UPDATE: 22 January – On 21 January, Malaak al-Khatib, 14, was sentenced to two months in prison on the “stone throwing” charges after her detention had been extended repeatedly since 31 December.

The hearing of Palestinian 18-year-old first-year Bir Zeit media student, Lina Khattab, was postponed by an additional week, until 25 January, by an Israeli military court on 18 January. This is the sixth time she has been brought before military court, each time denied any kind of substantive hearing, and yet denied release even under bail or house arrest. She is accused of “throwing stones” and “participating in an unlawful demonstration,” charges frequently used against Palestinians participating in or near public demonstrations calling for Palestinian freedom. Click here to take action and demand freedom for Lina Khattab!

Also on 18 January, the occupation military court at Ofer extended the detention of Malaak al-Khatib, 14-year-old Palestinian girl who has been imprisoned since 31 December 2014 on accusations of “throwing stones” at Israeli occupation soldiers at the settler bypass road closed to Palestinians near her school. Her detention has been extended 3 times since her original arrest. She is one of around 500-700 Palestinian children are detained and arrested by the Israeli occupation forces each year. If children are charged at all, it is usually with “throwing stones.”

In addition, the trial of Mona Qa’adan, 42, of Arraba near Jenin, was postponed for the nineteenth consecutive time until the end of January 2015. Qa’adan has been arrested since 13 November 2012 and her trial has been postponed repeatedly since that date. She has been denied all family visits since her arrest; each of her family members has been denied permission to visit on the pretext of “security.” She suffers from poor health, inclding arthritis, and for each one of these court hearings, she is transported over 10 hours via “Bosta” (small prisoner transport vehicle, in which prisoners are shackled during transport to court), which is physically as well as psychologically taxing.

Amal Taqatqa, of Beit Fajjar, has been moved to HaSharon prison with the other women prisoners, from her previous location in hospital. She was shot and arrested on 1 December 2014 near Gush Etzion illegal settlement south of Bethlehem after a settler approached Israeli occupation soldiers in the area and accused her of attempting to stab him. Despite sensationalistic media reporting, the settler in question was in fact uninjured and required no medical treatment. She was shot with live ammunition and seriously injured and hospitalized. She was charged on 19 December with “attempted murder” despite the clear lack of evidence. Amal’s family was harrassed, interrogated and abused by Israeli soldiers following her shooting, with testimony provided to Al-Haq.

She requires the use of a wheelchair to move inside the prison; she cannot stand or walk unaided. Originally, her request for a wheelchair was denied until multiple prisoners reported her severe distress and demanded access to a wheelchair. She has been denied family visits since her arrest.

Please click here to read information and resources on the 22 Palestinian women and girls held as political prisoners in Israeli jails.

Diaa Hroub, Palestinian student activist with the Progressive Democratic Student Pole (the left-wing student union group at Bir Zeit University), was ordered by an Israeli military court to another 6 months of administrative detention without charge or trial on 17 January.

He has already been held for six months under an administrative detention order, after being arrested as part of the mass arrest campaigns carried out by Israeli occupation forces in June-July 2014. Hroub is a longtime advocate against political detention by Israeli occupation forces and also by the Palestinian Authority, and has advocated for all those unjustly imprisoned regardless of political affiliation.

The order against Hroub is the latest of dozens of administrative detention orders and renewals issued in January 2015 by Israeli military courts. Administrative detention means that Palestinians can be held without charge or trial, solely on the basis of secret evidence, for renewable periods of up to six months. Some Palestinians have been held in administrative detention for years, like Mahmoud Shalatwa, who launched a hunger strike demanding his freedom. The use of administrative detention dates from the period of British colonial control of Palestine and is now used by the Israeli occupation. There are approximately 500 Palestinians imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention.

Free Diaa Hroub! End administrative detention!

The Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat released the following report on international actions January 15 calling for Sa’adat’s freedom and the freedom of all Palestinian prisoners:

January 15, 2015 marked the 13th anniversary of the arrest of Ahmad Sa’adat, Palestinian national leader and General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, by Palestinian Authority security forces. Sa’adat, along with his comrades, would remain imprisoned in the Palestinian Authority’s Jericho prison under U.S. and British guard until 2006, when the prison was attacked by Israeli occupation forces, abducting Sa’adat and his fellow Palestinian political prisoners.

The Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat marked an international day of action on January 15, calling for the freedom of Sa’adat and all Palestinian political prisoners, and an end to Palestinian Authority security coordination with the Israeli occupation – the security coordination which led to Sa’adat’s original arrest and imprisonment. Organizations around the world expressed their support for Ahmad Sa’adat and the over 6,500 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails, from Argentina to Brazil and France.

An Israeli military order recently prohibited Sa’adat from receiving any family visits; since 2006, he has been prohibited visits from three of his four children, and now his wife Abla, who has been a prominent international spokesperson for the Campaign, as well as a Palestinian feminist organizer, is prohibited from family visits.

Events and actions took place in France, Italy and Ireland in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners on January 15. Please see below for updates and reports!

Italy:

In Italy, Fronte Palestina organized a national day of action in cities across the country in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners. Events were organized in Milan, Padua, Salerno, Rome, Turin, Viareggio, Pisa and Florence, including demonstrations, information tables, sit-ins, and presentations and discussions on the struggle of Palestinian political prisoners. Many of these events screened the film “Women in Struggle,” focusing on the lives and experiences of Palestinian women held in Israeli jails as political prisoners.

In Milan, a demonstration on Largo Cairoli demanded freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, condemning the role of imperialism and Zionism:

In Turin, a presentation and discussion on the campaign to free Palestinian prisoners was held at Communardi Bookshop:

In Pisa, a sit-in was organized at the university cafeteria:

In Padua, organizers tabled with information and displays on the situation of Palestinian prisoners:

Ireland

In Dublin, Ireland, eirigi activists and supporters organized a solidarity vigil outside the Israeli embassy, demanding freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners, carrying Palestinian and Irish flags:

France

In Toulouse, France, anti-imperialist collective Coup Pour Coup 31 organized an information table and literature distribution on Palestinian political prisoners and the case of Ahmad Sa’adat outside Jean Jaures metro station:

Our solidarity and support to all of these organizations and activists who took action to free Palestinian prisoners and the national leader Ahmad Sa’adat! We encourage others to hold their own events.

Use the form to let the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat know about your local action or email us at campaign@freeahmadsaadat.org. We will list your events on the Campaign website and publicize them.

Suggested actions:

1. Protest at your local Israeli consulate or embassy demanding freedom for Palestinian political prisoners.
2. Protest at official Palestinian embassies and missions demanding an end to security coordination.
3. Phone Palestinian officials at the embassy in your country and call for an end to security coordination with Israel.
4. Distribute flyers or handbills about Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, and security cooperation
5. Post or drop a banner calling for freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners in your city.
6. Hold a forum or educational event on Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners’ struggle.

Israeli military courts confirmed or issued administrative detention orders – for imprisonment without charge or trial – against 36 Palestinian political prisoners by 14 January 2015. 67 administrative detention orders have now been issued or renewed in January alone.

Among those issued a renewal order for their detention was Nidal Abu Aker, 47, of Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem area. Abu Aker is a prominent leftist leader in the area, a former prisoner and administrative detainee, and a journalist with Sawt al-Wihda (Voice of Unity) radio, the only radio station that broadcasts directly from Dheisheh refugee camp. He was arrested on 28 June 2014, and has served over 9 years, following multiple arrests, in administrative detention.

Administrative detention orders, which frequently target community leaders, are issued without charge or trial and on the basis of secret evidence – if any. They can range from one to six month periods and are indefinitely renewable; Palestinians can spend years in administrative detention, never charged or tried. Thirty Palestinians had their administrative detention renewed in this group, while 6 more new orders were issued.

The use of administrative detention has escalated in the past year; it is a form of imprisonment without charge or trial used against Palestinians since the British colonial mandate, and continued by the Israeli occupation forces. The systematic use of arbitrary imprisonment by Israeli forces to punish Palestinians violates international humanitarian law under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Hundreds of administrative detainees engaged in a hunger strike in May 2014, in protest of their confinement without charge or trial. There are approximately 500 Palestinian political prisoners currently held in administrative detention.

1. Maher Nader Mubarak, Ramallah, Four months
2. Islam Abdel Latif Hirbawi, Hebron, Six months
3. Mahmoud Jibril Mahamreh,Yatta/Hebron, Four months
4. Ramzi Jihad Mousa, Tulkarem, Four months
5. Eid Suleiman abu Tahoun, Tulkarem, Four months
6. Yasin Daoud Abu Sneineh, Hebron, Four months
7. Ghassan Ragheb al-Saadi, Jenin, Four months
8. Ashraf Imran Asfour, Hebron, Six months
9. Bilal Salim Salhab, Hebron, Six months
10. Diyaa Mohammed Samour, Al-Bireh/Ramallah, Three months
11. Nayef Rajoub, Hebron, Four months (member of PLC)
12. Jihad Abd al-Fattah Humeidan, Ramallah, Three months
13. Bajis Mohammad Abu Eisha, Hebron, Three months
14. Nidal Kamal Mer’i, Jenin, Three months
15. Fathi Mohammed Atoum, Jenin, Four months
16. Issa Khairy Jaabari, Hebron, Three months
17. Shadi Mohammad Shehadeh, Bethlehem, Four months
18. Yousef Mohmmed Ghalmeh, Nablus, Three months
19. Oday Hashem Humoneh, Hebron, Three months
20. Zakariya Abdel Hamid Oweidat, Hebron, Four months
21. Bajis Mahmmoud Swaiteh, Hebron, Four months
22. Saleh Shehadeh Daoud, Hebron, Six months
23. Mohammed Maher Obaid, Hebron, Three months
24. Mahmoud Hassan Reidan, Bethlehem, Four months
25. Arafat Najih Nasir, Ramallah, Three months
26. Nidal Naim Abu Aker, Bethlehem, Four months
27. Huzayfa Jihad Salameh, Nablus, Three months
28. Khalid Nayif Salem, Bethlehem, Three months
29. Fadi Mousa Ghuneimat, Hebron, Four months
30. Yousef Mohammed Odeh, Ramallah, Six months
31. Mahmoud Rajih al-Habal, Nablus, Four months
32. Khader Adnan Mousa, Jenin, Six months
33. Amin Eid Battat, Hebron, Three months
34. Ghassan Thuqan, Nablus, Three months
35. Imad Alameh, Qalqilia, Six months
36. Wael Hashash, Nablus, Three months