Women prisoners on full and partial hunger strikes

26 April 2012

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A human rights advocate said Wednesday that Palestinian women detained in Israel will join the mass hunger strike by refusing food for two days each week.

Ahmad al-Bitawi, a researcher for the International Solidarity Foundation for Human Rights, said Lina Al-Jarbouni was moved to solitary confinement in Ramla prison for refusing to stop her 9-day hunger-strike.

Last Tuesday, marking Palestinian Prisoners Day, at least 1,200 prisoners in Israeli jails launched an open-ended hunger strike.

They are demanding a change in their living conditions and an end to solitary confinement, night raids and bans on family visits for prisoners from Gaza.

Prison authorities offered female detainees to meet the hunger-strikers’ demands, but the women refused, insisting the administration make the same offer to all prisoners, al-Bitawi said.

The 2-day hunger-strike starting Wednesday in Hasharon prison will be followed by an open strike, al-Bitawi added.

There are eight women imprisoned in Israel, Bitawi said. Hebron university students Islam Hassan al-Bashiti, Fatima al-Zahra Mohamad Sidir and Afnan Ismael Ramadan were detained recently on suspicion of associations with the Islamic movement, he noted.

Five other women are imprisoned in Israel, he said, naming them as Lina al-Jarbouni, Woroud Qassem, Ala al-Jabah, Salwa Hassan and Inas Saed.

Addameer: Repression against hunger strikers escalating

26 April 2012

RAMALLAH, April 26, 2012 (WAFA) – The Israeli prison authorities have escalated its punishment of striking prisoners in an effort to force them to end their strike, a statement by Addameer, a Ramallah-based prisoners’ advocacy group, said on Thursday.

It said an estimated 2000 prisoners held in Israeli jails are currently on hunger strike, most started it on April 17, demanding an end to administrative detention, isolation and other punitive measures taken against Palestinian prisoners including the denial of family visits and access to university education.

“As during hunger strikes in the past, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has escalated its punishments of hunger striking prisoners in an effort to undermine the campaign,” said Addameer.

Methods of punishment currently being employed against hunger striking prisoners include attacks on prisoners’ sections; confiscation of personal belongings; transfers from one prison to another; placement in solitary confinement; fines; and denial of family and lawyer visits, it said.

According to the statement, 40 prisoners who began their hunger strike on Wednesday in Ofer prison near Ramallah were informed that they will be transferred to another section of the prison and will not be permitted to bring with them any personal belongings except clothes.

In Ashkelon prison, the 150 hunger strikers are experiencing daily raids and attacks on their rooms by Israeli special forces. In addition to all personal belongings being confiscated, the IPS also confiscated the hunger-striking prisoners’ only nourishment: salt for their water.

Addameer said several prisoners, including one female prisoner who joined the hunger strike, were immediately taken to solitary confinement.

It said that seven of the eight administrative detainees who went on hunger strike over a month ago have been transferred to Ramleh prison clinic following deterioration in their health.

Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Diab, whose appeals against their administrative detention orders were rejected by an Israeli military judge on Monday, are on their 58th day of hunger strike.

Hassan Safadi, on hunger strike for 53 days, also had his petition to the Israeli High Court against his administrative detention rejected on Tuesday.

Administrative detainees Omar Abu Shalal and Jaafar Azzedine are on their 50th and 35th days of hunger strike respectively.

Mohammad Taj, on his 40th day of hunger strike demanding to be treated as a prisoner of war, and Mahmoud Sarsak, on his 35th day of hunger strike in protest of being held under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law, have also been admitted to Ramleh prison clinic.

Abdullah Barghouti, held in isolation in Rimon prison, is on his 15th day of hunger strike.

Addameer said it was concerned about the health condition of these prisoners warning that they have not received adequate healthcare in the IPS medical center and that independent doctors were still being denied visits to them.

It said that despite the punitive measures being taken against hunger striking prisoners, the campaign of hunger strikes continues to grow.

M.S.

Hunger Strike: Repression and Resistance Continue

26 April 2012

News items as reported by Ali Samoudi:

Special units of the Israeli prison administration raided an isolation ward in Jalama prison on April 25, 2012 after the prisoners there announced their participation in the hunger strike. The prisoners were reported transferred to an unknown destination.
140 prisoners in Megiddo prison on hunger strike on the ninth day of the Battle of the Empty Stomachs, the hunger Strike for Dignity, from at least Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front, were transferred to other locations. Prisoners in Megiddo prison, as well as in Bir Saba prison were subject to raids, inspections and beatings, at the same time hundreds more prisoners announced they would join the strike within several days. All sports television had been removed previously; today all news programming was removed from the prisoners’ cells.
A spokesperson for the central leadership committee of the strike reported that the prison administration had engaged in extensive night raids over the past 2 days in an attempt to create an atmosphere of fear among the prisoners. Prisoners’ salt was confiscated and they have been isolated from the outside world. He emphasized that the response to this aggression by the prison administration must be for all prisoners to join the strike as soon as possible.
He said that the raids did not deter the prisoners’ commitment nor impair their resolve or position, saying that the leadership committee is continuing to coordinate among all prisoners and adhering to their demands despite pressure and threats.
A lawyer from the Mandela Association was prohibited from visiting isolated prisoners in Gilboa prison on April 25, reported lawyer Buthaina Duqmaq, president of the federation. She was denied permission to visit Sheikh Jamal abu el Hija, Mohammed Arman and Sayyed Abbas, the reason stated that they were on hunger strike.
150 prisoners in Ofer prison joined the strike on April 25 and 100 more will join the 1st of May. All factions will join the open hunger strike, and all prisoners not engaged in full open hunger strike will return all of their meals on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, as Ofer prisoners have been doing since April 17.

Addameer: Update on the Palestinian Prisoners’ Hunger Strike

26 April 2012

Addameer issued the following important update on Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike:

Ramallah, 25 April 2012 – On 17 April 2012, Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons launched a mass hunger strike demanding an end to administrative detention, isolation and other punitive measures taken against Palestinian prisoners including the denial of family visits and access to university education.

Approximately 1,200 Palestinian prisoners from all factions began an open hunger strike on 17 April, with the campaign gaining further momentum over this past week and additional prisoners joining daily. Addameer estimates that the current number of prisoners engaged in open hunger strike is around 2,000. This number includes the 19 prisoners currently held in isolation for “security reasons.” Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), who has been held in isolation for over three years, reported on 23 April that since the beginning of his hunger strike on 17 April, he had already lost 6 kg.

As during hunger strikes in the past, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has escalated its punishments of hunger striking prisoners in an effort to undermine the campaign. Methods of punishment currently being employed against hunger striking prisoners include attacks on prisoners’ sections; confiscation of personal belongings; transfers from one prison to another; placement in solitary confinement; fines; and denial of family and lawyer visits. Addameer lawyers have been denied access to all hunger striking prisoners.

Forty prisoners who began their hunger strike today in Ofer prison were informed that they will be transferred to another section of the prison and will not be permitted to bring with them any personal belongings except clothes. In Ashkelon prison, the 150 hunger strikers are experiencing daily raids and attacks on their rooms by Israeli special forces. In addition to all personal belongings being confiscated, the IPS also confiscated the hunger-striking prisoners’ only nourishment: salt for their water. Hunger striking prisoners in Nafha prison have also had their salt confiscated, raising serious health concerns for the prisoners engaged in hunger strike. Of the approximately 400 prisoners on hunger strike in Nafha, at least 40 were transferred out of their sections. Hunger strikers in Nafha have also been subjected to fines and electricity was cut in their rooms. On 23 April, six prisoners joined in the hunger strike in Naqab prison and were all immediately placed in solitary confinement. Female prisoner Lina Jarbouni also declared an open hunger strike on 19 April and was taken to solitary confinement on the same day. These aforementioned measures are only a few examples of the widespread punishments, particularly the use of transfers and solitary confinement, currently facing the hunger striking prisoners, as an attempt by the IPS to further isolate them from the outside world and from other prisoners involved in the campaign.

Meanwhile, eight prisoners, including five administrative detainees, remain on extended hunger strikes launched prior to 17 April. Seven of these prisoners have been transferred to Ramleh prison medical center. Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Diab are on their 57^thday of hunger strike today. Despite their rapidly deteriorating medical condition, both of their appeals against their administrative detention orders were rejected by an Israeli military judge on 23 April. Yesterday, 24 April, Hassan Safadi’s petition to the Israeli High Court against his administrative detention was rejected. He is on his 52^nd day of hunger strike. Administrative detainees Omar Abu Shalal and Jaafar Azzedine are on their 50^th and 35^th days of hunger strike respectively. Also now in Ramleh prison medical center are Mohammad Taj, on his 39^th day of hunger strike demanding to be treated as a prison of war, and Mahmoud Sarsak, on his 34^th day of hunger strike in protest of being held under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law. Lastly, Abdullah Barghouti, held in isolation in Rimon prison, is on his 14^th day of hunger strike. Addameer reiterates its grave concern that these hunger strikers are not receiving adequate healthcare in the IPS medical center and that independent doctors are still being denied visits to them.

Despite the punitive measures being taken against hunger striking prisoners, the campaign of hunger strikes continues to grow. The six female prisoners in Hasharon who are not already on hunger strike have announced that they will begin an open hunger strike on 1 May. Additional prisoners are also expected to gradually join the campaign, including 120 in Ofer prison, who will start their hunger strike on 29 April. As the mass hunger strike picks up even more momentum, it will become that much more crucial for hunger striking prisoners to have unrestricted access to their lawyers and independent doctors.

In light of these developments, an upsurge of action at the international level is necessary to bring attention to the legitimate demands of Palestinian prisoners. Addameer therefore renews its call on all political parties, institutions, organizations and solidarity groups working in the field of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory and abroad to support the prisoners in their campaign of hunger strikes.

Letter of Solidarity from Palestinian Prisoner Ameer Makhoul to the People of Bahrain

19 April 2012

Witness Bahrain published an important letter from Palestinian prisoner Ameer Makhoul to Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja

Rough English translation below. The original Arabic is published here:http://www.almasryalyoum.com/node/777866

Your freedom is our freedom and our freedom is your freedom!

Greetings to you, my brother, Abdul-Hadi al-Khawaja, struggling in the face of tyranny and for freedom, freedom of the individual, the people and the nation, whether in Bahrain or in any/every corner of the Arab world.

In past years I have stood in solidarity with you from Haifa, from the captive nation of Palestine, which surrounds the racist, colonial, Zionist project; and today I am in solidarity with you while in an Israeli jail, two years out of an unjust nine-year sentence — a high price imposed by the colonial system on Palestinian leaders of 48 to deter them from communication with the Arab people throughout the Arab world, and the price of our interaction with people’s movements and struggles for their freedom and the freedom of Palestine and its people.

I follow your case from an Israeli jail in the north of 1948 occupied Palestine. I feel strong, the greatness of your stance, your gloriousness, and your heroic struggle, echo to dock with the stands of the heroic Palestinian militants Hana Al-Shalabi and Khader Adnan, who led open ended hunger strikes that lasted two months, and will also meet with the stance of five thousand Palestinian and Arab prisoners still in Israeli prisons.

When the will is free and the cause is just, and you embody both, the human is capable of making miracles happen, and no oppressive, tyrannical, murderous regime can harm it, not the Bahraini regime, subject to U.S. colonial imperialism, or the Israeli colonialism system in Palestine. It is the system of colonialism and its puppet regimes that have lost all legitimacy; while the people are legitimacy and its source.

Said the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Abdul-Rahim:

I will carry my soul in my hand
And throw it in the valleys of death
It is either a life that makes a friend happy
Or a death that makes an enemy angry

As you «carry your soul» in your open hunger strike, behind this is the essence of your position — that you love life; only he who loves life has the courage and the will to sacrifice for freedom and human dignity and the dignity of his people and the country’s freedom.

Greetings to you and be confident that the prisoners of Palestine are with you and the people of Bahrain and its revolution.

Prisoners of freedom and supporters of freedom in the world are with you.

Ameer Makhoul / Haifa – Palestine

(From the fleeting Israeli prison of Gilboa prison no matter how long the captivity)

Glasgow: Mass demonstration for Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike

18 April 2012

In Glasgow, a mass demonstration took place on April 17, 2012 in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, organized by the We Are All Hana Shalabi coalition. Following students’ occupation of the BBC, protesters marched from George Square to the BBC in a strong protest calling for support and freedom for the over 1200 prisoners engaged in the Karameh Hunger Strike.

See photos:

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Addameer Calls for Continued Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners as Mass Hunger Strike is Launched

18 April 2012

Ramallah, 18 April 2012 – Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons launched a mass hunger strike yesterday, 17 April, on Palestinian Prisoners’ Day. The call for hunger strike came amidst a wave of individual hunger strikes initiated in the past few months, and prisoners on hunger strike continue to face punishments by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS).

An estimated 1,200 Palestinian prisoners announced the beginning of an open hunger strike yesterday, along with approximately 2,300 who refused meals and are currently preparing for a wider campaign of disobedience. The hunger striking prisoners’ demands include: an end to the IPS’ abusive use of isolation for “security” reasons, which currently affects 19 prisoners, some of whom have spent 10 years in isolation; an end to Israel’s practice of detaining Palestinians without charge or trial in administrative detention, under which 322 Palestinians are currently detained; a repeal of a series of punitive measures taken against Palestinian prisoners following the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, including the denial of family visits for all Gaza prisoners since 2007 and denial of access to university education since June 2011.

This collective hunger strike follows the 22-day day campaign of disobedience, including a mass hunger strike, launched at the end of September 2011 in protest of the escalating series of punitive measures taken against Palestinian prisoners in prior months. On 18 October, prisoners put their hunger strike on hold in light of the prisoner exchange deal concluded by Israel and Hamas. As most of the punitive measures taken by the IPS against prisoners were part of a policy aimed at collectively punishing them for the continued incarceration of Gilad Shalit, it was expected that these would be reversed with his release. At the time of the first phase of prisoner releases, the spokespersons for the prisoner’s movement made a deal with the IPS that the policy of isolation and other punitive measures would be stopped within three months if the prisoners ceased their hunger strike. Today marks six months since this agreement was made, and no policy changes have yet occurred. Prisoners have therefore re-launched their hunger strike to demand their most basic rights.

Notably, at least ten Palestinian prisoners remain on extended hunger strikes launched during and following the inspiring individual hunger strikes of Khader Adnan, who was on hunger strike for 66 days and released from administrative detention at around 11:00 pm yesterday, and Hana Shalabi, who ended her hunger strike after 43 days. Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh are currently on their 50th day of hunger strike in protest of their administrative detention. They are both being held in Ramleh Prison medical center, where their health is rapidly deteriorating. Three other administrative detainees have also been moved to Ramleh Prison medical center, including Hassan Safadi, Omar Abu Shalal and Jaafar Azzedine, on their 45th, 43rd and 28th days of hunger strike respectively. Ahmad Saqer, the currently longest-held administrative detainee, is on his 32nd day of hunger strike. Mohammed Suleiman, Thalassemia patient, is also refusing medical treatment in protest of his administrative detention. Four additional prisoners remain on hunger strike for other reasons, including: Mohammad Taj, on his 32nd day of hunger strike demanding to be treated as a prisoner of war; Mahmoud Sarsak, moved to Ramleh Prison medical center on 16 April and on his 27th day of hunger strike in protest of being held under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law; Azzam Diab, on his 23rd day of hunger strike in solidarity with his brother Bilal; and Abdullah Barghouti, on his 7th day of hunger strike in protest of his ongoing isolation.

These prisoners have all been punished for their hunger strikes by being placed in solitary confinement and denied family visits. The prisoners involved in the mass hunger strike have also already begun to face punishments by the IPS. In an attempt to isolate them from the rest of the prisoners, prisoners on hunger strike in Rimon prison have been transferred to the isolation section of the prison and prisoners on hunger strike in Eshel prison have been transferred to Ohalei Keidar, where no other Palestinian political prisoners are held. Even more troubling, the IPS has made it exceedingly difficult for independent doctors to visit the hunger striking prisoners and has prevented hunger strikers from meeting with their lawyers.

Addameer particularly condemns the IPS’ efforts to ban Addameer lawyer Samer Sam’an from all prison visits following the increasing number of Palestinian prisoners engaging in hunger strike. After being frequently denied visits upon request, the deputy director of Ofer prison informed Mr. Sam’an on 10 April that he would receive an official ban on access to all prisoners. According to IPS regulations, the director of a prison can decide to ban a lawyer visit to an individual prisoner for two days, after informing that prisoner, which can then be extended by the head of the IPS for up to one year. Mr. Sam’an’s ban therefore violates even the IPS’ own regulations, as he is now effectively being banned from access to all prisoners. Addameer anticipates that the IPS will continue to use tactics employed in last fall’s hunger strike in order to systematically prevent lawyers from having access to the hunger strikers, such as moving prisoners to other prisons without informing their lawyers, in an attempt to further isolate the hunger strikers and undermine their campaign.

Addameer calls on the diplomatic community to pressure Israel to immediately allow for hunger striking prisoners to have access to necessary healthcare and legal advisement. Addameer further urges all political parties, institutions, organizations and solidarity groups working in the field of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory and abroad to support the prisoners in their hunger strike and demand that their legitimate demands be granted. Addameer will continue to closely follow the prisoner’s campaign of civil disobedience and provide regular updates on the situation as it develops.

Hunger striking prisoners facing sharp repression and continue their demands

18 April 2012

Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike are facing sharp repression from the Israeli Prison Administration. As reported by Addameer and others, Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike have reported confiscation of personal items and warm clothes. In response to these attacks, prisoners in Nafha are threatening to begin to refuse water as well.

One group of Palestinian prisoners associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine at Eshel prison participating in the strike have been transfered to Ohalei Kedar prison in retribution, while Hamas prisoners at Eshel prison on hunger strike were separated from one another and moved into the rooms of Fateh prisoners, in an attempt to exacerbate factional tensions.

At Ramon prison, Palestinian hunger strikers have been moved into isolation cells and hunger strikers throughout Israeli prisons are being denied access to independent doctors. Addameer lawyer Samer Sama’an has been banned from visiting all prisoners from 6 months, the second time in recent months that such a ban has been applied to an Addameer lawyer during prison hunger strikes.

In response to these attacks, Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike issued another statement reiterating their demands:

Despite the threat of the executioner, and the strength of his weapons, we will

1 – end the policy of solitary confinement
2 – close the file of administrative detention
3 – Cancel the actions taken after the capture of Shalit and the most important of which prevent the prisoners of Gaza Strip’s (456) prisoners from visiting their parents
4 – Allow higher education.

On Prisoner’s Day, this will not be just another day of another year. Therefore, they are preparing to confront the torturers, the executioners, and their weapons, and despite the failure of the international community, we stand armed with only our empty stomachs and solid will derived from the heroic march of our people who continue to resist, and we have faith in victory and the justice of our struggle for freedom.

Photos: Khader Adnan returns home

18 April 2012

Khader Adnan, who engaged in a 66-day hunger strike demanding the end of administrative detention, returned home, to his village of ‘Arraba, outside Jenin last night, April 17, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day. He was warmly welcomed by huge crowds, celebrating the return of this hero of the prisoner movement.

Adnan’s strike, which ended with the commitment of the occupation to release him on April 17,received widespread international attention and solidarity and helped to revitalize support for the Palestinian prisoners’ movement.

More photos available from Addameer: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150970727315200.531927.82295125199&type=3

and Occupied Palestine: http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/khaderadnan-finally-home-photography/

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Welcome to Palestine detainees join in solidarity hunger strike

17 April 2012

The fifty international participants in the mission Welcome to Palestine announced on Monday they were beginning a hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners day on Tuesday, April 17 and to demand their basic right again to move freely to the occupied West Bank, including to Bethlehem.

All prisoners, including nearly 40 French people, are apparently being detained at the prison in Givon, near Tel Aviv. As of Monday at midday, they have partially achieved the acceptance of their demands that be allowed to make a phone call. All of their communication via cell phone indicates that their morale is high, that there is a disorderly confusion within the Israeli police apparatus, and the awareness that ultimately the hardships they are experiencing are minor compared to the daily suffering of the Palestinian people. The members of our group are sharing their cells with the young Canadian, Charlotte Gaudreau, 18, for whom, ironically, the flight to Bethlehem was … her first.

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