per tenermi sveglia e violare la mia intimità. Non so quando potrò prendere le mie bambine, Yafa e Suha, tra le braccia, non so quando bacerò mio marito né quando potrò essere abbracciata da mia madre e quando potrò baciare la fronte di mio padre. So che per tutto questo ho bisogno di voi, di ogni voce libera in questo mondo che ripeta assieme a me e al mio popolo:

Abbasso l’occupazione,
e che possa il popolo palestinese godere della libertà!
2 giugno 2015

***

Khalida Jarrar prend la parole depuis sa prison !

Le texte qui suit est de Khalida Jarrar, prisonnières palestiniennes détenue par l’occupant depuis le 2 avril 2015. Elle l’a écrit depuis sa prison le 2 juin 2015.

Khalida Jarrar, 52 ans, est une militante féministe palestinienne, dirigeante du FPLP (Front populaire de libération de la Palestine), députée du Conseil Législatif Palestinien.

Déjà, le 20 août 2014, les forces armées israéliennes ont débarquées chez elle à Ramallah pour lui ordonner l’ordre de s’exiler dans la ville de Jericho avec l’interdiction d’en sortir pendant une période de six mois. Khalida résista et installa un campement dans la Cour du Conseil Législatif Palestinien à Ramallah. Elle eu gain de cause.

le 02 avril dernier, plus de 60 soldats israéliens ont attaqué sa maison et l’ont embarqué. Elle a été mise en détention administrative avec 12 chefs d’inculpation dont l’appartenance à une organisation illégale et la participation à des manifestations. Interrogée au centre de détention d’Ofer, elle a ensuite été emmenée à la prison de Hasharon en Palestine occupée.
Khalida Jarrar lors d’une audience en mai 2015 dans un tribunal militaire.
Khalida Jarrar lors d’une audience en mai 2015 dans un tribunal militaire.
Depuis toujours, je ne cesse de parler de la cause des prisonniers palestiniens: de leur nombre, de leurs conditions de détention, des statistiques, chiffres et pourcentages… je parle d’un million de palestiniens qui sont passés par les prisons israéliennes depuis 1967 – ce chiffre veut dire qu’un palestinien sur quatre a été en détention au moins une fois dans sa vie. Je parle des centaines des femmes qui ont été arrêtées, dont 24 qui sont toujours prisonnières.. je parle aussi des milliers d’enfants qui ont été arrêtés en violation totale de toutes les lois et conventions internationales. A cet instant même, 240 enfants sont dans les prisons parmi les 11000 prisonniers palestiniens. Il y a des malades qui ont de lourdes maladies impossibles à soigner dans les prisons, cela signifie une condamnation à mort, certains d’entre eux sont des vieillards.. Il y a aussi environ 600 prisonniers – je n’ai pas le chiffre exact en tête- qui passent des périodes de détention administrative sans aucune justification juridique ou motif d’accusation sauf l’utilisation d’un décret militaire britannique datant de la colonisation britannique en Palestine il y 70 ans, synchronisé avec la fin de l’époque des Nazi, qui ressemble malheureusement à ce que je décris de notre époque. Depuis 9 ans, j’occupe le poste de présidente de la commission en charge des prisonniers palestiniens dans les geôles israéliennes, comme député élue par le peuple palestinien en lutte pour sa libération. Auparavant, j’ai été pendant 13 ans, la directrice générale de l’association Addameer pour les droits des prisonniers et le droit de l’homme, l’une des associations les plus importantes qui a pour mission la défense les prisonniers. Cela signifie que j’ai consacré les vingt dernières années de ma vie à travailler pour soutenir les prisonniers de la Palestine dans les geôles du colonisateur, et dans leur quête d’une liberté qui leur a été volée par la dernière occupation coloniale restant sur notre planète.

Pendant toutes ces années, et en particulier depuis que mon élection et le fait que je suis devenue une représentante du peuple, j’ai défendu avec toute ma force les prisonniers et leur droit et lutter contre les conditions de leur arrestation et les méthodes utilisées dans les interrogatoires, les aveux falsifiés et les fausses accusations. J’ai défendu leur droit à avoir accès aux soins médicaux, leur droit à la vie et la libération. Parce qu’il ne sont coupables que de défendre la liberté de leur peuple opprimé, une action reconnue par toutes les lois internationales et les nations unies dont les lois et les conventions s’appliquent à nous tous.

Je me suis toujours adressée aux peuples du monde et ai demandé aux députés représentants des peuples, des représentants des gouvernements et des présidents de se ranger aux cotés des détenus palestiniens, du coté de ceux qui sont en quête de justice, de liberté et des valeurs et droits humains. J’ai toujours exigé la condamnation de l’occupation, sa sanction et sa fin. Je crois toujours que ceci est notre devoir à tous, c’est votre devoir comme il est le notre, nous palestiniens.

Aujourd’hui, j’affirme ne pas avoir changer : mes positions, ma conviction et ma volonté sont intactes, cependant, mon regard est différent, j’observe la scène d’une autre perspective depuis laquelle je vois les choses plus clairement. Aujourd’hui, je fais moi même partie des 24 prisonnières dont j’ai parlée précédemment, une parmi les 6000 prisonniers, une parmi ceux qui subissent la violence des geôliers, qui subissent le poids de l’injustice chaque jour, chaque heure, chaque instant.

Aujourd’hui, après avoir été arrêtée dans ma maison, devant ma famille et mon compagnon, aujourd’hui j’ai enlevée à mon peuple et privée de mon devoir de servir ceux qui m’ont élue. Aujourd’hui, j’ai subi moi même les soldats de l’occupant, armés jusqu’au dents arrivant avec toute l’atrocité possible chez moi au milieu de la nuit, me menotter, me bandant les yeux et me conduisant vers un lieu que j’ignore.

Aujourd’hui, j’ai été informée que ma détention administrative avait été ordonnée, une détention fondée sur un décret plus âgé que moi, un décret qui ne ressemble pas à l’humanité de notre époque. Aujourd’hui, le gouvernement de l’occupant a commencé à trembler, après avoir subit la pression des gens libres du monde entier (condamnant mon arrestation sans aucun motif d’accusation). Mais cela n’a pas empêché pour autant l’occupant de chercher dans ses lois encore plus racistes, il m’envoie donc devant un tribunal que nous savons tous illégitimite, devant des juges dont nous connaissons tous l’incompétence, car un bourreau ne peut jamais être le juge de sa victime.

Bien que nous arrivons à trouver des failles dans leurs lois caduques, reste le dernier mot, celui du représentant de l’occupant, le procureur, car aucune autorité n’est plus haute que celle de la colonisation et ses règles, l’occupant ne respecte même pas ses propres lois injustes et son système juridique déjà parti prenante.

Ceci n’est pour nous que le prix à payer pour notre libération, pour notre dignité et celle du monde entier. Nous nous armons de votre solidarité, nous nous tenons debout et continuons notre lutte en entendant votre voix solidaire avec notre résistance.

Je vous adresse ce message aujourd’hui depuis la prison, je ne sais pas encore que sera mon destin, je ne sais pas encore combien de temps je vais passer dans cette prison sale qui n’est pas faite pour des êtres humains, je ne sais même pas si je vais trouver un médecin digne de son titre une fois malade, je ne sais pas si la nourriture qu’on me donne n’est pas polluée ou si l’eau n’est pas empoisonnée, je ne sais pas quand mon geôlier va investir ma cellule pour m’empêcher de dormir et violer mon intimité. Je ne sais non plus quand je vais pouvoir prendre mes enfants Yafa et Suha dans mes bras, je ne sais pas quand je vais voir mon mari ou embrasser mes parents. Je sais que pour tout ça j’ai besoin de vous, de chaque voix libre dans ce monde pour qu’il répète avec mon peuple et moi-même : A bas l’occupation, vive le peuple de la Palestine libre!

Traduction : Al-Hadaf

***

 

Take Action: Demand release of Muhammad Allan and Uday Isteiti, hunger striking detainees

Two Palestinians held in Israeli administrative detention without charge or trial, Muhammad Allan and Uday Isteiti, are now on hunger strike in protest of their administrative detention and demanding their release. Take action now to demand freedom for Allan and Isteiti and the end of administrative detention.

Allan, 31 and a practicing lawyer from Nablus, is being held in isolation in Ayala prison. He was placed in isolation after 20 days of his strike. As of 12 July, he has been on hunger strike for 26 days. He has been detained since 6 November 2014. The renewal of his administrative detention without charge or trial prompted his strike.

He has lost nearly 10 kg of weight since his strike began, and is currently suffering severe stomach pain.

Isteiti, 24, from Jenin refugee camp, has been on strike for 25 days, and is held in isolation in Eshel prison, where he was moved three days ago from the Negev prison. He has been detained since 17 November 2014. Like Allan, the renewal of his detention prompted his strike.

These hunger strikes come as dozens of Palestinian administrative detainees have announced a boycott of the Israeli military courts that essentially function as a rubber-stamp, signing off on administrative detention orders on the basis of secret evidence – and as Khader Adnan has once again been victorious in his 55-day hunger strike, released on 12 July 2015 after a year of administrative detention.

Administrative detention violates the right to a fair trial as recognized in the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. Its use in Palestine dates from the era of British colonization.

Take action to demand freedom for Allan and Isteiti and the end of administrative detention!

1. Send a letter/petition immediately to Israeli officials demanding the release of Allan and Isteiti and the end of administrative detention. Make sure the international voice is heard demanding their freedom!

2. Protest at the Israeli consulate or embassy. 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 these cases in your next event about Palestine and social justice.

3. 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. Learn more at bdsmovement.net.

Letter text

To Brigadier General Dani Afroni, Military Judge Advocate General and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu;

I write today to call for an immediate release of Palestinian hunger strikers Muhammad Allan and Uday Isteiti, held without charge or trial under administrative detention.

I also demand the end of the use of administrative detention. Like over 400 other Palestinians, Allan and Isteiti are being held without charge or trial and under secret evidence. Allan and Isteiti have been on hunger strike for over 20 days.

Dozens of Palestinian administrative detainees are boycotting the military courts that produce these arbitrary sentences with no charge and no trial. I join their call to end this detention.

The lives of Muhammad Allan and Uday Isteiti – and the lives of thousands of Palestinian prisoners- are precious to me and to people around the world. The eyes of the world are on these case, and the government of Israel is fully responsible for the hunger strikers’ health and lives.

Administrative detention violates the right to a fair trial as recognized in the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. It is a practice that is used to silence Palestinians without ever exposing the reality of such actions to the light of day – even in the rigged military court systems.

Allan and Isteiti must be released immediately and without condition, along with their fellow administrative detainees.

Sincerely,

Error: Contact form not found.

Khader Adnan, Palestinian hero and long-term hunger striker, released

Palestinian activist and political prisoner Khader Adnan was released this morning, 12 July, following a 55-day hunger strike in protest of his administrative detention without charge or trial.

Adnan, 37, was arrested on 8 July 2014 as part of the mass arrests against Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem immediately prior to and during the Israeli aggression against Gaza, and had been held in administrative detention – without charge or trial -since that time. A father of six, Adnan is a baker and a political activist in his hometown of Arraba, near Jenin. He rose to national and international prominence in 2012, when he was similarly imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention and conducted a 66-day hunger strike that, like his 2015 strike, ensured his freedom, sparked numerous other hunger strikes among Palestinian political prisoners, and reinvigorated the movement to support and free Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

He began his most recent strike on 6 May, following a renewed administrative detention order against him; in January, he had launched a one-week hunger strike warning that any additional renewals of his detention without charge or trial would spark an open-ended strike. During his strike, Adnan refrained from all nourishment except water and salt and was imprisoned, shackled to his bed, in Assaf Harofeh hospital.

His release came at dawn and had been kept a secret from his family; the Israeli occupation forces were attempting to prevent or silence the mass Palestinian welcome and celebration of Khader Adnan’s release, another strong defeat to the Israeli system of administrative detention. There are currently over 400 Palestinian prisoners held in administrative detention; currently two administrative detainees, Muhammad Allan and Uday Isteiti, are on hunger strike for 25 and 24 days respectively, demanding their release from administrative detention. Dozens of other Palestinian administrative detainees, particularly those who support the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine or Islamic Jihad, are boycotting the military courts that issue administrative detention orders on the basis of secret evidence.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network congratulates Khader Adnan and the Palestinian people on his repeated, historic victory over the Israeli occupier and its system of repression and incarceration that imprisons approximately 5,000 Palestinians. The struggle to end administrative detention and free all Palestinian prisoners is central to the struggle to free Palestine and the Palestinian people as a whole. Khader Adnan’s steadfastness and commitment represents the role of the Palestinian prisoners as the conscience of the liberation struggle, who cannot be broken by torture, isolation or imprisonment; his example makes clear, as the struggle of the Palestinian people has again and again, that the systems of imprisonment and oppression constructed by Israeli occupation and settler colonialism can in fact be defeated. His hunger strikes have strengthened international solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and engaged thousands around the world.

Congratulations and welcome to Khader Adnan, and we will work to see the day soon when every one of the thousands of Palestinians behind bars join you in freedom.

Photos by Quds News Network:

14 July, Beirut: Freedom for Georges Abdallah! Cultural Event

14 July, Beirut: Freedom for Georges Abdallah! Cultural Event

Tuesday, 14 July
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Palais des Pins, Beirut, Lebanon
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1107695519244214/

On 14 July 2015, on the occasion of the French National Day, the International Campaign to Free Georges Ibrahim Abdallah is organizing a reception in the Palais des Pins, in Beirut, with music, poetry and cultural presentations.

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah is a Lebanese Arab Communist struggler for Palestine who has been a political prisoner in French jails since 1984. The political involvement of the French and US governments have prevented his release on multiple occasions despite several approvals of parole. Demand freedom for Georges Abdallah!

Addameer: Administrative Detainees Boycott the Occupation’s Military Courts

1 July 2015, Occupied Ramallah – Addameer’s lawyers report today that more than 60 administrative detainees held in Ofer, Naqab and Megiddo prisons will boycott the Israeli Occupation’s military courts in protest of the administrative detention policy and the false trials they are subjected to.

There are currently 401 administrative detainees held in the occupation’s prisons, including six Palestinian Legislative Council members. They are held based on secret information neither they nor their lawyers can review.

Addameer expresses its full support and solidarity with the administrative detainees and their demands and refusal of the arbitrary administrative detention policy. Addameer believes that the systematic use of administrative detention by the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) is a form of torture and a violation of the Geneva Convention IV Article (147), and is considered a crime against humanity according to Article (7) and a war crime according to Article (8) of Rome Statue.

Addameer demands that the occupying forces release all of the administrative detainees immediately and grant them their rights in accordance with international law. Addameer calls upon solidarity organizations, human rights organizations and individuals all around the world to join the campaign to end administrative detention while emphasizing the necessity of popular support for Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The occupation forces holds false trials for  the administrative detainees that lack the basic standards of fair trial. The trials’ procedures violate Article (66) of Geneva Convention IV which states that trials should be formed legally and should be held in the occupied territory, the trials also violate Article (71) which states that the private courts of the occupying power should not issue any sentence unless it was preceded by a legal trial.

The occupation forces also practice the administrative detention policy in violation of article (78) of Geneva Convention IV which states that administrative detention should not be implemented on people with immunity unless for imperative security reason and according to legal procedures defined by the occupying power and based on the fourth Geneva convention. The military courts deny administrative detainees from their right of fair trial and the basic guarantees stated in Article (75) of the first Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions. Administrative detention policy also violates articles (9), (10), and (14) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966. The International Committee on Arbitrary Detention considered administrative detention as a form of physiological torture.

Administrative detention is a policy practiced by the occupation forces to detain Palestinian civilians without a charge or trial while denying the detainee and his/her lawyer from knowing the reasons for detention or building an effective defense.  Administrative detention orders can be renewed indefinitely.

Currently, Palestinians in the West Bank are being held under administrative detention based on Military Order (1651) Article (285). Palestinians from Jerusalem are being held under administrative detention based on an order issued by the Israeli Defense Minister in accordance with Article (2) of the 1979 Emergency Law to maintain the “security of the state”, which allows the issuance of an administrative detention order for six months that can be renewed indefinitely. As for Palestinians from Gaza, they are being held under administrative detention based on Military Order (941) of 1988. Currently, the Illegal Combatants Law which was approved by the Knesset in March 2002 is used to hold Palestinians that live in Gaza under administrative detention indefinitely.

The Palestinian prisoners’ movement has been fighting against the policy of administrative detention for decades, which includes boycotting military courts and hunger strikes on the individual and collective levels. Between 2011 and 2015, dozens of administrative detainees launched an open hunger strike against the policy of administrative detention. On 26 April 2014, more than 130 administrative detainees endured a 62-day mass hunger strike which was followed by a series of punitive measures by the Israeli Prison Service, including exorbitant fines, denial of family visits and solitary confinement. On 18 May 2014, the Israeli Ministerial Committee also ratified a draft law to allow for the force-feeding of hunger strikers.

The IOF have issued more than 50,000 administrative detention orders against Palestinians since 1967, including 24,000 orders that were issued after the second Intifada. During the first Intifada in 1989, the number of administrative detainees reached more than 1,700 detainees.

Take Action: Demand release of imprisoned Freedom Flotilla sailors

UPDATE: On 2 July, Kevin Neish, Robert Lovelace and Herman Reksten were deported. Please keep up the action to free the remaining flotilla activists!

The Freedom Flotilla to Gaza and its boat the “Marianne of Gothenburg,” sailed by international activists seeking to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian people of Gaza through international solidarity, were violently attacked at sea by the Israeli navy on 29 June 2015. The sailors of the Marianne remained imprisoned in Givon prison near Ramon. Take action and demand their immediate release! 

Video of the attack on the “Marianne”:

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition issued the following statement and call for solidarity. Inside Palestine, the Palestinian Prisoners Committee has launched a campaign and project to free the flotilla sailors:

It has been more than 50 hours since Israeli navy attacked the “Marianne” in international waters, 100nm from Gaza, during one of its usual acts of State piracy, always behaving as the bullying state of eastern Mediterranean. 18 participants on board were kidnapped and brought by force and against their will to the military Ashdod port. During the operation of seizure of the “Marianne”, which IDF called “uneventful”, Israeli soldiers used violence against participants on board.

Dr. Bassel Ghattas (Member of Knesset), Dr. Moncef Marzouki (ex-President of Tunisia), Ana Miranda (Member of European Parliament) and Ohad Hemo (Channel 2 journalist), were released and the rest were moved to Givon prison at Ramla area, where they remain hostages until this moment.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition stands with all sailors of the “Marianne” who are illegally kept in the Israeli prison. We demand that the State of Israel immediately releases them and also returns the “Marianne of Gothenberg”. We demand that our governments condemn violence of the State of Israel against peaceful citizens and stand by the rights of the Palestinian people.

The imprisoned flotilla sailors for freedom are: Nadya Kevorkova, Russia; Kajsa Ekis Ekman, Sweden; Robert Lovelace, Canada (Indigenous leader); Joel Opperdoes, Sweden; Gustave Bergstrom, Sweden; Herman Reksten, Norway; Kevin Neish, Canada; Jonas Karlin, Sweden; Charlie Andreasson, Sweden; Dror Feiler, Sweden. There are reports that the Canadian and Norwegian citizens will be deported on Thursday; however all of the imprisoned sailors are demanding to be deported as a group, with no one left behind.

Take Action! 

1. Click here to send a message to Israeli officials demanding the immediate release of the flotilla sailors. Also, demand the release of the “Marianne of Gothenburg.”

2. Protest at the Israeli consulate or embassy against the attack on the flotilla, and to end the siege on Gaza. Bring posters and flyers about Gaza and the flotilla 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.

3. 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. Learn more at bdsmovement.net.

 *Thank you for taking action! The Marianne sailors are now free – now it is time to continue the struggle to break the siege.

Letter Text:

I write today to demand the immediate release of the following sailors of the “Marianne,” the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, who were with their boat unlawfully and violently kidnapped from the seas by the Israeli navy in an act of state piracy as they sailed to bring their humanitarian message and support to the besieged Palestinian people in Gaza.

I demand the immediate release of the following international activists, held in Givon prison, and the immediate return of the boat, the “Marianne of Gothenburg”:

Nadya Kevorkova, Russia
Kajsa Ekis Ekman, Sweden
Joel Opperdoes, Sweden
Gustave Bergstrom, Sweden
Jonas Karlin, Sweden
Charlie Andreasson, Sweden
Dror Feiler, Sweden

Sincerely,

 

Brazil’s MST: Free Sa’adat, Jarrar, Hamed and all Palestinian prisoners

The following statement was issued by the Landless Workers Movement (MST) of Brazil, a mass social movement, formed by rural workers and by all those who want to fight for land reform and against injustice and social inequality in rural areas. With an estimated 1.5 million members, the movement has led more than 2,500 land occupations, with about 370,000 families – families that today settled on 7.5 million hectares of land that they won as a result of the occupations. Through their organizing, these families continue to push for schools, credit for agricultural production and cooperatives, and access to health care. The MST statement also focuses on the case of Islam Hamed, a Brazilian Palestinian citizen formerly imprisoned by Israel and today held in Palestinian Authority prisons and engaging in a hunger strike (Facebook page for the Free Islam Hamed campaign):

A Statement from the Brazilian Landless Workers’ Movement (MST)
Free Ahmad Sa’adat, Khalida Jarrar, Islam Hamed and all political prisoners in Israeli and Palestinian Authority jails!

São Paulo, June 19th, 2015.

The Landless Rural Workers’ Movement – MST (Brazil), reaffirms its position of solidarity with the Palestinian people and their legitimate organizations in the struggle to free all political prisoners jailed for taking part in the national liberation movement against Israeli occupation. The struggle of the Palestinian People for national independence, sovereignty, self-determination and justice, is, today, internationally recognized as a cause of all the peoples, a cause of all humanity. To struggle against Israeli occupation in Palestine is not only an inalienable right of these heroic people, but also a right of all men and women that in any place on this planet are against this genocidal policy and ethnic cleansing imposed by successive Israeli governments since 1948.

Khalida Jarrar, feminist activist for human rights and Palestinian parliamentarian arrested on April 2nd 2015, is among the 6,000 Palestinian prisoners including 240 children. Many of them are suffering from serious diseases and have no access to any treatment, which, in effect, means being sentenced to death. Some of them are elderly people. There are also around 600 prisoners that go through a period of administrative detention without any legal justification or accusation, except for the use of a British military decree from the times of the British colonization in Palestine 70 years ago.

The case of Islam Hamed

We demand that the Brazilian government takes responsibility and returns this citizen safely to Brazil. The Brazilian-Palestinian Islam Hamed, 30 years old, is on hunger-strike for more than 60 days. He was in an Israeli prison and now he’s in a jail of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, occupied West Bank.

The MST joins the international movement in solidarity with this Palestinian prisoner in struggle for justice and freedom. We demand that the Brazilian government, responsible for the health and security of this Brazilian citizen, intensifies its efforts so that Islam can immediately return safely to Brazil to meet his family that has been waiting for him. The Brazilian government must act to fulfill this humanitarian objective: save the life of a Brazilian citizen unjustly imprisoned abroad.

Dilma’s government made efforts to defend the physical and moral integrity of many Brazilian citizens abroad, in very different situations from the one Islam Hamed finds himself, because this is a man in struggle for justice and for the compliance of UN Resolutions regarding the
Palestinian quest. It is a duty of the government to take on publicly the defence of this just cause.

Free Ahmad Sa’adat, Khalida Jarrar, Islam Hamed and all Palestinian prisoners!

End the Israeli occupation! Free Palestine!

Take Action: Free Human Rights Defender Daoud Al-Ghoul – Stop the Attacks on Jerusalem!

Daoud al-Ghoul, 32, the director of youth programs for the Health Work Committees in Jerusalem and the Kanaan Network of Palestinian civil society organizations and a prominent community organizer, was arrested by Israeli occupation military forces on 25 June. Al-Ghoul has been subject to repeated attacks on his freedom and ability to move and live in his homeland, being issued an Israeli military order displacing him from Jerusalem, his home and the city of his birth, on 30 November 2014 followed by an order banning him from the West Bank a week  later, and then an order banning him from travel abroad until October 2015.

Click here: Take Action Now! Free Daoud Al-Ghoul and Stop the Attacks on Jerusalem!

Daoud al-Ghoul speaks in Brussels at Intal, 18 November
Daoud al-Ghoul speaks in Brussels at Intal, 18 November

Al-Ghoul’s detention will be up for review and probable extension at the end of this week. No reasons for the detention have been made public, nor were any reasons ever given for the multiple bans on his movement and his forcible displacement from his home; all were done by arbitrary military order. The orders were renewed upon their expiration in April and June of this year. Al-Ghoul is a resident of the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan; he was forced to live in Haifa following his expulsion from Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Tweet: Take Action! Free imprisoned Palestinian human rights defender Daoud al-Ghoul. Stop Israeli attacks on Jerusalem! http://ctt.ec/db0fX+

The attacks on Al-Ghoul began shortly after his return from Brussels, Belgium, where he presented on 17 November 2014 to the European Parliament on the increasing Israeli restrictions and infringements on the work of Palestinian health workers and organizations in Jerusalem, as well as the ongoing ethnic cleansing and threats to Palestinian existence in the city.

It appears that the targeting of Al-Ghoul came in retaliation for his exposure of the home demolitions, large-scale colony building, stripping of IDs and residency and ethnic cleansing to which Palestinians in Jerusalem are subjected by the Israeli military occupation. Al-Ghoul is an internationally renowned human rights defender who has also participated in the World Social Forum and in numerous international arenas to advocate for Palestinian rights and freedom.

The Jerusalem HWC office where Al-Ghoul works was forcibly closed by the Israeli military in May. The Health Work Committees (HWC) is a non-governmental health and development organization, established in 1985 to meet the health care needs of the Palestinian population living under occupation. Its Shuafat office in East Jerusalem housed the group’s school health prgramme, which since 1990 has provided medical exams, preventative screenings, health education and vaccinations to Palestinian students in more than 62 schools in Jerusalems.

The arrest of Al-Ghoul is another escalation of the attempts to silence this youth leader and human rights defender. Human rights defenders are defined by the United Nations as those who, individually or in association with others, work to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Al-Ghoul’s work clearly falls within this mandate, and his forcible displacement and arrest violates the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

At the time of his forcible displacement from Jerusalem, Al-Ghoul said “We are not afraid. We are fighting for our future and we have nothing to lose. We refuse this decision. It is our homeland. It is our basic right to live in our houses in Jerusalem. We must stop Israel and their racist policies of ethnic cleansing, collective punishment and forced displacement in Jerusalem. I call on the international community to act.”

The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits individual or collective transfer of persons under occupation from one area of occupied territory to another. This forced expulsion comes following the stripping of Jerusalem ID’s of elected Palestinian Legislative Council members Mohammad Abu Tir, Ahmad Atoun, Mohammed Totah and Khaled Abu Arafah; as well as the stripping of the Jerusalem residency of Nadia Abu Jamal, the widow of Ghassan Abu Jamal.

Interview with Daoud Al-Ghoul:

The Health Work Committees condemned the arrest of al-Ghoul and “called on all local and international human rights organizations to act quickly in order to secure his immediate release.”

Take action!

1. Demand the release of Daoud al-Ghoul. Sign on to this letter demanding his immediate release.

2. Call for the European Union to take action. The targeting of Al-Ghoul appears to be in retaliation for his testimony before the European Parliament. The EU cannot be silent on this case. Click here to call for action.

3. Demand an end to the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Join over 300 civil society organizations and trade unions to demand “No Association with Occupation!”: http://freepalestine.eu/

4. Protest at the Israeli consulate or embassy for Daoud Ghoul and Palestinian prisoners. Bring posters and flyers and hold a protest, or join a protest with this important information. Hold a community event or discussion, or include Daoud’s case in your next event about Palestine and social justice.

5. 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. Learn more at bdsmovement.net.

Letter Text:

I write today to demand the immediate release of Daoud al-Ghoul, a Palestinian human rights defender from Silwan, East Jerusalem. I also demand the immediate lifting of the orders barring him from his hometown of Jerusalem, from the West Bank and from international travel.

Al-Ghoul is an internationally renowned human rights defender and youth leader who coordinates programs for the Health Work Committees in Jerusalem. It is clear that he was attacked for his advocacy for Palestinian rights in Jerusalem, expelled from his home only weeks after testifying before the European Parliament on the attacks on Palestinians in Jerusalem.

I also demand an end to the policies that Al-Ghoul has exposed: the home demolitions, residence revocations, mass arrests, arbitrary detention, and large-scale colony building against Palestinians in Jerusalem, aimed at emptying Jerusalem of its Palestinian residents and erasing its Palestinian character.

Al-Ghoul’s forcible displacement and arrest violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

I demand his immediate release and an end to the targeting of this Palestinian human rights defender.

Error: Contact form not found.