May 11-June 1: Fasting on Fridays in solidarity with Palestinian hunger strikers

12 May 2012

Solidarity and human rights activists Elizabeth West and Domenica Bianca have initiated a new project, Fasting on Fridays (see the Fasting on Fridays website: http://fastingonfridays.wordpress.com/), calling for international solidarity with the Karameh Hunger Strike by fasting on Fridays.

Fasters will engage in 24-hour fasts each Friday (May 11, May 18, May 25 and June 1) or until Palestinian prisoners achieve their demands and end their hunger strike.

The site provides instructions and information about conducting a 24-hour fast, as well as an opportunity to sign a Pledge to Fast.

The fasting project began yesterday, Friday May 11, with eight fasters, who are updating their experiences via this blog. Fasters are encouraged to sign on from around the world and join the project.

The organizers say:

Yesterday, discussing this situation, we found that our hearts demanded we follow our sorrow into some form of action. Time is of the essence here; it is likely that some of the hunger strikers will begin to die in the next day or so. Ideally we would like for our actions to influence public opinion, to change the course of things, but our first and deepest wish is that the Palestinian people know that there are others, many of us Americans, who are with them as they stand steadfastly in the tradition of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and many prisoners from a multitude of nations who have chosen, over the years, to lay down their lives, if necessary, rather than to live a life stripped of both human rights and human dignity.

The Fasting for Freedom project helps to link individuals and organizations around the world standing together in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners. Learn more and get involved here.

Statement No. 5 of Strike Leadership

12 May 2012

The following statement was issued early Friday morning, May 11, by the leadership of the hunger strikers in prisons, following their negotiations with IPS officials:

Statement No. 5

Issued by the Central Committee of the Leadership of the Strike

To the masses of the Palestinian people….you are free before our nation…you are free before the world.

On our twenty-fifth day of an epic hunger strike, we continue to trust in God. Our empty stomach continue in the spirit of Palestinian steadfastness that overcomes Israeli oppression. To the free people of the world…

We have held a lengthy meeting with the leadership of the Prison Services in Nafha prison last night, including all members of the Central Committee of the Leadership of the Strike. The Prison Service attempted through prevarication and procrastination to pressure us to break the strike with unverifiable promises. After a round of stubborn negotiations between humanity and brutality, we report the following:

First – we have conveyed our position unequivocally, which is, we will not accept any partial solutions that do not guaranteed, as a minimum our demands:
a. An immediate end to the tragedy of isolation and solitary confinement
b. Prisoners from the Gaza Strip allowed family visits
c. The return of prison conditions to pre-2000 conditions.

Second – we are living through an exceptional period of struggle with a strong consensus to continue our strike at any cost and achieve our demands, and we have the highest readiness and willingness to sacrifice for that goal

Third – we have decided to refrain from taking vitamins and to boycott the prison clinic, and we are going to take bold, serious and dangerous steps that we will announce at the time. There will be unprecedented steps over the next few hours and days.

To our people and the masses of our people…

We do not review our coming steps in this statement. We do this not to rouse emotions, but because we are very serious about continuing this battle and are fully aware of the consequences. We have prepared ourselves for all stages without hesitation. We call on the masses of our people and our nation to act now and strongly before it is too late. We look forward to a unified, strong Palestinian position that is united across geographic lines and engages in concerted efforts to force the occupation government to respond to our demands with respect for our lives.

We look to Tahrir Square in sister Egypt, to our people in Jordan and in beloved Tunisia and all of our Arab and Muslim brothers and to our people in the Diaspora and around th world. Finally, we promise again that we will not retreat without securing our just human rights. We are all willing to be martyrs for the sake of our dignity and our rights, and therefore we promise you that we will live with our dignity or die.

Central Committee of the Leadership of the Strike
May 10, 2012

Letter from Thaer Halahleh to his daughter Lamar on 75th day of hunger strike

12 May 2012

A letter from Thaer Halahleh, on day 75 of hunger strike against his detention without charge, to his two-year-old daughter Lamar, who he has never seen. Translated by Jalal Najjar.

“My Beloved Lamar, forgive me because the occupation took me away from you, and took away from me the pleasure of witnessing my first born child that I have always prayed to God to see, to kiss, to be happy with. It is not your fault, this is our destiny as Palestinian people to have our lives and the lives of our children taken away from us, to be apart from each other and to have a miserable life, nothing is complete in our lives because of this unjust occupation that is lurking on every corner of our lives turning it into eeriness, a continuous pursuit and torture. Despite that I was deprived from holding you and hearing your voice, from watching you grow up and move around in the house and in your be, and that I was deprived of my rule as a human and a father with my daughter your existence has given me all the power and hope, and when I saw your picture with your mother in the sit-in tent, you were so calm staring in wonder at people, as if you were looking for your father, looking at my pictures that are hung inside the tent asking in silence why is my father not coming back, I felt that you are with me, in my sentiment and inside my mind, as if you are a part of my heartbeats, steadfast and the blood that flows in my veins, opening all doors for me spreading clear skies around me, and unleashing your free childish voice after this long silence”.

“Lamar my love: I know that you are not to be blamed and that you don’t yet understand why your father is going through this battle of the hunger strike for the 75th day, but when you grow up you will understand that the battle of freedom is the battle of going back to you, so that I can never be taken away from you again or to be deprived of your smile or seeing you, so that the occupier will never kidnap me again from you”.

“When you grow up you will understand how injustice was brought upon your father and upon thousands of Palestinians whom the occupation has put in prisons and jail cells, shattering their lives and future for no guilt but their pursuit of freedom, dignity and independence, you will know that your father did not tolerate injustice and submission, that he will never accept insult and compromise, and that he is going through a hunger strike to protest against the Jewish state that wants to turn us into humiliated slaves without any rights or patriotic dignity”.

“My beloved Lamar keep your head up always and be proud of your father, and thank everyone who supported me, who supported the prisoners in their struggle, and don’t be afraid god is with us always, and god never lets people who have faith and patience, we are righteous, and right will always prevail against injustice and wrong doers”.

“Lamar my love: that day will come, and I will make it up to you for everything, and tell you the whole story, and your days that will follow will be more beautiful, so let your days pass now and wear your prettiest clothes, run and then run again in the gardens of your long life, go forward and forward nothing is behind you but the past, and this is your voice I hear all the time as a melody of freedom”.

Addameer reports: Izzedin and Sarsak in poor health

9 May 2012

The Palestinian Information Centre reported:

RAMALLAH, (PIC)– Lawyer of Addameer association for prisoners and human rights Mahmoud Hassan, who visited on Monday the hospital of Ramla prison, said he found hunger strikers Jafar Izzeddin and Mahmoud Sarsak, in very bad shape.

Lawyer Hassan stated that prisoner Sarsak has been on hunger strike for 47 days and now he is unable to move, suffer from eyesight problems and has been throwing up for five days, adding that he also underwent pancreas tests in Asaf Harofe hospital a few days ago.

Sarsak, 25, from Rafah refugee camp in Gaza, is one of the national Palestinian soccer players and was kidnapped on July 22, 2009 at Erez checkpoint as he was on his way to Nablus to join Balata Youth club.

Soon after his kidnapping, Sarsak was taken to Ashkelon jail and exposed to 30 days of intensive interrogation. Despite the failure of leveling charges and providing evidence against him, the Israeli prosecutor decided to classify him as an unlawful combatant and keep him in administrative detention for an unlimited period.

Sarsak has been on hunger strike since March 19, 2012 in protest at his detention without any guilt. On the eighth of April, he was transferred from Negev jail to an isolation cell in Eichel jail in Beersheba and later on 16 of the same month he was taken to the hospital of Ramla prison after his health worsened.

As for the other prisoner Jafar Izzeddin, on hunger strike for 48 days, lawyer Hassan said his health status is not reassuring especially since he feels constant pain in his head, heart, thigh muscles, and kidneys and are always dizzy which cause him once to collapse and hit his head strongly on the floor.

The lawyer noted that the two detainees are determined to continue their hunger strike until they restore their freedom and all the demands of the captive movement are met.

In a related context, director of Addameer association Sahar Francis condemned the Israeli higher court for rejecting the petition filed on behalf of detainees Bilal Diyab and Tha’er Halala against their administrative detention.

She said the Israeli higher court dedicated itself to serve the Zionist colonial project through providing legal cover for the repressive policies and crimes of the occupation regime as a state above the international law.

Palestinian youth block UN building to demand action for prisoners

9 May 2012

Protests, starting in Ramallah and extending to Amman and Geneva, blocked UN offices today, May 9, in calls for the UN to take action to protect the lives of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. The protests were organized by Palestinians for Dignity, a Palestinian youth organization. A Twitter campaign was launched to support the protesters under the hashtag #UNClosed.

Palestinians for Dignity said:

A group of Palestinian youth are preventing United Nations’ employees from resuming their work in Ramallah, demanding that the UN take immediate and practical steps to save the lives of Palestinian political prisoners on hunger strike, especially, the eight hunger strikers whose life is in eminent danger and those who need immediate medical attention. The UN should do more to pressure the Israeli occupier to accept the prisoners’ demands, all of which are in accordance with international law, as well as the Third and Fourth Geneva Accords.

This action followed up on the sending of a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, calling for action on the prisoners. (Download PDF.) Sixteen Minutes to Palestine reported that the protest grew hours after its 7:30 am start, as prisoners’ families joined the protests. Khader Adnan saluted the action and told the protesters that their protest would raise the prisoners’ morale and deliver an important message to international institutions.

Photos were posted, on Facebook:

Protests in Amman:

And in Geneva:

1981 Solidarity Message from Palestinian Prisoners to Irish Hunger Strikers

8 May 2012

GazaTVNews today reposted an important historical statement of support from Palestinian prisoners to the Irish Hunger Strikers in 1981:

During the Irish Hunger Strike in 1981 that was led by Bobby Sands, a statement was smuggled out of Nafha Prison from the Palestinian prisoners and sent to the families of the 10 men who died.

That support has never been forgotten, and while Khader Adnan and Hana Shalabi were on Hunger Strike, several families of the 10 men who died, and former Hunger Strikers sent several messages of support to them and their families. They have also sent messages to the current Palestinian prisoners who are on Hunger Strike, and to their families.

Below is a copy of the message smuggled out of Nafha prison in 1981:

“To the families of the martyrs oppressed by the British ruling class. To the families of Bobby Sands and his martyred comrades.

We, revolutionaries of the Palestinian people who are under the terrorist rule of Zionism, write you this letter from the desert prison of Nafha.

We extend our salutes and solidarity with you in the confrontation against the oppressive terrorist rule enforced upon the Irish people by the British ruling elite.

We salute the heroic struggle of Bobby Sands and his comrades, for they have sacrificed the most valuable possession of any human being. They gave their lives for freedom.

From here in Nafha prison, where savage snakes and desert sands penetrate our cells, from here under the yoke of Zionist occupation, we stand alongside you. From behind our cell bars, we support you, your people and your revolutionaries who have chosen to confront death.

Since the Zionist occupation, our people have been living under the worst conditions. Our militants who have chosen the road of liberty and chosen to defend our land, people and dignity, have been suffering for many years.

In the prisons, we are confronting Zionist oppression and their systematic application of torture. Sunlight does not enter our cell. Basic necessities are not provided. Yet we confront the Zionist hangmen, the enemies of life.

Many of our militant comrades have been martyred under torture by the fascists allowing them to bleed to death. Others have been martyred because Israeli prison administrators do not provide needed medical care.

The noble and just hunger strike is not in vain. In our struggle against the occupation of our homeland, for freedom from the new Nazis, it stands as a clear symbol of the historical challenge against the terrorists.

Our people in Palestine and in the Zionist prisons are struggling as your people are struggling against the British monopolies and we will both continue until victory.

On behalf of the prisoners of Nafha, we support your struggle and cause of freedom against English domination, against Zionism and against fascism in the world.”

May 9, Victoria BC: Emergency Protest for Palestinian Hunger Strikers

8 May 2012

Victoria Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid is sponsoring a demonstration on Wednesday, tomorrow from 11:30 am- 2:00 pm at Fort and Douglas, Victoria, BC in support of the Palestinians Hunger strikers, prisoners held in Administrative Detention without charges or trials at the behest of the Israeli Military.

They are subjected to repeated interrogation and torture. These political prisoners began a hunger strike to protest their detention; two of them will have been on hunger strike for 71 days on Wednesday. The Israeli Supreme Court denied theim relief. They do not have access to independent doctors as they near death. Join us in protesting tomorrow.

For more information, please contact caia.victoria@gmail.com

May 8, NYC: Emergency Protest for Palestinian Hunger Strikers

8 May 2012

Emergency Rally TODAY for Palestinian Hunger Strikers: UNION SQUARE NYC
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Union Square (14th and Broadway)

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/139096196223014/

Come out and stand with us in UNION SQUARE, NY as our brothers and sisters in Israeli Dungeons are on their death beds DYING 2 LIVE

Some are on their 70th day with no food or water and are at risk of dying. Israel routinely jails Palestinian without charging them with any crime and denying them a fair trial or access to a lawyer. Anyone can be jailed by Israel for no reason other then Israel wanting to have maximum control on the daily lives of the Palestinian people.

Ashira Hakan an activist from Palestine reports on the amount of days some of the Palestinian hunger strikers are on:

Bilal Diab- Day 70 of hunger strike
Thaer Halahleh- Day 70 of hunger strike
Hassan Safadi- Day 64 of hunger strike
Omar Abu Shalal- Day 62 of hunger strike
Mohammad Taj- Day 51 of hunger strike
Jaafar Azzedine- Day 47 of hunger strike
Mahmoud Sarsak- Day 46 of hunger strike
Abdullah Barghouti- Day 26 of hunger strike

Over 2,500 others are also on their 21st day of mass hunger strike.

WE WILL BE IN THE SQUARE ACROSS FROM THE WHOLEFOODS
4,5 AND/OR 6 TRAINS TO 14TH STREET UNION SQUARE

Organized by Existence is Resistance

Solidarity to Bilal, Thaer and the Hunger Strikers from Irish Striker Laurence McKeown

7 May 2012

In 1981, Laurence McKeown took part in the Irish Hunger Strike that was led by Bobby Sands. Laurence endured 70 days without food before ending his fast.

Today, 2 Palestinian men, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, are on day 70 of their Hunger Strike in an Israeli prison. Plus, over 2,000 other Palestinians are about to enter their 4th week on Hunger Strike.

As Bilal and Thaer suffer in their protest, Laurence sends them a message of support and solidarity.

Children in Amman protest in support of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners

7 May 2012

by Rifat Audeh

In solidarity with the prisoners illegally incarcerated by the Israeli occupation throughout Palestine and conducting an open-ended hunger strike in Israeli jails, a sit-in protest took place on Wednesday May 2nd in Amman, Jordan, in front of the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The protest, organized by independent activists, included many children, and the theme of this protest was banging on pots and pans and blowing whistles, to grab the attention of the ICRC in particular and the society/international community at large, to alleviate the suffering of said prisoners and demand their rights.

It is worth noting that the method the children used wasn’t employed before in any action in the country.

At the end of the protest, a petition – signed by all those at the sit-in including all the children – was handed over to the ICRC official in charge of communications. The petition called for the intervention of the ICRC to alleviate the suffering of those incarcerated and to put pressure on the Israeli occupation to end its oppressive, inhumane and illegal practices against these freedom fighters. The petition further demanded that the prisoners be treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, and requested that the ICRC shoulder its responsibility by organizing regular visits for the families in Jordan of these prisoners through the Committee’s transportation and personnel.

http://www.nablustv.net/internal.a sp?page=details&cat=15&newsID=70641
http://www.gerasanews.com/print.php?id=75548
http://www.hasadnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26530:————qq-&catid=59:2009-04-08-10-22-33&Itemid=74

Petition presented to the ICRC on May 2, 2012 regarding the status of prisoners incarcerated by the illegal Israeli occupation

We, the undersigned on this petition, call upon the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), along with other humanitarian and human rights organizations worldwide, to directly intervene in order to alleviate the suffering of the Jordanian, Palestinian and other prisoners illegally incarcerated by the Israeli occupation throughout occupied Palestine including the areas occupied in 1948.

As the ICRC is aware, these prisoners are subject to degrading and humiliating treatment consistently by the Israeli authorities and are denied their basic human rights while illegally incarcerated. Many of them have not even seen their families for years. Accordingly these prisoners have begun an open-ended hunger strike as of April 17, 2012, while some prisoners have been on strike for more than two months now. Needless to say, the health of many of our brethren in these prisons has deteriorated considerably.

We represent citizens in Jordan from all walks of life, along with the families, friends and relatives of some of these prisoners. We ask that the ICRC work along with fellow organizations with similar orientations and goals, to raise this matter urgently with the media and governments worldwide, in order to put pressure on the Israeli occupation to end its oppressive, inhumane and illegal practices against these freedom fighters. At the very least, these prisoners must be treated as prisoners of war and be granted all their rights accordingly as per the Geneva Conventions.

We also request that the ICRC organize regular visits for the families in Jordan of these prisoners, since family visits is one such right that the prisoners are entitled to and this can be accomplished through the ICRC transportation and personnel.

We thank you for listening to our concerns and receiving our petition.

Rifat Audeh is a Palestinian-Canadian activist, co-founder of Michigan Media Watch (www.mmwatch.org) and a former member of the Palestine Solidarity Movement’s Process Committee. He assisted in organizing a number of divestment conferences throughout USA university campuses between 2001-2004, and has had articles and letters to the editor published in various print and online media outlets including the New York Times, The Palestine Chronicle, The Jordan Times, Al-Ahram, the Detroit Free Press and others. He was on the Mavi Marmara ship during the attack on the Freedom Flotilla of 2010, and participated in a previous convoy to Gaza . He helped organize the ICRC sit-in.

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