Totah and Abu Arafah barred from Jerusalem, sentenced to 30 months in Israeli prison

14 July 2013

Two Palestinian legislators, Mohammed Totah and former minister Khaled Abu Arafah were sentenced on July 11 to 30 months in occupation prisons and deported from Jerusalem, their home city. Both were arrested on January 23, 2012 at their sit-in at the International Committee of the Red Cross in Jerusalem.

Like previous Palestinian parliamentarians Ahmed Attoun and Mohammad Abu Teir, Totah and Abu Arafah were barred from entering Jerusalem and threatened with six months in Israeli prisons if they enter their own city.

The elected officials took refuge at the Red Cross building in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah in July 2010 along with lawmaker Ahmad Attoun after Israel revoked their residency permits.

Former prisoner al-Taj to go to Austria for medical treatment

14 July 2013

Ma’an reported on July 13 that a medical center in Austria has agreed to treat freed prisoner Mohamad al-Taj. Al-Taj, who suffers from pulmonary fibrosis and heart hypertrophy, is a former prisoner who was released from Israeli prisons in April, following two hunger strikes, due to his poor health.

He was released shortly after the death of Maysara Abuhamdieh, who suffered from cancer and who died in Israeli custody, chained to his hospital bed, after being denied treatment for a lengthy period of time.

Al-Taj had launched a hunger strike on July 7, demanding the Palestinian Authority take action to support his needed healthcare. His medical records were sent to Europe in May, and he hoped a country would offer him a lung transplant. He told Ma’an that the minister of detainees received approval for him to be treated in a Vienna medical center.

He will be initially treated with medication then according to his body’s response the doctors will determine if a transplant is needed. His treatment will be funded by the Palestinian Authority, which will transfer the expenses to the medical center, he added.

Israel lifts publication ban on the kidnapping of Wael abu Rida from Egypt

14 July 2013

Israeli media reported on Wednesday, July 10, that Wael Abu Rida, a Palestinian from Gaza, was kidnapped by Israeli Mossad agents from Egypt, in the Sinai, a case first reported by Palestinian media on June 23, reaching international press on June 30. It was not until July 10, however, that an Israeli judge cleared news of the kidnapping for publication.

At the same time, the court extended Abu Rida’s detention for eight days. Judge Yuval Livadaro allowed the publication of some details in Israeli media, but extended the gag order of other details by 10 days.

The detainee’s wife, Amani Abu Rida, had reported to Ma’an that her husband disappeared during a visit to Egypt for medical treatment. The couple traveled together to Egypt on June 6. Wael Abu Rida suffers cerebral atrophy and sought treatment at a hospital in central Sinai, his wife said.

On June 21, Wael received a phone call and left without returning, his wife said.

The family later received a phone call from the International Committee of the Red Cross informing them that Wael was in Israeli custody, without giving any reason for the arrest. After the phone call, Amani returned to the Gaza Strip.

Former political prisoner Khader Adnan expresses solidarity with California hunger strikers

10 July 2013

Sheikh Khader Adnan is a former Palestinian Political Prisoner and hunger striker whose protest about being detained without charge attracted worldwide attention. He refused food for 66 days and was freed earlier this year. Below is his message, from Addameer:

The policy of isolation is a cheap weapon in the hands of those who hold power. The policy of isolation is used against American citizens who are victims of the political, economic and social order/system that thrives on greed, discrimination and the deprived, including the African-Americans and Palestinian resistors such as Sameeh Hamoudeh and Sami Al-Aryan.

The policy of isolation exposes the ugly face of these false democracies that are guilty of occupation, tyranny and social repression.

Hunger strikes are a courageous step and a real tool for all those who are deprived of their rights to lift the existing oppression, and I hope that these prisoners will gain their rights and their demands. Today, the hunger strikes of the Palestinian prisoners inspires those who are detained to engage in hunger strikes to guarantee that they are treated humanely and with respect and dignity.

I am a former administrative detainee in the Israeli Occupations’ prisons, who has been subjected to the unjust isolation policy. I fought in a hunger strike for 66 consecutive days against the policy of administrative detention, my detention without charge or trial. I announce my full solidarity with my oppressed brothers in the American prisons and I ask that the American people and government end the policy of isolation of the detainees and prisoners, and comply by human rights law that forbids continuous isolation because of its destructive effects on the mental and physical health of detainees.

Video: Mahmoud Sarsak speaks out

10 July 2013

Palestinian soccer player, former political prisoner and long-term hunger striker recently shared the story of his experiences in occupation prisons with audiences in the UK. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign has made the following video of Sarsak telling his story available:

PPS: Palestinian prisoner launches new hunger strike

10 July 2013

The Palestinian Prisoners Society said on Wednesday July 10 that prisoner Abdul Majed Khuderat in Megiddo prison declared that he has begun an open hunger strike July 1, protesting against his re-arrest after he was released in the prisoner exchange of October 2011. Khuderat was arrested on May 16, and sentenced to 14 years in jail. He served 9 years of his sentence prior to his release and is being threatened with the re-imposition of his full sentence.

Israeli occupation forces abduct Lebanese shepherd

9 July 2013

Press TV reported that Israeli troops have abducted a Lebanese shepherd from the occupied Shebaa farms in southern Lebanon.

An Israeli commando force of 15 soldiers crossed the border of the Shebaa farms on Monday, abducting Lebanese shepherd Youssef Hussein Rhayyel.

Rhayyel was taken to an Israeli military post in the occupied farms.

The Israeli regime forces informed the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of the abduction.

“UNIFIL duly informed the Lebanese army about the kidnap operation, whilst UNIFIL General Commander, Paolo Serra is holding necessary contacts to ensure the release of the shepherd,” said UNIFIL spokesperson, Andrea Tinenti.

Lebanese army reportedly said in a statement that Rhayyel was kidnapped inside the liberated part of Shebaa region.

On July 2, Israeli soldiers abducted two other shepherds from an area near the town of Shebaa. The men were freed a day later.

The Israeli military frequently violates Lebanon’s airspace, territorial waters and border.

The violations contravene United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brokered a ceasefire in the war of aggression Israel launched on Lebanon in 2006, calls on Tel Aviv to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

30,000 California prisoners launch hunger strike, plan Saturday rally

9 July 2013

Media Updates on Joint Prisoners’ Struggle: The Electronic Intifada covered prison struggles from California, to Palestine, to Guantanamo, in a comprehensive piece by Nora Barrows-Friedman, while the San Francisco Bay View shared Palestinian support for the California prisoners’ strike.

30,000 prisoners in California began a massive hunger strike throughout the state’s prison system on Monday, July 8. “This is likely the largest prison strike in U.S. history. The prisoners have five demands, centered on stopping long-term solitary confinement, group punishment and administrative abuse, as well as other issues of appalling prison conditions, many of which can be classified as torture. The strike is uniting prisoners across lines of race and nationality throughout the California prison system,” wrote Fight Back News Service.

The striking prisoners have organized for months, with five key demands:

1. End Group Punishment & Administrative Abuse.
2. Abolish the Debriefing Policy, and Modify Active/Inactive Gang Status Criteria.
3. Comply with the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons 2006. Recommendations Regarding an End to Long-Term Solitary Confinement.
4. Provide Adequate and Nutritious Food.
5. Expand and Provide Constructive Programming and Privileges for those living in the SHU.

The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network also expressed its solidarity with the strike, noting “Both Israel and the US use policing, imprisonment (and especially solitary confinement), and surveillance as tools of political repression—often sharing technology and training. In the US, the prison industrial complex plays a central role in American racism—harassing and incarcerating Black and Brown youth, brutalizing Black and Brown bodies, and devastating communities of color. Israel plays a significant role in the training of police forces in the United States and elsewhere in population control and Israel and the US share technologies and strategies of surveillance and repression across borders…”

Updates on the strike are being covered extensively at the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity website: http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/ A mass rally is planned for July 13:

TAKE ACTION (Action requests from the Hunger Strike Solidarity site):

NEW Statement from Pelican Bay Short Corridor Representatives (July 9, 2013)

We are grateful for your support of our peaceful protest against the state-sanctioned torture that happens not only here at Pelican Bay but in prisons everywhere. We have taken up this hunger strike and work stoppage, which has included 30,000 prisoners in California so far, not only to improve our own conditions but also an act of solidarity with all prisoners and oppressed people around the world.

We encourage everyone to take action to support the strike wherever they live. Sign the petition demanding California Governor stop the torture; plan rolling solidarity fasts if you are able; use every means to spread the word; and participate in non-violent direct action to put pressure on decision-makers.

If it was not for your support, we would have died in 2011. Thank you everyone. We are confident we will prevail.

In Solidarity,

– Todd Ashker, C-58191, PBSP-SHU, D4-121

– Arturo Castellanos, C-17275, PBSP-SHU, D1-121

– Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa (Dewberry), C-35671, PBSP-SHU,D1-117

– Antonio Guillen, P-81948, PBSP-SHU, D2-106

The PBSP-SHU Short Corridor Representatives

Alert: Save the Hares Boys: 5 Palestinian children face life imprisonment with no evidence for no documented crime

9 July 2013

The following content is taken from The Hares Boys campaign website, a critical resource on an important case about the criminalization of Palestinian youth, the devastation of imprisonment, apartheid military courts, and occupation injustice. For additional information, updates and action alerts: http://haresboys.wordpress.com

The website also contains an important analysis of racist Israeli media coverage and a call to action.

Mohammad Suleiman, Ammar Souf, Mohammed Kleib, Tamer Souf, and Ali Shamlawi are five boys from the Palestinian village of Hares, who are being held in Israeli prison charged with 25 counts of attempted murder for alleged stone-throwing, with no evidence whatsoever. The boys have been labelled as “terrorists” before any objective investigation even took place. They’ve been condemned in the Israeli media as guilty even before they “confessed” to stone-throwing under torture. They’ve been denied any sort of justice in the Israeli military court system that convicts Palestinian children at a 99.7% rate, not unlike that of the world’s worst totalitarian regimes of the 20th century.

The car accident

At around 18:30 on Thursday 14 March 2013, a car crashed into the back of a truck on Road 5 in Salfit Governorate, occupied Palestine. The driver and her 3 daughters were injured, one of them – seriously. The driver, Adva Biton, was going back to the illegal Israeli settler colony of Yakir when the accident occurred. She later claimed the accident was due to Palestinian youth throwing stones at her car. The driver of the truck, having testified immediately after the accident that he had pulled over because of a flat tyre, later changed his mind and said he had seen stones by the road.

There were no witnesses to the car accident. Nobody had seen any children or youth throwing stones that day.

The arrests

In the early hours of Friday 15 March 2013, masked Israeli soldiers, some with attack dogs, stormed the village of Hares, which is close to Road 5. More than 50 soldiers broke the doors of the villagers’ houses, demanding the whereabouts of their teenage sons. Ten boys were arrested that night, blindfolded, handcuffed, and transferred to an unknown location. The families were not informed of their sons’ alleged wrongdoings.

Two days later, a second wave of violent arrests took place. At around 3 o’clock in the morning, the Israeli army, accompanied by the Shabak (the Israeli secret service), entered the homes of 3 Palestinian adolescents. They had a piece of paper with their names in Hebrew. After forcing all the family members into one room, taking away their phones so that they wouldn’t call for help, and interrogating them, the soldiers handcuffed their sons, all aged 16-17.

“Kiss and hug your mother goodbye,” a Shabak agent told one boy. “You may never see her again.”

A week later, Israeli army jeeps again entered the village and arrested several boys, who had just come back home from school. The soldiers lined all of them up, including a 6-year-old, and threatened at gunpoint their uncle who pleaded for the soldiers to at least release the youngest children. The army then randomly chose 3 boys, handcuffed them behind their backs, blindfolded them, and took them away. The families were not informed about either the allegations against their children, or their exact location.

In total, 19 boys from the neighbouring villages of Hares and Kifl Hares were arrested with relation to the settler car accident. None of them had previously had any history of stone-throwing. After violent interrogations, most of the minors were released, except for five, who remain in Megiddo, an Israeli adult prison. These are the Hares Boys.

The interrogation

The arrested boys were subjected to a series of abuse and ill-behaviour that accounts as torture. Upon detention, they were kept in solitary confinement for up to two weeks. One boy, since released, described his cell: a windowless hole 1m wide and 2m long; there was no mattress or blanket to sleep on; toilet facilities were dirty; the six lights were kept on continuously, leading to the boy losing track of the time of the day; the food made him feel ill. The boy was denied lawyer; he was interrogated violently three times during three days, and eventually released after found not guilty at the trial.

Other boys have also told their lawyers of very similar treatment. They “confessed” of stone-throwing after being repeatedly abused in prison and during interrogations.

The charges

The five boys from Hares are charged with 25 counts of attempted murder each, apparently 1 count for every alleged stone thrown at passing cars. The Israeli prosecution insists that the boys consciously “intended to kill”; they are asking for the maximum punishment for attempted murder: 25 years to life imprisonment.

The prosecution’s case relies on the boys’ “confessions”, which have been obtained under torture, and 61 “witnesses,” some of which claim that their cars have been damaged by stones on that same day on Road 5. The latter only appeared after the car accident got a lot of media coverage as a “terrorist act”, and the Israeli prime minister Benyamin Natanyahu announced, after the boys’ arrest, that he “caught the terrorists that did it”. Other “witnesses” include the police and the Shabak, who were not even present at that location at the time. It is not clear whether the 61 “witnesses” have been properly questioned and their claims verified with CCTV footage, hospital admission data, or even if the alleged damage to their vehicles has been photographed or otherwise documented. Such information is not even available to the boys’ attorneys.

The implications

If the boys are convicted, this case would set a legal precedent which would allow the Israeli military to convict any Palestinian child or youngster for attempted murder in cases of stone-throwing.

The boys are now 16-17 years old. If the Israeli military get their way, the boys would only return to their homes and their families at the age of 41 – at best. Five young lives ruined with no evidence of their guilt is a spit in the face to our common principles of justice as human beings.

New Hunger Strike Update from Addameer and Information on all Striking Prisoners

9 July 2013

Since our latest update several days ago, there have been a number of developments in Palestinian hunger strikers’ cases. Addameer’s newest report is below, followed by additional updates:

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association issued the following statement on July 9 with the latest updates on striking prisoners:

9 July 2013 – Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association can confirm 12 individual hunger strikes in Israeli prisons.

Ayman Hamdan has been on hunger strike for 73 days in protest of his administrative detention. Initially he was held in isolation in Ofer Prison as punishment for initiating a hunger strike, but has since been moved to Asaf Haroveh Hosptial where his health continues to worsen. Ayman’s brother Ahmad engaged in a one week hunger strike from 24 June – 1 July in solidarity with his brother.

Imad Batran has been on hunger strike for 64 days in protest of the extension of his administrative detention for an additional 6 months. According to his lawyer, Ahlam Haddad, he has lost 26 kilograms and is suffering from several health problems. Despite this, he continues to be shackled to his bed at Assaf Haroveh Hospital at all times. He is currently only drinking water and taking salt and sugar.

Ayman Tabeesh has been on hunger strike for 48 days in protest of his administrative detention as well. He is currently held in Ramleh Prison Hospital. Ayman’s brother Mohammad Tabeesh also started a hunger strike in solidarity with his brother. Mohammad is a former administrative detainee who is now serving an 18 month sentence. Mohammad, who has been on hunger strike for 28 days, is continuously subjected to beatings by the prison guards at Ofer and has been moved from isolation in Megiddo Prison to Jalameh Prison, where he is currently detained.

Adel Hareebat has been on hunger strike for 48 days in protest of the renewal of his administrative detention order, which was confirmed for an addition 4 months on 23 May 2013. As punishment for engaging in a hunger strike, he was moved to isolation in Ofer Prison until his health condition deteriorated to the point that he had to be moved to Ramleh Prison Hospital. The prison hospital doctor told Adel that his hunger strike is putting his life in danger due to his other health conditions, however an appeal submitted by his lawyer against his administrative detention was rejected by the military court.

Husam Matir, who is serving a life sentence, was moved into isolation in Askalan Prison for starting a hunger strike 39 days ago. His main demand is that he be recognized as a prisoner of war.

Five of the prisoners who hold Jordanian citizenship also continue to be on hunger strike for 69 days and are in very dangerous health conditions. Abdallah Barghouthi is currently being held in Afoula Hospital. Mohammad Rimawi, Munir Mar’ee and Alaa Hammad are all held in Sukora Hospital and Hamza Othman is held in Ramleh Prison Hospital.

Addameer can also confirm the hunger strike of Iyad Abu Khdeir started his second hunger strike on 7 June 2013 in protest of his continued detention despite the completion of his 8 year sentence. Iyad’s first hunger strike was for 22 days from 13 May – 3 June 2013.

Awad Sa’eedy also engaged in a hunger strike for 15 days from 20 June to 5 July 2013 in protest of his isolation in Ayshel prison. Awad has been held in isolation since April 2012 as a punishment during the mass hunger strikes in April and May 2012. Awad suspended his strike on the promise that he will be removed from isolation and detained in Hadarim Prison.

**

Khaled Hroub, who had been on hunger strike since June 15, ended his hunger strike earlier in the week. Hroub had demanded to be placed with his brother Younis, also imprisoned by the Israeli occupation. Younis Hroub will be released today, June 9, from administrative detention in Negev prison. Younis earlier conducted a 66-day hunger strike demanding his release from administrative detention. He was previously arrested by Israeli occupation forces in 2002 and served six and a half years. He was re-arrested on July 10, 2012 and held in administrative detention.

**

Hussam Mattar, who has been on hunger strike for 39 days, was transferred on July 9 from isolation in Ashkelon prion to the Ramle prison clinic. His wife reported that he is suffering from her husband is suffering from severe pain in the head and kidneys, as well as poor vision and heart disease.

**

See the following updated chart (data from Palestinian Prisoners Society) on the hunger strikers and the date they launched their strikes:

Palestinian prisoner’s name	Date of Hunger Strike
Ayman Issa Hamdan	04/28/2013
Muneer Mari	05/02/2013
Abdullah Barghouti	05/02/2013
Alaa Hammad	05/02/2013
Mohammad Rimawi	05/02/2013
Hamza Othman Al-Dabbas	05/02/2013
Imad Batran	05/07/2013
Adel Hareebat	05/23/2013
Ayman Al-Tabeesh	05/23/2013
Hossam Mattar	06/01/2013
Mohammed Al-Tabeesh	06/12/2013
Eyad Abu Khudair	06/17/2013

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