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28 August, Vancouver: Exposing Israeli Assassination Policy: International forum and discussion

Sunday, 28 August 2022
7 pm
1803 E 1st Ave
Vancouver
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/585639413098880/

Join us for an international forum on the targeting of Palestinian leaders — and how we can fight back against these crimes. From Abu Ali Mustafa to Tayseer al-Jabari, from Ghassan Kanafani to Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinians are targeted for assassination, particularly political and military leaders, journalists and effective advocates, and leaders of the liberation movement. Our speakers and discussion will focus on the international elements of this policy of assassination and how we can work to collectively defend the Palestinian people and their leadership in the struggle. We will also examine international parallels and resistance to assassination regimes.

ندوة جماهيرية عالمية تُنظمها “صامدون” ضد الجرائم الصهيونيّة، ومن أجل مُجابهة سياسة الاغتيالات التي ينتهجها الكيان الصهيوني على مدار العقود الماضية، والبحث في السُبل النضالية لوقف هذه السياسة وردعها

Occupation raids, attacks Palestinian organizations: EU, US and Canada are complicit!

In the early morning hours of Thursday, 18 August, armed Israeli occupation forces invaded the offices of seven prominent Palestinian NGOs, civil society organizations and human rights defenders: the Health Work Committees, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq, Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, Bisan Centre, Defence for Children International – Palestine, and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees. These organizations have all been designated by the Israeli occupation as “terrorist” in retaliation for their advocacy and community organizing work for Palestine, and then labeled “illegal organizations” in a military order covering the occupied West Bank of Palestine.

The invading forces ransacked the offices, confiscating computers, legal client files, documentation, printers and monitors and leaving clutter behind — as documented by the organizations’ surveillance cameras, recording the occupation forces’ invasion. The doors of the organizations were welded shut and a paper military order affixed to the door declaring their operation “illegal” under the occupation’s (illegal) military orders.

The organizations declared that they would not be silenced by these attacks, holding press conferences and returning to the offices to reopen them and continue their work. The attacks received widespread condemnation not only from Palestinian and pro-Palestinian forces but even from European governments whose policies and practices consistently target the Palestinian people and their fundamental rights.

Now, on Sunday, 21 August, occupation intelligence authorities — the Shin Bet — phoned Al-Haq director Shawan Jabarin to threaten him with interrogation and arrest if the organization’s work continues, while Defence for Children International – Palestine director Khaled Quzmar was summoned to and held under interrogation.

“Terror” Designations and Political Control

The invasions, interrogations, ransacking and attacks on these organizations reflect the failure of the occupation’s regime of “terror” designations to undermine their work. In 2021, not only did the regime designate Al-Haq, Addameer, DCI, Bisan, the UPWC and the UAWC as “terrorist” organizations — quickly followed by the military orders banning their work in the occupied West Bank of Palestine — it earlier in the year designated Samidoun (on 21 February 2021), followed by three more organizations. Previously and in a similar pretext, the occupation had issued a similar designation against the Health Work Committees along with designations of groups including the Arab Organization for Human Rights UK, the Palestinian Return Centre and Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.

As we noted at the time, this

“indicates just how meaningless the term ‘terrorist’ is in the hands of the Israeli regime. It means precisely any organization, activist, or freedom fighter that challenges Zionist colonialism through any method or means of resistance at all. The flurry of ‘terrorist’ designations for organizations working to expose Israel’s crimes and organize Palestinians underlines this reality….These designations are not attacks on individual organizations but against Palestinian human rights defenders and those around the world who stand up for Palestinian liberation — and, fundamentally, the Palestinian people as a whole, especially the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons. They attempt to repress growing support for the legitimate resistance of the Palestinian people and confrontation of imperialism and Zionism.”

Further, it is clear that the use of such designations is intended to further political control over Palestinian society. These designations hinge on the allegation that organizations are close to one or another Palestinian resistance organizations, most commonly the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine or Hamas. Israeli officials have shopped around “evidence” to various governments that is so weak so as to be ludicrous, consisting almost entirely of unsubstantiated statements or on the idea that employing a person who supports a political organization (or, in some cases, relatives of people in political organizations “designated” by the occupation) is “funding” that organization by paying employees a salary for doing their job.

While it is obvious that these are false claims, the objective of this type of attack goes beyond simply lobbing allegations. Indeed, the European governments that have criticized the attacks and designations have also repeatedly affirmed their willingness to “examine evidence” and “act” if the Israeli regime “proves” that popular organizations, civil society groups and human rights advocates are in some way “tied” to Palestinian resistance movements. Not only are the organizations “innocent” of the Israeli claims, the claims themselves are fundamentally repugnant. The Palestinian people have the right to resist occupation and to be a part of political, social and armed movements in that resistance; this is not “terrorism” but an essential right of people under occupation and colonization.

Rather than affirming the right of Palestinians to resist and to organize themselves to achieve those goals, these European governments instead use these attacks to impose even greater political scrutiny and conditions. In many cases (such as the Netherlands), these governments recommend or require that all employees of these organizations must not be associated with any “banned” Palestinian political organization. If Palestinians are part of a political party or movement, they must be unemployable and impoverished: this is both the argument of the occupation and of the European states providing a meager “defense” of Palestinian civil society.

For the European funding agencies and many large foundations, supporting Palestinian NGOs has never been primarily about empowering or supporting the Palestinian people to achieve their liberation but rather about redirecting Palestinian energies into “state-building” and/or “reform” projects that exist within the confines of Oslo. Time and time again, these forces have introduced new conditional funding mechanisms and restrictions on everything from the political affiliation of individual employees to the names of buildings and schools.

European Union: Partners in Colonialism and Apartheid

This is borne out once again by the statement of nine European states — Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden — which invokes the promotion of “democratic values and the two-state solution,” a fundamental contradiction as the so-called “two-state solution” itself is the legitimization of the colonization and occupation of 78% of Palestine and no solution at all for the Palestinian people. This brief comment lays bare the real political motivation for European involvement in funding Palestinian organizations, which is to limit rather than to achieve rights, justice and liberation. Further, the statement notes that “should convincing evidence be made available to the contrary, we would act accordingly.”

Here, the “evidence” being referred to would be any “links” between these NGOs and the Palestinian resistance. By including this statement in their alleged defense of the organizations, these European states actually encourage the occupation to continue its raids and ransacking, confiscation of files, arrests and interrogations, in an attempt to manufacture such “evidence”.

Of course, the position of these states themselves — members of the aggressive NATO alliance, defenders of the Israeli occupation in international arenas — is all too clear. The European Union, while rejecting the designation of advocacy and civil society organizations, continues to designate Palestinian resistance organizations as “terrorists.”

France continues to imprison Georges Ibrahim Abdallah while doing almost nothing to advocate for its citizen Salah Hamouri, jailed without charge or trial under Israeli administrative detention, as the government attempts to criminalize Palestinian activism, such as the Collectif Palestine Vaincra. Germany not only engages in weapons deals with the occupation, it also engages in severely repressive practices against Palestine organizing, particularly Palestinian communities in exile and diaspora, from the expulsion of Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat and Palestinian torture survivor and feminist Rasmea Odeh to the ban on 15 May Nakba demonstrations in Berlin. This is not to mention the links between Zionism and European colonialism from the very beginning of the Zionist project.

Now, Israeli prime minister and war criminal Yair Lapid is scheduled to come to Brussels on 6 October to convene the “Association Council” with all EU member states’ foreign ministers, for the first time in 10 years. This is the council under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the agreement that provides for free trade for occupation products inside the EU and allows for occupation institutions to receive European grants for research and development.

Ending the EU-Israel Association Agreement is a long-time demand of the Palestine solidarity movement, but despite their expressed “concerns” about the violent repression imposed on Palestinians, these European states are planning to welcome Lapid and convene the Association Council after a long hiatus, celebrating their complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Canadian government has refused to make any meaningful statement about these attacks, despite posing as a defender of “human rights.” U.S. officials stated their “concern,” while continuing to provide $3.8 billion in military support to the occupier.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network affirms that these attacks are part and parcel of the ongoing war on Palestinian existence and organization, carried out by the Zionist state and supported by the imperialist powers that ally with the Israeli occupation, as well as Arab reactionary regimes engaged in “normalization” and the Palestinian Authority. While PA officials declare their public support for the targeted organizations, the PA continues to engage in security coordination with the occupation, declined the use of its security forces to defend the organizations, and has even previously detained leaders, directors and staff of these organizations challenging its repression at the behest of the occupier.

We reaffirm that the primary way that we can confront these designations is by intensifying our organizing, action, mobilization and resistance to bring down the structures of colonialism, implement the right to return for Palestinian refugees, and support the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners and of Palestine, from the river to the sea. This includes campaigning to bring an end to the so-called “terrorist lists” used to terrify Palestinian communities and Palestine solidarity organizers, which only provide a weapon in the hands of the occupation and encourages it to engage in further specious designations.

We also urge all to take action to confront Lapid’s visit on 6 October in Brussels and to bring down the “EU-Israel Association Agreement,” an agreement built on the colonization of Palestine and the massacres targeting the Palestinian people. It is incumbent upon all institutions and organizations concerned about these raids and about the Palestinian people to adopt and implement the boycott and international isolation of Israel, including at the United Nations and its bodies.

Further, we urge all to join us in organizing to march in Brussels on 29 October for the March for Return and Liberation to the European Parliament, to demand an end to European complicity, involvement in and support for the colonization of Palestine, the siege on Gaza, the imprisonment of Palestinians and the denial of millions of Palestinians’ right to return home.

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We invite all who want to get involved in building this collective solidarity to get involved with our work at Samidoun. Click here to donate to support our work. To find out about becoming a member or building a chapter in your area, email us today at samidoun@samidoun.net

Collective statement by administrative detainees in occupation prisons

On Friday, 19 August, the administrative detainees — jailed without charge or trial under indefinitely renewable orders — in Zionist prisons issued a statement urging greater solidarity, action and mobilization to stand with Palestinian prisoners inside the occupation prisons, particularly to bring an end to detention without charge or trial, particularly Khalil Awawdeh, on his 170th day of hunger strike for liberation:

The text of the statement follows:

A statement issued by the administrative detainees in occupation prisons, as received by the prisoners’ committee in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

To the secretariat of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate

To the International Federation of Journalists

To all who are concerned,

We address you from inside the prisons of the Zionist occupation, where we, the administrative detainees in the occupation prisons, are facing an escalation in the use of the arbitrary policy of administrative detention in violation of international law, which in its two parts: human rights law and international humanitarian law, imposed strict conditions on the practice of this form of detention.

The occupation has recently escalated its targeting of us as political and social activists in administrative detention, including all activities and expressions of political opinion, as well as any activity or presence of community or union work. We see this as a comprehensive targeting of our Palestinian national cause and a moral attack on our people as a whole. The case of administrative detention recalls the tale of Sisyphus in Greek myth, where he angered the gods and was condemned to eternal torment, represented by forever, repeatedly rolling a boulder up a hill only for it to fall once again before it reaches the summit. Thus, his torture became eternal. In our case, we as administrative detainees face a firm and permanent policy, in which as soon as detention is lifted from us once, it is only to detain us again a second, third, fourth and more times, as an eternal torture for us and our families.

Some of us have been held in administrative detention by order of the Shin Bet security apparatus for 15 years, since the beginning of the second millennium, spread out over several consecutive instances, separated by a few months at a time.

Those who confront the sword of administrative detention, such as our fellow struggler Khalil Awawdeh, who have been on hunger strike for more than 5 months against this fascist and arbitrary detention and who faces a daily risk of death, as he and his family suffer and the media express in a few words his pain and the pain of his wife and four daughters. As his father said, I only slept 40 hours during the last 40 days, clearly indicating that the families of administrative detainees suffer the cruelty of this practice of detention, perhaps more than the prisoners themselves. This collective punishment is not only illegal but also a fascist practice of inhumanity.

We look forward to your intervention to save the life of our colleague Awawdeh, who is waiting for the justice of heaven, and which has not been achieved by the occupation court. In the same context, journalist and community organizer Nidal Abu Aker, 50 years old, from Dheisheh camp in Bethlehem, had only 75 days of freedom after he was released before being re-arrested and ordered by the Shin Bet for a period of six months, subject to renewal. This came after he spent 23 months in arbitrary detention and over 13 years of cumulative administrative detention since the Great Intifada. A Shin Bet officer told him when he was arrested, “Until I rest with my daughters, you must remain in prison, and I will not let you attend your son’s celebration.” Abu Aker faces systemic torture that is repeated daily against our people, including the sick, women and the elderly.

We look forward to you activating your role as journalists and human rights organizers against this unjust policy, and we are convinced that your role is of great importance in exposing and revealing this arbitrary Israeli policy, and we await your support and cooperation with us to reach our freedom.

Administrative detainees in occupation prisons
19 August 2022

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Download these distributable flyers and posters to highlight the case of Khalil Awawdeh and the struggle to free Palestinian prisoners:

1. Mobilize actions, demonstrations and creative interventions – Take to the streets to defend the Palestinian people and their resistance! As was made clear during the Unity Intifada/Seif al-Quds in May 2021, there is a vast depth of support for the Palestinian people everywhere around the world, including inside the imperialist powers. It is our responsibility to act and make it impossible to continue their support for the crimes against the Palestinian people.

2. Build the boycott of Israel – This is a critical moment to escalate the campaign to isolate the Israeli regime at all levels, including through boycott campaigns that target the occupation’s economic exploitation of the Palestinian land, people and resources as well as those international corporations, like HP and G4S, that profit from the ongoing colonization of Palestine.

3. Support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people – This aggression was an extension of the siege on Gaza that has been imposed on the resisting and steadfast Strip for over 15 years. The Palestinian people need economic, political and all forms of support to help sustain their steadfastness. To contribute to Samidoun’s drive in support of children’s health care in Gaza, make a donation at https://samidoun.net/gaza

#FreeKhalil Awawdeh: Administrative detention order “suspended” as Palestinian detainee continues 170th day of hunger strike, take action!

Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawdeh’s administrative detention was suspended by the Israeli occupation military command on Friday, 19 August, due to his precarious health condition on his 170th day of hunger strike. While the suspension of an administrative detention order is not the end of imprisonment without charge or trial, it does mean that the hunger striking prisoner can receive family visits, visits from his lawyer and other advocates for prisoners in occupied Palestine ’48 and that photos and videos of him can reach the eyes and ears of the world, especially as he continues his strike for freedom.

The Zionist regime has attempted to avoid suspending his detention throughout his lengthy strike, but Awawdeh’s steadfastness and the commitment of the Palestinian resistance, particularly the armed resistance, to achieve his liberation, has broken down the attempt to slowly kill Awawdeh hidden from public view.

He will not suspend his strike without a clear end to his detention, because suspension is not the same as ending unjust imprisonment without charge or trial. Suspension has been used deceptively by the Israeli regime on numerous occasions in an attempt to coerce Palestinian detainees to end their hunger strikes only to reimpose an administrative detention order after their health improves. It is not the end of administrative detention nor the end of the struggle.  However, the period of suspension has been critical in the victories of Palestinian hunger strikers like Kayed Fasfous, Hisham Abu Hawash and Maher al-Akhras, by raising their visibility as they continue their strike and providing access to their families and loved ones as they struggle for liberation. This period has been extracted through struggle and sacrifice as Awawdeh continues to struggle for victory.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes Awawdeh’s steadfastness and urges all to escalate their campaigns and actions to free Khalil Awawdeh and all Palestinian prisoners and bring an end to the system of administrative detention. Because suspending administrative detention is not Khalil’s liberation, our task is more urgent than ever. Now is the time to build on this achievement of the Resistance extracted from the occupier against its will and work to support victory and freedom for Khalil and his fellow detainees.

Awawdeh’s support page further announced that he will be released on 26 October, the end of his current administrative detention order, while cautioning that he will not end his strike without a clear victory for his freedom. This comes after multiple appeals against his imprisonment without charge or trial have been rejected by the occupation courts, and another hearing was scheduled this upcoming Sunday by the occupation’s high court to hear Awawdeh’s objections to being jailed without charge or trial.

Just yesterday, 18 August, Awawdeh’s lawyer, Ahlam Haddad met with him where he is held at Assaf Harofeh hospital, shackled to the bed despite his severe weakness after months without food. He is pale and listless and extremely cold. Despite this, the jailers surrounding his bed insist on very cold air conditioning in the room; his pushback to turn off the air conditioning leads to even more exhaustion. He has been completely immobile for a long time and it is difficult for him to speak or move at all. Nevertheless, he has remained fixated on freedom as the goal despite the immense sacrifice.

Ahlam Haddad, Awawdeh’s lawyer, told Palestinian media that he had prepared a message for her: “I went on strike for freedom, and I have sacrificed a lot for the dearest and strongest need, freedom…My abstinence from food is not a rejection of life, but rather a rejection of chains.”

Awawdeh, 40, from Idna near al-Khalil, is on hunger strike to bring an end to his imprisonment without charge or trial under Israeli “administrative detention.” He is married and the father of four daughters. He briefly stopped his strike on the 111th day, when he was told an agreement had been reached to secure his release.

Instead of releasing him, however, the occupation forces instead extended his detention, and he re-launched his hunger strike. Throughout the strike, he has been completely denied family visits and routinely denied legal visits. He was repeatedly transferred back and forth repeatedly between the notorious Ramleh prison clinic and Israeli civilian hospitals. This dire situation is a major reason his release has become a central demand of the Palestinian resistance.

Currently, around 650 Palestinians are jailed without charge or trial under these indefinitely renewable orders, out of approximately 4,650 Palestinian political prisoners in total. The Palestinian prisoners’ movement has identified ending administrative detention as a principal goal towards the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners. Administrative detention orders were first introduced to Palestine by the British colonial mandate and are routinely used by the Israeli regime to imprison Palestinian community leaders and influential figures, especially when they are unable to extract a confession under torture.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all to organize, speak out, protest and demand the immediate release of Khalil Awawdeh, Bassam al-Saadi and all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons. 

Khalil Awawdeh is confronting the Zionist occupation forces with his body and life on the line. We urge action to free Awawdeh and all Palestinian prisoners struggling for freedom, for themselves and for Palestine and its people, from the river to the sea.

A note on the strike dates of Khalil Awawdeh: Some media sites report that this is the 170th day of Khalil Awawdeh’s strike while others report it as the 160th day. By saying 170 days, we are following the lead of Awawdeh’s family and loved ones, who do not recognize and cannot confirm the interruption in his hunger strike when he was told an agreement had been reached for his release on 21 June. Both of these are valid dates and both emphasize the importance of urging his freedom. Notably, his family never confirmed a suspension or end of his hunger strike at that time. Instead, his administrative detention was extended and he officially reported resuming his strike to his lawyer on 2 July.

Download these distributable flyers and posters to highlight the case of Khalil Awawdeh and the struggle to free Palestinian prisoners:

1. Mobilize actions, demonstrations and creative interventions – Take to the streets to defend the Palestinian people and their resistance! As was made clear during the Unity Intifada/Seif al-Quds in May 2021, there is a vast depth of support for the Palestinian people everywhere around the world, including inside the imperialist powers. It is our responsibility to act and make it impossible to continue their support for the crimes against the Palestinian people.

2. Build the boycott of Israel – This is a critical moment to escalate the campaign to isolate the Israeli regime at all levels, including through boycott campaigns that target the occupation’s economic exploitation of the Palestinian land, people and resources as well as those international corporations, like HP and G4S, that profit from the ongoing colonization of Palestine.

3. Support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people – This aggression was an extension of the siege on Gaza that has been imposed on the resisting and steadfast Strip for over 15 years. The Palestinian people need economic, political and all forms of support to help sustain their steadfastness. To contribute to Samidoun’s drive in support of children’s health care in Gaza, make a donation at https://samidoun.net/gaza

Video: Culture of Resistance: Music behind colonial bars with Dr. Louis Brehony

On August 12, 2022, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network hosted a webinar with Dr. Louis Brehony, the author of “Genius in the People: On Collective Resistance and Musical Instrument Making in the Jails of the Colonizer” on Fida’ al-Shaer, Syrian musician from the occupied Golan, who built an oud while locked behind colonial bars in Gilboa prison.

Palestinian, Syrian and other Arab prisoners have always resisted behind Zionist bars. This multifaceted resistance includes a collective commitment to cultural struggle.

Read the article: https://journals.library.mun.ca/ojs/index.php/JU/article/download/2372/pdf_3

Full event video: https://youtu.be/1Vsd-fytwhg

The event included discussion of another event calling for an end to the blockades of Cuba and Gaza and Ghassan Kanafani’s 1936-39 Revolt in Palestine (links above).

#FreeKhalil: Awawdeh repeats just one word, “Freedom” as he faces severe health crisis

Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawdeh, on his 162nd day of hunger strike against his administrative detention without charge or trial, has suffered a severe deterioration in his health. He was moved to Assaf Harofeh civilian hospital on Thursday, 11 August — as always, with the threat that if he does not accept treatment, he will be returned to the infamous Ramle prison clinic. His lawyers and family members said that he experienced sudden and severe cognitive decline and is at risk of death at any moment.

Ahlam Haddad, Awawdeh’s lawyer, told Palestinian media that he had prepared a message for her: “I went on strike for freedom, and I have sacrificed a lot for the dearest and strongest need, freedom…My abstinence from food is not a rejection of life, but rather a rejection of chains.” She said that he was unable to say the name of his four daughters and says only one word, “freedom.” Haddad was able to view Awawdeh in the hospital today for a medical report following the latest hearing of the Israeli occupation courts in his case yesterday. Despite the severity of Awawdeh’s condition, the court is not scheduled to reconvene or hear the medical evidence until Sunday, 14 August.

Awawdeh, 40, from Idna near al-Khalil, is on hunger strike to bring an end to his imprisonment without charge or trial under Israeli “administrative detention.” He is married and the father of four daughters. He briefly stopped his strike on the 111th day, when he was told an agreement had been reached to secure his release. Instead of releasing him, however, the occupation forces instead extended his detention, and he re-launched his hunger strike. Throughout the strike, he has been completely denied family visits and routinely denied legal visits. He is transferred back and forth repeatedly between the notorious Ramleh prison clinic and Israeli civilian hospitals. This dire situation is why his release has become a central demand of the Palestinian resistance.

The Israeli occupation has repeatedly attempted to evade its commitments to the resistance, as promised by Egyptian mediators, to release Awawdeh to a hospital and free Bassam al-Saadi, in the ceasefire in the Battle of Unity of the Fronts on Sunday, 7 August. He has not been visited by his family or by the International Committee of the Red Cross, as confirmed by Muhjat al-Quds, even as his family fear that they await the news of his death at any moment.

Currently, around 650 Palestinians are jailed without charge or trial under these indefinitely renewable orders, out of approximately 4,650 Palestinian political prisoners in total. The Palestinian prisoners’ movement has identified ending administrative detention as a principal goal towards the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners. There is a current battle escalating in Ofer prison to challenge administrative detention, including the order against Palestinian leader and journalist Nidal Abu Aker. Administrative detention orders were first introduced to Palestine by the British colonial mandate and are routinely used by the Israeli regime to imprison Palestinian community leaders and influential figures, especially when they are unable to extract a confession under torture.

The Israeli occupation regime and the Egyptian state — which is complicit in the blockade of Gaza for over 15 years and normalizes with the occupier — cannot be trusted, and all of our vigilance must continue to ensure the liberation of Awawdeh and al-Saadi, the achievements of the Palestinian resistance gained through selfless struggle and deep sacrifice.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all to organize, speak out, protest and demand the immediate release of Khalil Awawdeh, Bassam al-Saadi and all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons. As you organize demonstrations and actions against the Israeli massacres in Gaza and the assassination of resistance strugglers in Nablus, please carry the call for the immediate release of Khalil Awawdeh and his fellow imprisoned Palestinians.

Khalil Awawdeh is confronting the Zionist occupation forces with his body and life on the line. We urge action to free Awawdeh and all Palestinian prisoners struggling for freedom, for themselves and for Palestine and its people, from the river to the sea.

A note on the strike dates of Khalil Awawdeh: Some media sites report that this is the 162nd day of Khalil Awawdeh’s strike while others report it as the 152nd day. By saying 162 days, we are following the lead of Awawdeh’s family and loved ones, who do not recognize and cannot confirm the interruption in his hunger strike when he was told an agreement had been reached for his release on 21 June. Both of these are valid dates and both emphasize the importance of urging his freedom. Notably, his family never confirmed a suspension or end of his hunger strike at that time. Instead, his administrative detention was extended and he officially reported resuming his strike to his lawyer on 2 July.

Download these distributable flyers and posters to highlight the case of Khalil Awawdeh and the struggle to free Palestinian prisoners:

1. Mobilize actions, demonstrations and creative interventions – Take to the streets to defend the Palestinian people and their resistance! As was made clear during the Unity Intifada/Seif al-Quds in May 2021, there is a vast depth of support for the Palestinian people everywhere around the world, including inside the imperialist powers. It is our responsibility to act and make it impossible to continue their support for the crimes against the Palestinian people.

2. Build the boycott of Israel – This is a critical moment to escalate the campaign to isolate the Israeli regime at all levels, including through boycott campaigns that target the occupation’s economic exploitation of the Palestinian land, people and resources as well as those international corporations, like HP and G4S, that profit from the ongoing colonization of Palestine.

3. Support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people – This aggression was an extension of the siege on Gaza that has been imposed on the resisting and steadfast Strip for over 15 years. The Palestinian people need economic, political and all forms of support to help sustain their steadfastness. To contribute to Samidoun’s drive in support of children’s health care in Gaza, make a donation at https://samidoun.net/gaza

 

Calendar of Resistance for Palestine: Find an action near you

In response to the Zionist assault on Gaza in early August, which has taken the life of nearly 50 Palestinian martyrs, and the assassination of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi and his comrades in Nablus, and to demand freedom for Palestinian prisoners like Khalil Awawdeh, as well as the ongoing Nakba and attack on occupied Palestine, many people are organizing demonstrations and actions in support of Palestine, the Palestinian people and their Resistance.

These events are organized by many groups around the world — wherever possible, we link to the original organizers so that you can be in direct contact! Please note: this list is for action-oriented/outdoor/protest actions specifically.  However, direct actions like those by Palestine Action are some of the most important events taking place — but they are typically not announced in advance!

TO ADD YOUR EVENT TO THE CALENDAR: Email us at samidoun@samidoun.net, message us on WhatsApp at +32466904397 or tag us on social media! We know that these events are mainly international and that the Arab people are marching everywhere for Palestine — we will be honored to add Arab events.

PLEASE NOTE: Times and details may change. Wherever we have it, we have linked to the original organizers’ accounts, posters and pages. Please follow these for the latest info – and don’t hesitate to send us updates! 

Thursday, August 11 

Brazil

Canada

Friday, August 12

Austria

Canada 

Chile

France

Spain

United States

Saturday, August 13 

Australia

Canada

France

Germany

Netherlands

Sweden

United States

Sunday, August 14

Germany

Netherlands

United States 

 

Growing battle in Ofer prison confronts administrative detention, demands freedom for Nidal Abu Aker

Nidal Abu Aker, Palestinian leftist, community leader in Dheisheh refugee camp and journalist, was seized on Monday, 1 August in a violent assault on his home in the camp by Israeli occupation forces. Just days later, on 9 August, he was ordered jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention for six months. Now, Palestinian prisoners in Ofer prison are taking action against the policy of administrative detention.

Administrative detention orders are issued on the basis of claimed “secret evidence,” concealed from both Palestinian detainees and their lawyers. These orders are indefinitely renewable, and Palestinians — including Abu Aker — have been repeatedly jailed for years at a time without ever being charged or tried. Khalil Awawdeh, the Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike for 161 days, is jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, and many of the hunger strikes have been focused on ending this policy. From January through June, all administrative detainees engaged in a collective boycott of the military courts, and now a new escalation is being pursued to make this policy untenable.

On Tuesday, 9 August, 20 prisoners in Ofer prison returned their meals, with a statement that a collective open hunger strike in protest of the detention of Abu Aker and his fellow detainees is being prepared if he is not released.

Abu Aker, 54, was seized by occupation forces only 75 days after he was last released from nearly two years (23 months) jailed without charge or trial in administrative detention. When he was taken to interrogation, he was told by the occupation interrogator that is “natural place is in the prisons” and that he would not be permitted to see his son’s upcoming university graduation, which prompted him to declare that he would launch a hunger strike. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said that an open hunger strike will begin with 20 prisoners, including Abu Aker, and expand to include administrative detainees of all political organizations in the prisoners’ movement.

Abu Akar, 54, has spent approximately 20 years in total in Israeli occupation prisons — 15 of those under administrative detention — and has participated in multiple hunger strikes against administrative detention, including the 2015 Battle of Breaking the Chains. In his last period of detention without charge or trial for nearly 2 years, he was imprisoned with his son Mohammed and his brother Raafat. He was first imprisoned from 1982 to 1987, then pursued during the great popular Intifada before being arrested again.

In 2002, he was attacked by a force of “mustaribeen,” occupation forces disguised as Palestinian civilians, who attacked him at the gas station where he was working. His administrative detention was renewed 14 times — overall, he was jailed without charge or trial for five years under repeatedly renewed detention orders.

A refugee from Ras Abu Ammar in Palestine ’48 whose family has lived in Dheisheh refugee camp since being forcibly displaced there during the Nakba, Nidal is married to Manal Shaheen and the father of three children, Mohammed, Dalia and Karmel. A prominent leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, he is also the host of a program about Palestinian prisoners called “In their cells” on Sawt al-Wihda radio station and a co-founder of the Families of Prisoners Association in the camp.

The National and Islamic Movement in Ofer Prison called for solidarity, stating that “We look forward to the widest solidarity, media, public, institutional and human rights support for our just struggle, and we are confident that you will spare no effort to support us.”

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all Palestinian and Arab communities and supporters of Palestine to answer this call and organize to support Nidal Abu Aker and his fellow prisoners confronting administrative detention, including Khalil Awawdeh, on hunger strike for the past 161 days. We urge all friends and supporters of Palestine to mobilize, organize, protest and act to break the attempted isolation of Palestinian prisoners and to demand their liberation – and the liberation of Palestine and its people, from the river to the sea.

Free Khalil Awawdeh: 161 days of hunger strike, Palestinian prisoner’s life at risk #FreeKhalil

Khalil Awawdeh, the 40-year-old Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike for 161 days, is in an extremely desperate health condition in the Ramle prison clinic. The Israeli occupation has repeatedly attempted to evade its commitments to the resistance, as promised by Egyptian mediators, to release Awawdeh to a hospital and free Bassam al-Saadi. He has not been visited by his family or by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and he continues to be denied family visits, as confirmed by Muhjat al-Quds, even as his situation grows increasingly dire.

Just today, in a hearing held on the appeal of his administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial, Awawdeh appeared on the video screen in court for 3 minutes, weighing 35 kilos. He became unconscious during the hearing and the video feed was cut off. The Israeli occupation has attempted to hide Awawdeh from his family and the Palestinian, Arab and international public, with no photos or videos of him being released and preventing the transfer to a civilian hospital or even the suspension of his administrative detention. The hearing was suddenly moved to today, Wednesday, 10 August, when it had originally been scheduled for Thursday. The hearing was then continued until tomorrow for further deliberation, even as Awawdeh’s medical condition has continued to deteriorate.

Awawdeh, 40, from Idna near al-Khalil, is on hunger strike to end his detention without charge or trial under Israeli “administrative detention.” He is married and the father of four daughters. He briefly stopped his strike on the 111th day, when he was told an agreement had been reached to secure his release. Instead of releasing him, however, the occupation forces instead extended his detention, and he re-launched his hunger strike. Throughout the strike, he has been completely denied family visits and routinely denied legal visits. He is transferred back and forth repeatedly between the notorious Ramleh prison clinic and Israeli civilian hospitals. This dire situation is why his release has become a central demand of the Palestinian resistance.

Khalil Awawdeh has put his body and life on the line for his freedom and to resist the policy of administrative detention. Currently, around 650 Palestinians are jailed without charge or trial under these indefinitely renewable orders, out of approximately 4,650 Palestinian political prisoners in total. The Palestinian prisoners’ movement has identified ending administrative detention as a principal goal towards the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners. There is a current battle escalating in Ofer prison to challenge administrative detention, including the order against Palestinian leader and journalist Nidal Abu Aker.

As Samidoun noted at the announcement of the ceasefire, “The Israeli occupation regime and the Egyptian state — which is complicit in the blockade of Gaza for over 15 years and normalizes with the occupier — cannot be trusted, and all of our vigilance must continue to ensure the liberation of Awawdeh and al-Saadi, the achievements of the Palestinian resistance gained through selfless struggle and deep sacrifice.”

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all to organize, speak out, protest and demand the immediate release of Khalil Awawdeh, Bassam al-Saadi and all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons. As you organize demonstrations and actions against the Israeli massacres in Gaza and the assassination of resistance strugglers in Nablus, please carry the call for the immediate release of Khalil Awawdeh and his fellow imprisoned Palestinians.

Khalil Awawdeh is confronting the Zionist occupation forces with his body and life on the line. We urge action to free Awawdeh and all Palestinian prisoners struggling for freedom, for themselves and for Palestine and its people, from the river to the sea.

A note on the strike dates of Khalil Awawdeh: Some media sites report that this is the 161th day of Khalil Awawdeh’s strike while others report it as the 151th day. By saying 161 days, we are following the lead of Awawdeh’s family and loved ones, who do not recognize and cannot confirm the interruption in his hunger strike when he was told an agreement had been reached for his release on 21 June. Both of these are valid dates and both emphasize the importance of urging his freedom. Notably, his family never confirmed a suspension or end of his hunger strike at that time. Instead, his administrative detention was extended and he officially reported resuming his strike to his lawyer on 2 July.

Download these distributable flyers and posters to highlight the case of Khalil Awawdeh and the struggle to free Palestinian prisoners:

1. Mobilize actions, demonstrations and creative interventions – Take to the streets to defend the Palestinian people and their resistance! As was made clear during the Unity Intifada/Seif al-Quds in May 2021, there is a vast depth of support for the Palestinian people everywhere around the world, including inside the imperialist powers. It is our responsibility to act and make it impossible to continue their support for the crimes against the Palestinian people.

2. Build the boycott of Israel – This is a critical moment to escalate the campaign to isolate the Israeli regime at all levels, including through boycott campaigns that target the occupation’s economic exploitation of the Palestinian land, people and resources as well as those international corporations, like HP and G4S, that profit from the ongoing colonization of Palestine.

3. Support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people – This aggression was an extension of the siege on Gaza that has been imposed on the resisting and steadfast Strip for over 15 years. The Palestinian people need economic, political and all forms of support to help sustain their steadfastness. To contribute to Samidoun’s drive in support of children’s health care in Gaza, make a donation at https://samidoun.net/gaza

Gaza ceasefire: Palestinian prisoners at the heart of the battle and the Resistance

On Sunday, 7 August, Ziad Nakhaleh, Palestinian resistance leader and Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, announced a ceasefire in the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the Palestinian resistance’s response. This statement made clear that the Palestinian prisoners are at the heart of the battle and of the Palestinian resistance and that the unity of the Palestinian people in all areas of geography could never be undermined or disrupted by 75 years of colonization.

In particular, Nakhaleh emphasized that the resistance had imposed its conditions, specifically for the protection of the Palestinian prisoners, namely:

  • The release of Khalil Awawdeh, on hunger strike for over 150 days, tomorrow, to a hospital
  • The release of Sheikh Bassam al-Saadi, a prominent Palestinian national leader of the Islamic Jihad movement, with an Egyptian guarantee
  • No conditions imposed on the resistance

Nakhaleh emphasized that if the occupation violates these conditions, the resistance will not hesitate to return to the battle by all means to liberate these imprisoned Palestinian strugglers. The Palestinian resistance, taking up arms, taking to the streets, rising up by all forms, defends and protects Palestinian life, from the massacres of the occupation warplanes and the violent raids of mass arrest and political incarceration.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and the courage and dedication of the Palestinian resistance in the deep level of sacrifice and struggle undertaken to confront the policy of arrest and assassination raids throughout occupied Palestine. We emphasize that this is not a time to bring our popular mobilization and pressure to an end but rather to continue and escalate. We must make it clear to the Israeli occupation regime that the resistance is not alone and that the people of the world demand the implementation of these achievements of the resistance, the liberation of these Palestinian prisoners.

The Israeli occupation regime and the Egyptian state — which is complicit in the blockade of Gaza for over 15 years and normalizes with the occupier — cannot be trusted, and all of our vigilance must continue to ensure the liberation of Awawdeh and al-Saadi, the achievements of the Palestinian resistance gained through selfless struggle and deep sacrifice.

The massacres committed by the colonialist forces — part of 75 years of ongoing Nakba that continue to run into the impenetrable wall of the Palestinian people’s resistance and will to struggle, survive and achieve victory — have taken the lives of 44 martyrs, including 15 children and two prominent and deeply respected leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, Tayseer al-Jabari and Khaled Mansour. The number of injured reached 360, while civilian sites throughout besieged Gaza were destroyed by the U.S.-funded bombs and warplanes of the occupier.

These crimes were backed throughout by the United States, Canada, European Union countries, Britain and other imperialist powers, who affirmed the colonizer’s nonexistent “right to defend itself” from a colonized people resisting mass incarceration, targeted assassinations and indiscriminate massacres. The reactionary normalizing Arab regimes continued their collaboration with the occupier, even as the Arab people throughout the region made clear that Palestine was and remains the compass for all people in the region to achieve justice and liberation. The Palestinian Authority continued to engage in “security coordination” and imprison political detainees for their role in the resistance with the occupation even as it made press statements criticizing Israeli crimes.

At the same time, the Lebanese resistance and all of the forces of resistance and liberation in the region and the world made clear their position alongside the Palestinian people and their struggle for justice, return and liberation, and their complete rejection of the Zionist crimes committed against the Gaza Strip.

Once again, as in the Battle of Seif al-Quds/the Unity Intifada, the Palestinian resistance made clear that the Palestinian people, everywhere in occupied Palestine from the river to the sea, and in exile and diaspora, are one people, with one resistance, confronting a common enemy camp, and that the Palestinian resistance in Gaza was willing to fight by all means, even at a grave cost, to defend the Palestinian prisoners who struggle every day behind Zionist bars for liberation.

People around the world, including Palestinian and Arab communities and democratic and revolutionary forces everywhere, have taken to the streets from the first moment of this battle.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network emphasizes the need to build on the achievements and sacrifices of the Palestinian people and their steadfast Resistance, affirming that the Palestinian prisoners are at the heart of the liberation struggle. We must not lessen our efforts, but rather escalate our organizing and action to free Khalil Awawdeh, Bassam al-Saadi, and all of the 4,700 Palestinian resistance leaders and strugglers for freedom locked up behind Zionist bars, who continue to point the way forward to the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea.

CONTINUE TO TAKE ACTION:

1. Mobilize actions, demonstrations and creative interventions – Take to the streets to defend the Palestinian people and their resistance! As was made clear during the Unity Intifada/Seif al-Quds in May 2021, there is a vast depth of support for the Palestinian people everywhere around the world, including inside the imperialist powers. It is our responsibility to act and make it impossible to continue their support for the crimes against the Palestinian people.

2. Build the boycott of Israel – This is a critical moment to escalate the campaign to isolate the Israeli regime at all levels, including through boycott campaigns that target the occupation’s economic exploitation of the Palestinian land, people and resources as well as those international corporations, like HP and G4S, that profit from the ongoing colonization of Palestine.

3. Support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people – This aggression was an extension of the siege on Gaza that has been imposed on the resisting and steadfast Strip for over 15 years. The Palestinian people need economic, political and all forms of support to help sustain their steadfastness. To contribute to Samidoun’s drive in support of children’s health care in Gaza, make a donation at https://samidoun.net/gaza