Stop the Wall: Support for the Hunger Strikers across Palestine

14 May 2012

Stop the Wall reported on the ongoing massive solidarity inside Palestine and throughout Palestine for the hunger strikers, including mass demonstrations in all major cities. A day of action is scheduled for this Thursday, May 17, the one month anniversary of the launch of the mass open hunger strike, and a protest in Ramallah at Ofer Prison on Tuesday, May 15 as a Nakba commemoration/prisoner solidarity action:

Every day the support for the Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails spreads, creating national unity in solidarity with their protest. As groups across Palestine show their support, it becomes more apparent how pivotal this strike is in terms of the wider struggle – it is becoming a rallying point, a symbol of national cohesion reminiscent of the Intifadas. Despite internal disputes, unity is being displayed by Palestinians across the country in the face of Israeli occupation and repression of all shows of support of the prisoners. Momentum is building on the back of the “War of Empty Stomachs”, a war being raged to gain the recognition of rights guaranteed by International Law, but denied by the Israeli occupier.

Yesterday, more than 2000 Palestinian prisoners entered their 24th day of hunger strike, with Thaer Halahla and Bilal Diab now the longest ever hunger strikers on 74 days, while 6 other prisoners have refused food for in excess of 50 and 60 days. These 8 prisoners are now at serious risk of death, starving for their right to live.

Demonstrations took place yesterday across the West Bank, under the slogan “Friday Anger: Victory for the Prisoners”, and were met with violent suppression by the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF). Tear gas, rubber coated bullets, flash-bang grenades and foul smelling water mixed with harmful chemicals, were used to disperse protesters, showing their solidarity with their brothers and sisters in the prisons.

At the demonstration in the village of Aboud, Ramallah District, a young protestor, Majid Salah al-Barghouti (18), after having been shot in the eye had to be evacuated to hospital where his condition was described as serious.

In the town of Beit Ummar, Hebron District, the IOF had taken to the roofs in anticipation of the weekly demonstration after Friday prayers, from whence they proceeded to bombard the crowd. Khaldun Jameel Masharqa (20) was hit in the chest with a smoke bomb, and Hammad Ahmed Abu Maria (21) was hit in the hand by another. This was followed by the closure of the entrances of the town, preventing all from passing.

In Hebron thousands gathered to march the streets, ending up at a tent in the city center set up to demonstrate solidarity with the prisoners.

In Nablus there was a demonstration of around 3000 Palestinians condemning the silence of the International Community concerning the hunger strike.

At Ofer prison, a regular flashpoint with daily demonstrations, a dozen young men were shot with rubber coated bullets, with many others suffering temporary blindness and suffocation having been tear gassed.

In the areas occupied in 1948, more than 10,000 Palestinians participated in a festival of solidarity with the prisoners in the town of Kafr Kana, in the Galilee, holding up pictures of the prisoners and Palestinian flags and slogans demanding liberation of prisoners from Israeli jails. In Haifa, Palestinians closed their shops and displayed banners saying “The shops are closed because our prisoners are in danger.”

In Jerusalem, hundreds of Jerusalemites participated in a rally including prisoners’ families as well as actors and representatives of national institutions. The scene was filled with Palestinian flags, pro-prisoner and anti-occupation slogans amid tight security imposed by the occupation forces, with significant elements of the police, border guards and special units in attendance. The protestors took to the streets, rendezvousing with other activists before marching on the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Demonstrations have been taking place daily across the whole of the occupied territories in solidarity with the prisoners, and this trend is likely to continue as the struggle in the prisons goes on.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stopthewall/sets/72157629692330544/

Palestinian Youth: PA meetings with Israeli officials undermine the prisoners’ heroic struggle

14 May 2012

The following is a statement released by youth organisation Palestinians for Dignity, 13.5.12 – Local and international news agencies informed us last night, 12 May, that the Palestinian political establishment met with the representative of the Israeli apartheid regime, Isaac Molkho, in Ramallah to deliver the latter’s response to a previous letter that was sent by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) on 17 April.

This visit coincides with the ongoing open-ended hunger strike waged by Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons for 27 consecutive days, in a crucial and strategic battle in which the role of the prisoners’ movement in the Palestinian national struggle is restored. This movement is raising fair demands to guarantee the treatment of political prisoners and detainees according to international humanitarian law, especially the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions.

Rather than boycott and isolate the Israeli apartheid regime for their unrelenting crimes against our people, and foremost against our prisoners, the Palestinian political establishment decided to receive and honor the representative of the Israeli apartheid regime, the same regime our prisoners are fighting against, as if the crimes committed against our prisoners are perpetrated by someone else.

Our political prisoners are waging an immense battle on their own, because they have no illusions that the “peace process” can set them free or guarantee their dignity. They are armed only with their willpower and unity. Neither we nor they expected the PLO to choose Palestinian Prisoners Day, 17 April, which also coincided with the day of the beginning of the hunger strike, to deliver a letter to the Israeli prime minister nor to receive a representative of the apartheid regime.

Molkho’s “visit” comes at a time when, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, have gone for 76 days without food in protest of the Israeli administrative detention policy. Additionally, Hasan Al-Safadi has gone without food for 70 days, Omar Abu Shallal for 68 days, Mahmoud Al-Sarsak for 56 days, Mohammad Taj for 57 days, Jafar Ezzedine for 53 days, and Abdullah Al-Barghouthi for 32 days.

Our political prisoners have struggled for our dignity and have sacrificed their lives to make the PLO the sole representative of the Palestinian people, and they deserve that we stand honorably to support them. Therefore, we demand that the PLO:

· Stop all negotiations and meetings with the Israeli apartheid regime.

· Use its political, economical and moral weight in support of the prisoners’ strike and formulate a national strategy to liberate the prisoners.

· Respect and protect, at the next PLO Executive Committee, the free will of our political prisoners and the sovereignty of the prisoners’ movement in its decisions.

Palestinians for Dignity

Toronto, May 15: Nakba Day Rally in Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners on Hunger Strike

13 May 2012

NAKBA DAY RALLY IN SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS ON HUNGER STRIKE

When: Tuesday May 15: 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Where: Israeli Consulate 180 Bloor Street West Toronto:
Bloor and Avenue Rd. (NW corner). Across from the ROM

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Organised by:
Palestine House: info@palestinehouse.com
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA): endapartheid@riseup.net
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May 15, 2012, Nakba Day, commemorates the 64th anniversary of the ethnicvcleansing of Palestine in 1947/8 when over 700,000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes and over 300 Palestinian villages and towns were destroyed.

This year Nakba Day coincides with day 28 of the mass hunger strike for basic human rights by over 1500 Palestinian political prisoners.

Among the prisoners are some who have been on hunger strike for a longer period and whose lives are in immediate danger: Four of these prisoners are in critical condition
• Thaer Halahleh (77 days)
• Bilal Diab (77 days),
• Hassan Safadi (71 days)
• Omar Abu Shalal (69 days)

Three others are in serious condition:
• Mohammad Taj (58 days),
• Mahmoud Sarsak (58 days
• Jaafar Azzedine (54 days)

The Prisoners’ key demands include:
• Ending the policy of solitary confinement and isolation;
• End to the use of administrative detentions;
• The restoration of visitation rights to families of prisoners from the Gaza Strip, a right that has been denied to all families for more than 6 years;
• Canceling the regulation which restricts prisoners’ access to educational materials. Known as the ‘Shalit’ law, it was instituted as a form of
collective punishment in response to the capture and imprisonment of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. It remains intact despite the prisoner swap deal last October.
• Ending systematic humiliation, including arbitrary strip searches, nightly raids and collective punishment.

Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike have been subject to retaliation and attempts to break the strike by the Israel Prison Services, including beatings, transferring from one prison to another, confiscation of salt (an act that could have severe health consequences for hunger strikers), denial of family and lawyer visits, denial of access to medical clinics and isolation and solitary confinement of hunger strikers.

In a statement critical of Israel’s administrative detention policy, Human Rights Watch said, “It shouldn’t take the self-starvation of Palestinian prisoners for Israel to realize it is violating their due process rights.” Amnesty International also issued a call for urgent action from individuals around the world to contact Israeli authorities about Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh.

Come out to the rally and join the thousands at Nakba Day events around the world in support of the Palestinian political prisoners.

For more information:
http://www.addameer.org
http://samidoun.net
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa11912.pdf

Video: Solidarity conference in France featuring former prisoner Salah Hamouri

13 May 2012

PressTV reported on a solidarity conference with the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike taking place in France. Interviewed here is Salah Hamouri, former Palestinian prisoner and dual Palestinian/French citizen who was freed in October 2011 as part of the prisoner exchange agreement. A long solidarity campaign took place in France demanding his release.

UFree: Petition in Solidarity with Palestinian Political Prisoners and Detainees in Israeli jails

13 May 2012

UFree, the European Network to Support the Rights of Palestinian Prisoners, has launched the following petition.

Take action and sign on here today:http://ufree-p.net/Details.aspx?Type_ID=3&Rotator_ID=168

Petition in Solidarity with Palestinian Political Prisoners and Detainees in Israeli jails

The cause of Palestinian and Arab political prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails is now more critical than ever, urgently requiring immediate international support.
Thousands of Palestinian political prisoners have started an open-ended hunger strike appealing for urgent and immediate international support to alleviate their suffering. Many of these Palestinian and Arab prisoners have been imprisoned illegally, deprived of their primary rights and liberties guaranteed by Human Rights and Geneva conventions.

The Israeli occupation has continued to violate any obligations imposed on them by international law and international conventions. The International community now holds Israel to account for its blatant violations of human rights laws which includes subjecting Palestinian prisoners to the following:

1.     Torture, cruel, inhumane, degrading treatment and psychological pressure for the purpose of extorting confessions
2.     Unfair military trials
3.     Depriving family and relatives from visiting them, especially relatives from Gaza, whom have not seen their loved ones for almost 6 years.
4.     Long detention periods without trials, such as administrative detention. This is often extended for several years. This form of illegal detention is used only by Israel and is not used anywhere else in the world.
5.     Solitary confinement to inflict undue mental, moral and psychological suffering on the detainees-breaking their spirit and damaging their psyche.
6.     Medical negligence which in turn leads to rapid deterioration of prisoners’ health putting their lives at risk. Many prisoners suffer from chronic illnesses which are left untreated.
7.     Depriving them of medical treatment. This is especially harmful for those inmates who have been admitted into hospital after continuous hunger strikes. This could result in their death unless the international community and human rights organisations exert real pressure on the Israeli occupation and put an end to their suffering.

Thousands of the Palestinian and Arab prisoners have been subjected to the above violations for a very long time. Key public figures including members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, politicians and activists are amongst those arrested. All these political prisoners and detainees now need your urgent support to help bring an end to their suffering.

We, the undersigned below, from Europe and elsewhere, declare our solidarity with the political prisoners and detainees in the Israeli jails. We declare that we hear and respond to their plight and we in turn condemn the Israeli violations against them and demand the following:

1.    The international community, especially, the EU parliament and its member states to support the issue of the Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails, to give this issue priority and raise awareness and support to bring an end to their plight.
2.     To launch an international solidarity campaign supporting the Rights of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
3.     To enable the International committee of the Red Cross and other independent human rights organisations to access the Israeli jails and inspect the prisoners living conditions.
4.     To establish a European fact-finding mission to examine the living conditions of the prisoners in the Israeli jails.
5.     To exert their influence in order to pressure the Israeli government to stop the daily imprisonment campaigns and to give up its systematic torture against prisoners.
6.     To impose restrictive measures against the Israelis that would deter them if they failed to respect the international conventions and comply with the human rights’ standards in dealing with the prisoners.

In the end, we pledge our support to the prisoners and their families. We will not stop until their plight and suffering is lifted and their rights returned to them. Finally we call upon the international community to urgently support this cause and give it the attention it so desperately needs.

Click here to sign petition

May 15-17: Albuquerque Solidarity with Palestinian Hunger Strikers

13 May 2012

May 15 at 10:30am until May 17 at 7:00pm

Robinson Park

Albuquerque, NM

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/394340490604924/

2000+ 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.

6 of 2000+ Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike against Israel’s internment now ‘near death’.

Albuquerque Community members and Students are launching a Solidarity tent and solidarity fast this coming Tuesday, May 15th at Robinson Park until Thursday May 17th. On Thursday, May 17th there will be a march to and a rally in front of the court house on 333 Lomas Boulevard NW in downtown Albuquerque starting at 5pm.

Please come show support and solidarity with the Palestinian hunger strikers who are Hungry for Dignity & Freedom and dying to live.

For more information please e-mail unmsjp@gmail.com

For more information about the hunger strike going on, please visit http://www.addameer.org/index.php

Statement No. 7 of the Strike Leadership

13 May 2012

Statement No. 7 by the Prisoners’ leadership was released Sunday, May 13, 2012:

Statement issued by the Central Committee of the Leadership of the Strike
Statement No. 7

We have only two options: to achieve all of our demands, or to die

Free Palestinian people, masses of our nation, free people of the world….

We have entered a stage of legendary and draining human struggle, where we face real danger which threatens our lives. We are now very close to martyrdom, which is more precious and one of the best options for us.

We are now at the state of a great test of wills and we reject completely the attempts of the Prison Service management to force us to accept partial settlements in order to bring an end to this epic humanitarian struggle for justice. Here, we emphasize the following points:

We have only two options to achieve all of the following.

First, we swear not to go back without achieving our demands. We are waiting for martyrdom for the sake of our dignity, and we have prepared ourselves to confront our only two options – the victory of our humanity and our dignity, or our martyrdom without it.

Second, we strongly and firmly swear that we will continue with our battle of the empty stomachs, whatever the costs may be, until we achieve the minimum of our demands, particularly the immediate end to the horror of solitary confinement and isolation, and to allow prisoners from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank who have been denied family visits to receive them, and to return prison conditions to their pre-2000 state.

Third, we greatly appreciate the role of our great sister Egypt with regard to compelling “Israel” to implement the second part of an agreement and fulfilling its commitments, and we are confident that Egypt is an Arab leader that will not leave us to face this battle alone. We also affirm categorically that we will not end our strike without promptly achieving our demands. We are confident of the depth of support in our nation, and particularly in Egypt.

Finally, we are ready for martyrdom. We are not amateurs in hunger. Death is easier than disrespect for our dignity, so we swear we will live with dignity or die.

The Central Committee of the Leadership of the Strike
May 13, 2012

Global day of action May 17 for Palestinian political prisoners

13 May 2012

Their Fate is in Our Hands
May 17th: 24 hours of hunger in solidarity
with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails

Coming Thursday, May 17, will mark a month to the hunger strike, with over 2,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails participating in it. As Israel refuses to accept the prisoners’ demands for their basic rights, including humane treatment, many of them face immediate risk of death as the world watches over in silence.

The prisoners have decided to live in dignity or starve to death in their isolation cells, and a global mobilization is urgently needed to break the deafening silence! A month into the hunger strike, join a

Global 24-hour hunger strike

In front of Israeli embassies, consulates and UN offices

May 17, 2012

Endorse the Palestinian civil society call for a boycott of G4S due to its complicity in Israel’sviolations of Palestinian prisoners’ rights

Click here to pledge to join the Global 24-hour hunger strike
Email us if you are organizing a sit-in in your community

Background
More than two weeks ago, some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners have launched an open-ended hunger strike and their life is in danger. Their demands are simple and the strike’s slogan, echoing through the prison walls, is just as plain- freedom or death. The lives of all prisoners on strike are currently under danger, but among them is a smaller group, which has been striking for a longer period and whose lives are under immediate threat.

Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Diab have not eaten for more than 70 days – since the 29th of February.Israeli courts have rejected their appeals and refused to free them from administrative detention where they remain without charge or trial, subject to secret evidence and secret allegations. They are in critical condition.

Hassan Safadi has been refusing food since the 2nd of March, Omar Abu Shalal, 54, since the 4th of March, Mahmoud Sarsak, the only Gazan to have been incarcerated under Israel’s Illegal Combatants Law, since the 24th of March, Mohammed al-Taj, 40, also since the 24th of March and Ja’afar Ezzadeen, 41, since the 27th of march.

The Prisoners’ key demands include:

Ending the policy of solitary confinement and isolation;
End to the use of administrative detentions;
The restoration of visitation rights to families of prisoners from the Gaza Strip, a right that has been denied to all families for more than 6 years;
Canceling ‘Shalit’ law, which restricts prisoners’ access to educational materials as punitive measure. The law remains intact despite a prisoner swap deal last October.
Ending systematic humiliation, including arbitrary strip searches, nightly raids and collective punishment.

Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike have been hit hard with retaliation from Israel Prison Services, including beatings, transferring from one prison to another, confiscation of salt (an act that could havesevere health consequences for hunger strikers), denial of family and lawyer visits, and isolation andsolitary confinement of hunger strikers.

In response, Human Rights Watch issued a statement chiding Israel’s over its administrative detention policy; it said, “It shouldn’t take the self-starvation of Palestinian prisoners for Israel to realize it is violating their due process rights.” Amnesty International also issued a call for urgent action from individuals around the world to contact Israeli authorities about Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh.

Emphasizing imprisonment as a critical component of Israel’s system of occupation, colonialism and apartheid practiced against the Palestinian people, Palestinian civil society and human rights organizations have called for intensifying the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign to target corporations profiting directly from the Israeli prison system. In particular, we call for action to be taken to hold to account G4S, the world’s largest international security corporation, whichhelps to maintain and profit from Israel’s prison system, for its complicity with Israeli violations of international law.

Statement No. 6 of the Strike Leadership

12 May 2012

The following statement was released on May 12, 2012:

Statement No. 6

The Central Committee of the Leadership of the Strike

To our Palestinian people…

We salute the popular anger and involvement in all of the streets and alleys in the homeland in support of our hunger and our just and human demands in the Friday of Anger for the prisoners who are entering their 26th day of open hunger strike.

We salute the tens of thousands who came out in Khaled, Jerusalem and Ramallah, and all of our towns and villages in our beloved Gaza Strip, our scarred West Bank, in Palestine and around the world. This has confirmed to our enemy that we are not alone in this battle of humanity and that the echo of our hunger is carried by every Palestinian, Arab, Muslim and progressive force in this world.

To the free people…

It has been echoed in various media the dangerous moments in relation to the acceptance of the Zionist prison administration of our just and humane demands. Here we affirm the following:

First, every minute of our hunger, particularly as we approach one month on this strike, is an epic achievement and a misery for each prisoner engaged in it, and is sacred.

Second, between our leadership and the Prison Services was on the night of Thursday, May 10, 2012 and we have not held negotiations with them since that time.

Third, we affirm that the only party that is authorized and responsible to speak about any developments is the Central Committee of the Leadership of the Strike, represented by its members.

We are calling upon the Palestinian media continue to report this strike at the forefont, and continue to perform their national and humanitarian duty in mobilizing support for the strike.

We are determined to persist despite our hunger. We are ready for martyrdom to achieve our demands, and every coming moment could bring one or more martyrs from us. We have prepared ourselves for this, and we promise we will live with dignity or achieve martyrdom.

The Central Committee of the Leadership of the Strike
May 12, 2012

May 14, Chicago: Candlelight Vigil in Support of Palestinian Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Israeli prisons

12 May 2012

On the 64th anniversary of Al-Nakba: there is no more time to wait, there is no more time to spare, NOW is the time for action!

https://www.facebook.com/ events/237334053037149/

WHAT: Candlelight Vigil in Support of Palestinian Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Israeli prisons

WHEN: Monday, May 14th, 2012
7:30 PM

WHERE: The Water Tower Park
806 N. Michigan Ave.
(corner of Chicago & Michigan Aves.)

WHY: In support of the prisoners’ demands:

1. An immediate end to administrative detention, the Israeli policy of imprisoning Palestinian activists and organizers for months, and sometimes years, without any formal charges.

2. An end to the policy of solitary confinement and isolation, which have been used to deprive Palestinian prisoners of their rights for more than a decade.

3. To allow the families of prisoners from the Gaza Strip to visit. This right has been denied to all families for more than 6 years.

4. An improvement in the living conditions of prisoners and an end to the “Shalit” law, which outlaws prisoners’ access to newspapers, learning materials, and many TV channels.

5. An end to the the policies of humiliation which are suffered by prisoners and their families, such as strip searches, nightly raids, and collective punishment.

Convened by the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)-Chicago, along with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights (CMPR), Palestinian American Youth League (PAYL), and Palestine Solidarity Group (PSG)

The condition of the 2500+ Palestinian political prisoners on hunger strike is rapidly deteriorating. Two of the prisoners, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, have passed their 70^th day refusing food, putting them in critical condition and close to death. The people of Palestine have stood in solidarity with the strikers; on May 9^th, Palestinian youth blocked the UN offices in Ramallah, demanding that the U.N. take a stand to save the lives of the striking prisoners. Take action now to support the demands of the prisoners, which are basic and all in accordance with Geneva Conventions.

The forces of the Israeli occupation in the prisons, known as the Israeli Prison Service, have done everything they can to crush the strike, including cutting off the inmates from their lawyers and refusing the strikers access to the medical clinic unless they end the hunger strike. In addition to these measures, they have also instituted a system of collective punishment of strikers, which includes solitary confinement, daily fines up to 500 NIS ($131 USD), confiscation of salt for water, denial of electrical supplies, and random body and cell searches.

Also, the prison service has unsuccessfully tried to undermine the unified Higher Committee of the Leadership of the Strike by attempting to meet individually with members of the committee. This ploy was rejected immediately and unequivocally by the committee members approached.

Despite all of this repression, the prisoners remain steadfast, most recently stating in their fourth official communication: “We vow to live with dignity or die.”

In addition, today’s report from Palestine: https://www.popularstruggle.org/content/thousands-march-support-prisoners-hunger-strike

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