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Thaer Abdu ends hunger strike after 53 days due to declining health

Thaer Abdu, held in administrative detention without charge or trial, ended his hunger strike on January 7, reported his family, after 53 days of strike.

He was transferred from Assaf Harofe hospital to Ofer prison. He ended his strike after severe deterioration of his physical and mental health. Jamal Khatib, a lawyer from the Center for Prisoners Studies called for the immediate release of Thaer in Ofer’s military court, which declared it would announce its decision in several days.

During his strike, Abdu consumed only water and salt, and was punished by occupation prison authorities by removing his belongings, isolating him, and holding him in a cold cell while denying extra blankets, coats or warm clothes. At times even the water was undrinkable due to cold.

He lost 15 kilograms of weight during the strike, stomach pain and heart weakness. He is being held under a six-month administrative detention order after his seizure by Israeli forces on October 27. Abdu, 27, is married with one child.

Palestinian political prisoners confront occupation – and illness

motasemraddadPalestinian political prisoners suffering from severe illness continue to resist and struggle despite the severity of their condition, reported Palestinian lawyers and human rights organizations. For example, the following cases:

Ibrahim Bitar, a Palestinian political prisoner from Khan Younis in Gaza, has seen serious deterioration in his medical condition in recent days. He has been diagnosed with blood disorders and was told by prison doctors at Ramle prison clinic that he has leukemia. Bitar has lost over 27 kilograms of weight, going from 75 kg to 48 kg. He has severe pain and is bleeding following the removal of a tumor from his lower back.

Murad Abu Maliq continues to suffer from severe intestinal infections and 60% of his large intestine has been removed in surgery at Assaf Harofe hospital and has been told more of his intestine will be removed in future surgery. He has lost 10 kg of weight.

Yousry al-Masri, held in Eshel prison and suffering from thyroid cancer, is struggling to have a private doctor allowed to enter and examine him, saying he has no trust in the prison doctors who did not diagnose his cancer until two years of medical complaints.

Moatassem Raddad, 31, is suffering from colon cancer and needs surgery urgently. A request for his release was brought before the military court on January 9, but a decision on the request was postponed by the committee reviewing it.

Alaa al-Hams launched a hunger strike on January 6. He is suffering from tuberculosis and a tumor of the lymph nodes, and is striking demanding immediate treatment, saying that the prison authorities are not providing treatment and are killing him slowly through medical neglect.

Thaer Halahleh, former long-term hunger striker who was re-arrested in April 2013 today is suffering from hepatitis C, obtained during a dental operation in Askelan prison performed with unsterile implements. He launched a hunger and medicine strike as well, saying that he has received little to no medical treatment for his worsening condition.

Ibrahim Hamed transferred to Ohli Kedar prison from Nafha

ibrahim-hamedThe Palestinian political prisoner, Ibrahim Hamed, sentenced to 57 life sentences, was suddenly removed from Nafha prison to Ohli Kedar prison on January 9.

The transfer included only Hamed and no other prisoners; it is the ninth transfer since he was released from isolation in 2012 as part of the agreement to end the mass prisoners’ hunger strike in April-May 2012.

Fouad Khuffash said that the occupation is deliberately continually transferring Hamed in order to prevent him from developing relationships or stability in any particular place, and that this is a retaliatory action often suffered by prisoners with high sentences, and that there is unrest in Nafha prison following the transfer.

Hamed is a member of the senior leadership of Hamas and was sentenced to one of the longest sentences ever given to a Palestinian prisoner.

Administrative detention of Ayman al-Tabeesh extended, breaking hunger strike agreement

ayman-altabeeshAyman Al-Tabeesh, who engaged in a hunger strike for 104 days in 2013 in protest of his administrative detention, has had his detention renewed by the occupation authorities for an additional three months.

Al-Tabeesh is from the town of Dura, near al-Khalil. He launched his hunger strike on May 23, 2013, protesting his detention without charge or trial. On September 4, he ended his strike with a written agreement that his administrative detention would not be further renewed.

The Palestinian Center for Prisoners Studies reported that the occupation authorities reneged on the written agreement and returned and issued an new administrative detention order.

Al-Tabeesh, 33, was arrested by occupation forces on May 9, 2013. He was previously detained for 11 years in occupation prisons, including three years in administrative detention from 2009 to 2012. Mohammad Al-Tabeesh, his brother, is imprisoned in Ofer prison.

January 10, Toronto: Celebrate the Freedom of Samer Issawi

Palestine House is holding a community celebration of the freedom of Samer Issawi!

Friday, January 10
8:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Palestine House, 3195 Erindale Station Road
Mississauga, ON

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/561166773969169/

Join Palestine House to celebrate the freedom of Samer Issawi and many others. The celebration will include a special video message from Samer and his family directed to the Palestinian community in Canada, recorded especially for Palestine House.

The evening will also include a few words from Palestine House and friends, Dabkeh and Music

samerph

 

Detention of Palestinian political prisoner Zaher Shishtary extended

zaher-shishtaryThe occupation military courts extended the arrest and detention of Zaher Shishtary, coordinator of the committee of Palestinian factions in Nablus and spokesperson for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, on January 8. Shishtary was seized on October 4, 2013 as offices and homes were raided in the Nablus area by occupation military forces.

Palestinian activist Myassar Atyani reported that the Salem military court extended his detention until his next hearing on February 5. He is being held in Megiddo prison.

Sireen Khudiri released: Report from Solidarity Movement for a Free Palestine

The following report on Sireen Khudiri’s abduction and release was issued on Facebook by Solidarity Movement for a Free Palestine:

08 January 2014: Sireen Khudairi released after enduring a day of relentless questioning

sireenSFP is pleased and relieved to announce that Sireen was released today at 17:15 from Salem Military Court to the safety of her family.

Sireen was brought to the Courtroom at 10:30am after being made to stand outside for an hour with her hands and feet shackled and without a jacket.

Once brought into the Courtroom Sireen endured a relentless questioning until 17:00. During this time her feet remained shackled and she was made to stand throughout with no jacket in a freezing courtroom.

An international was present throughout the proceedings and was also able to observe several other Court proceedings of kidnapped Palestinians.

Sireen was brought to Salem at 08:00am after being kept at Huwwara military camp until 12noon on the day of her kidnapping. At Huwwara military camp she was made to stand outside in the freezing cold with no jacket, blindfolded, shackled (hands and feet) and with no shoes for several hours. She was then taken to another camp the location she was uncertain of but it was 15 minutes from Huwwara, before being returned to Huwwara And then transferred to Hasharon prison overnight.

Sireen also stated that outside her home she was told by the Shabak that they would not handcuff her if she came quietly. This was in the presence of a British citizen. As soon as she was outside and out of sight of her international friend she was handcuffed, shackled and blind folded.

The international observed another court hearing today of two men kidnapped from Tulkarem, Imad and Shadi. Shadi was visible in severe pain. The Court ignored this. Despite his obvious injuries, which appeared not to have been treated, the Army claimed that they attacked and beat soldiers. The Court accepted the word if the soldiers, despite the evidence to the contrary and transferred the men to prison. SFP will keep informed of their case and the health of Shadi.

Throughout the Court proceedings there was an assumption of guilt on the part of the Court, with the Judge presiding heavily bias against Palestinians. The whole process is designed to be dehumanizing and biased.

The Palestinian lawyers that serve their clients did so with the utmost professionalism despite the odds against them and a clear over workload.

SFP stands in solidarity with all Palestinian prisoners and will continue to work for their freedom.

N.B. Please note this report was written by an international who is not trying to speak for the Palestinians. The observations she makes are from an outside perspective and once Sireen has had time to rest we will ask her for her account and feelings.

UPDATED: Sireen Khudiri, Palestinian teacher, re-arrested by occupation military forces

sireenSireen Khudiri, 24, Palestinian schoolteacher and organizer, has been arrested once again by Israeli military forces at 4:00 am on January 7, 2014. UPDATED January 8: Palestinian prisoner activist Myassar Atyani has reported that Sireen Khudiri was released and is returning home to her family.

According to reports she has been taken to Huwwara military point, and showed no papers or warrant to her or the people she was with when she was taken. This follows 8 months of harassment directed at Khudiri, who was previously imprisoned from May to July 2013, and has been subjected to frequent harassment ever since.

Seized by occupation soldiers on May 15, 2013, Khudiri was imprisoned for two months. She was then fined, placed under house arrest and prohibited from using the Internet; the allegations Khudiri faced were that she created a facebook page that could “harm the security of the state of Israel.” In September 2013, she was found not guilty – but ordered to not engage in political activism for five years.

When she was arrested in May as she drove to her hometown of Tubas, this was followed by 20 occupation soldiers storming her family home accompanied by 25 tanks and 100 soldiers stationed on the street, taking all of the computers in the family home.

Since her release in July, the violent harassment of Khudiri and her family has escalated. At 3:00 am on Tuesday, November 11, her family home was raided and her family presented with a piece of paper demanding Sireen report to Tayasir Checkpoint, an occupation military station; Sireen was not at home.

Sireen has since been unable to return home, due to the threat of the occupation army. On November 27, the home of Sireen’s brother, Waleed Khudiri, was invaded by 60 soldiers at 2:00 am. Waleed was then taken to the homes of several other Palestinians where they were interrogated as Waleed was held. He was interrogated at Hamra checkpoint until 7:00 am.

Sireen’s campaign has a website here, with a call to action: http://freesireen.wordpress.com/.  Follow updates on https://www.facebook.com/FreeSireenKhudiri

Take Action

Please contact your elected representative (eg Member of Parliament, Member of European Parliament, Member of Congress or Senator).

Ask them to urgently write to the Government Minister that deals with Foreign Affairs, and insist that pressure be brought on Israel to:

  • release Sireen Khudiri and stop all harassment of her and her family.

Request that they contact the following people and institutions:

  1. Israeli Ambassador in your country
  2. Minister of Defence, Moshe Ya’alon,
    37 Kaplan Street, Hakirya,
    Tel Aviv 61909, Israel.
    Fax: +972 3 696 2757
    Click here to email the Minister of Defence and other occupation officials
    (The West Bank is under military occupation and military rule. Legal decisions about the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank are made  by the military occupation forces)
  3. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
    Palais des Nations
    CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
    http://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/ContactUs.aspx
  4. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Occupied Palestinian Territories)
    http://www.ochaopt.org/index.aspx

Freedom Weeks: Free Palestinian Prisoners, End PA Security Coordination – January 15-30

Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian Political Prisoners!

End Palestinian Authority Security Coordination with Israel!

From January 15-30, 2014, raise your voices around the world for FREEDOM! Marking the 12th anniversary of the abduction of Ahmad Sa’adat by Palestinian Authority intelligence services, join the freeweek for FREEDOM WEEKS. Hold sit-ins, rallies, information tables or educational events in your area to call for Freedom for Palestinian Political Prisoners and an End to Palestinian Authority Security Cooperation with the Israeli occupier!

On January 15, 2002, Ahmad Sa’adat, Palestinian leader and General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was abducted by Palestinian Authority security services in Ramallah, joining several of his comrades already seized by the Palestinian Authority. Captured at the behest of Israeli occupying forces, Sa’adat and his comrades were held for over four years in the Palestinian Authority’s prison in Jericho, under U.S. and British guards. During that time, Sa’adat was never charged and even the PA’s high court ordered his release: but the demands of Israel, the U.S. and Britain kept him and his comrades behind bars in a Palestinian Authority prison until the prison itself was attacked and the Palestinians held there seized by Israeli military forces on March 14, 2006.

The imprisonment of Ahmad Sa’adat and his comrades is only the tip of the iceberg for Palestinians facingsecurity cooperation with Israel by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. PA intelligence and “preventive security” services detain, interrogate and imprison hundreds of Palestinians, targeting the Palestinian resistance in the “security” interests of the Israeli occupation state – and against the rights and interests of the Palestinian people. The U.S.Canada and the European Union are directly involved in security coordination, providing millions of dollars and training to ensure it continues.

There are over 5,000 Palestinian political prisoners and detainees held in Israeli occupation prisons, including men, women, children, elders, critically ill patients, parliamentarians, students, workers and community and political leaders from the West Bank, Gaza, and occupied Palestine ‘48.  A number of Palestinian prisoners are severely ill – and facing medical neglect, mistreatment and abuse. Each day, Palestinians face arrest raids and abductions at the hands of Israeli military forces, torture and abuse in interrogation, and imprisonment for such charges as membership in a Palestinian political party or “incitement” against the occupation forces – or held arbitrarily without charge at all under administrative detention.

On numerous occasions, Palestinians formerly imprisoned in Israeli jails have been interrogated and detained by PA security forces, often shortly after their release; while Palestinians released from PA detention have been arrested by Israeli forces almost immediately following their return home. This “revolving door” has repeatedly been used to suppress Palestinian organizing and limit the impact of released prisoners on their communities. Meanwhile, Israeli officials like Ehud Barak and Yuval Diskin – while expanding settlements, demolishing homes, and besieging Gaza – have praised security coordination with the PA as vitally important in protecting the occupation’s security.

12 years after Ahmad Sa’adat’s abduction by PA forces, join us to say: End Security Coordination! Free all Palestinian Political Prisoners!

Posters and materials for use in your Freedom Weeks are available here:http://freeahmadsaadat.org/resources/

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.

For assistance and support in your activities, please contact the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat at campaign@freeahmadsaadat.org.

Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat

http://freeahmadsaadat.org

info@freeahmadsaadat.org

Twitter: @FreeAhmadSaadat

Moatassem Raddad facing surgery as Palestinian sick prisoners struggle behind bars

raddadPalestinian political prisoners continued to suffer from severe illness inside occupation prisons, saying that they are receiving sub-standard health care and medical neglect from prison authorities.

Moatassem Raddad, suffering from bowel cancer, will undergo surgery to remove his intestines, replacing them with an artificial alternative. The surgery will take place in three steps and will require three to six months for completion. Raddad’s family noted that he has needed this surgery for a long time, but that prison officials had procrastinated in allowing him to receive treatment. On January 9, a court will be considering his request for release on the basis of his medical condition. The Mohja foundation and Raddad’s family noted that the Israeli prison service bears responsibility for Raddad’s ongoing condition and its profound worsening over the years, denouncing its “racist policy of medical negligence” as “slow murder” of Palestinian prisoners.

Yousry al-Masri’s medical situation has also become quite critical, reported his lawyer. Al-Masri, 30, from Gaza, suffers from thyroid cancer. Doctors believe that the cancer has spread throughout his body and he suffers from constant headaches and pain. He has lost over 15 kg in weight over the past few months. He received no treatment for two years after first reporting his medical symptoms, other than painkillers.

Ibrahim Bitar was transferred to Assaf Harofeh hospital on Sunday from Nafha prison, after a decline in his health attributed to medical neglect of his condition. He suffers from anemia and chronic stomach inflammation.

Former prisoner Naim Shawamreh was transferred to Jordan on January 6 for further medical treatment. He suffers from muscular dystrophy and was released in last week’s group prisoner release for 26 prisoners, included because of his severe medical status.