Palestine is the barometer of Western integrity

HJFP MONTHLY PALESTINE REVIEW – JUNE 2014

Don’t call me a Palestinian of the Palestinian Territories because it is called Palestine.Don’t give me a fraction of my homeland and call it a solution.

Don’t give me oppression and call it peace. Don’t give me a Bantustan and call it a home.

Don’t give me a prison and call it freedom. Don’t draw the borders of my existence according to your whims and interests and call it a state.

My Palestine is the home that is mine since the dawn of history till the end of history.

NEWS

BDS04.06.2014 Petition update – FIFA: Suspend the Israeli Football Association's FIFA

membershipRed Card Israeli Racism just posted an update on the petition you signed:

Palestine celebrates Asian Cup qualification! After a warm-up tournament in Qatar last month, the Palestinian team’s coach, Jamal Mahmoud and his assistant were refused entry back into the West Bank by Israel and had to wait in Jordan for two weeks. And one of the team’s players, Sameh Mar’aba, was arres -ted. Sameh Mar'aba remains illegally incarcerated in an Israeli jail without charge. He should have been part of the squad that made history. Sameh is one of many Palestinians who are currently being held by Israel without charge and we hope that his victory allows them a fleeting moment of joy as they continue their hunger strikes. # _ ملح_ و .مي

http://footballpalestine.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/pictures-videos-and-more-palestine.html#more

BDS06.06.2014 Cautious Victory - G4S finally announces it will end all Israeli prison contracts within

3 yearsYesterday the FT reported that G4S has announced for the first time that it will end all its contacts with Israeli prisons within 3 years:"G4S has confirmed that it will end all its Israeli prison contracts within the next three years after an annual general meeting that was severely disrupted by human rights protesters.. Mr Almanza said for the first time that the move would also include prison service contracts all over Israel."*

This follows last years announcement that due to "reputational dangers" to their business, mentioning the protests outside their London Headquarters, G4S would exit the contracts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories when they terminate in 2015. However, at the time they still maintained that they would continue their prison contracts in Israel. We have held regular protests outside G4S HQ in London for nearly two years, since August 2012 when the Palestinian Prisoners Campaign was launched at Al Quds Day, with a protest at least every fortnight. Congratulations to all the dedicated activists who kept the pressure on G4S to finally force them to change their stated position and announce they will abandon all prison contracts in Israel. Of course our campaign against G4S continues, this announcement on its own will not change anything other that ensure we go forward with extra vigour so that they follow-through on their promise. Our next protest will be next Friday 13th June 2014 outside G4S HQ, the focus will be the Palestinian mass hunger strike against Israel's illegal practice of administrative detention where more than 2,000** Palestinians are caged every year without charge or trial for an indefinite period of time. This is another crime which G4S is inextricably complicit in, with 86% of administrative detainees caged in prisons they secure. Details for the protest will follow shortly.

*http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/06e06252-ecc9-11e3-8963-00144feabdc0.html

G4S to end Israeli jail contracts within three years [June 5, 2014 11:10 pm, Gill Plimmer ]**On average more than 2,000  administrative detention orders issued per year, based on figures for 2007 - 2011

Arafat JaradatSix months into our campaign in February 2013 Palestinian father of two young children Arafat Jaradat was brutally tortured to death at G4S secured Mediddo prison, after first being torture at G4S secured Al-Jalame interrogation centre. At the time we held an emergency

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protest for him outside G4S HQ in London where we occupied the foyer of the building for over an hour until the police evicted us. So it was fitting that 16 months later we dedicated the protest outside G4S AGM to Arafat Jaradat, demanding justice for him. We will never forget him, and the new roller banner and colour leaflets featuring him will ensure he will be part of all our future protests.

Emergency protest held outside G4S HQ when Arafat Jaradat was tortured to death in Feb 2013. G4S foyer occupied in response to G4S complicity in the murder of Arafat Jaradat in Feb 2013Protest outside G4S AGM in 2014 dedicated to Arafat Jaradat, 16 months after his murderPalestinian Prisoners Campaign

BDS07.04.2014 Gates Foundation TOTALLY divests from G4S following globalIts official - The Gates Foundation TOTALLY divests from G4S following global #StopG4S protests at their offices on Palestinian prisoners day!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-06/gates-foundation-sells-stake-in-u-k-security-company-g4s.html

GATES FOUNDATION SELLS STAKE IN U.K. PRISON OPERATOR G4SThe Gates Foundation Asset Trust, the entity that manages the investments for the $40.2 billion Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has liquidated its entire stake in G4S Plc (GFS), the world’s biggest security-services provider. “Like other large foundations, the foundation trust evaluates its holdings regularly, both for performance and fit,” John Pinette, a spokesman for the Gates family, said in a statement. “As a result of this, the foundation trust no longer holds an investment in G4S.”

The Crawley, England-based company has attracted criticism for its contracts with the Israel prison system. The U.K.’s Guardian newspaper said in an editorial on June 4 that G4S should “end the corporation’s participation in Israel’s brutal occupation” in the West Bank. Since 2011, G4S has conducted a series of reviews in relation to its business in Israel, according to the company’s website. Its latest investigation concluded there was “no plausible case against G4S on the ground of alleged war crimes commited by Israel.” A regulatory filing on May 28 showed that the stake, held by the trust and Bill Gates’s investment company, Cascade Investment LLC, had fallen below three percent. The billionaire’s stake was first disclosed last June, when Cascade’s holding crossed the 3 percent threshold for the first time.

Adam Mynott, a spokesman for G4S, declined to comment. Gates oversees an $81.7 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is almost $14 billion richer than Mexico’s Carlos Slim, the world’s second richest person.Source: Tom Metcalf 6 June. Palestinian Prisoners Campaign

BDS09.06.2014 Petition update – FIFA: Suspend the Israeli Football Association's FIFA

MembershipRed Card Israeli Racism just posted an update on the petition you signed:

FIFA: Suspend the Israeli Football Association's FIFA membership. Palestine FA says official's Brazil trip blocked by Israel

Red Card Israeli Racism Petition organiser

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/08/us-soccer-palestine-idUSKBN0EJ0V420140608 PFA president Jibril Rajoub told Reuters last month that the relationship between the two...

Read more

BDS18.06.2014  Washington Report - special report on Israeli Blood DiamondsThe August edition of the Washington Report features a two page special report on Israeli blood diamonds. http://issuu.com/washreport/docs/volxxxiiino5?e=1795071/8246244#search Human rights activists in Holland are staging another action, this one in Amsterdam, to highlight the trade in Israeli blood diamonds. Please support their action by liking and sharing their event page -

https://www.facebook.com/events/492162697597211/?context=create&source=49

BDS23.06.2014 A reminder about Bar Codes to avoid & a petition

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/European_Parliament_United_Nations_Stop_Israeli_collective_punishment_perpetrated_against_the_Palestinians/

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BDS/International03.06.2014 10 Years After ICJ Declaration, Act to Stop Impunity!9 July, 2014 will mark a decade since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its advisory opinion that declared the Apartheid Wall in the West Bank illegal under international law. The Court was clear in its ruling: it demanded the Wall be torn down; sanctioned once again Palestinian rights; and called upon the international community to enforce Israeli compliance. Ten years later, the Wall and illegal settlementscontinue to grow in Palestine, embodying a massive instrument of land annexation, pillage of natural resources, and displacement. 

More than 30 Palestinian coalitions and organizations are calling   on people all across the world to join efforts and m ake July the month of Against the Apartheid Wall!  There are many ways activists for Palestinian rights can get involved throughout the month to support the struggle for freedom, justice, and equality. 

Raise awareness about the Wall and its impact on Palestinians. You can find factsheets, infographics, videos, and more here and here. 

Start and strengthen campaigns against the companies building and maintaining the Wall. Use your actions and events as an opportunity to outreach to other communities also affected by these companies. 

In April, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded Elbit Systems an $87 million contract to produce and install surveillance systems along the U.S.-Mexico border, further militarizing U.S. attempts at immigration "reform." 

The world's largest security firm, G4S, profits from mass incarceration. In the U.S., G4S operates privatized juvenile detention facilities and works alongside Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection to detain and deport people across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Participate in the July 9 We Divest National Day of Action- 10 Years Later: BDS Breaks Through! Activists will take to the streets to celebrate the former walls BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns have broken through and to call on pension fund TIAA-CREF and the companies they invest in to tear another brick from the Wall and break their ties with the occupation. Find resources and ideas to help you plan here. 

Post photos and videos of your actions on twitter using #StopImpunity. 

Find other ideas and share your planned actions to be posted here.We hope you will respond to this call from Palestinian groups and plan to take action this July. 

Stop the Impunity!                                                     

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Ramah Kudaimi, Membership and Outreach Coordinator, US Campaign to End the Israeli OccupationBDS 20.06.2014 Unbelievable, Amazing, and MiraculousMinutes ago, the Presbyterian Church voted to divest from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation, focus on positive investment, and promote reconciliation. I am overjoyed to report that just moments ago, the Presbyterian Church (USA) just voted to divest $21 million from Hewlett-Packard, Motorola Solutions, and Caterpillar – three companies whose profits from the ongoing Israeli occupation have been extensively documented.

This is an unbelievably fantastic - and brave -  decision, grounded in the Presbyterians' deep sense of justice and commitment to human rights. And, having been here for the last week with our huge team of interfaith partners, I can guarantee you that the backlash is going to be intense. The Presbyterians should be commended in particular for crafting a unique path combining divestment with positive investment, and a commitment to seek reconciliation. It's a powerful model for how any and every community can take on the profoundly important work of looking inward to align their values and actions.

This decision will have real consequences, sending a message to Palestinians that their human rights matter. And it puts corporations and the Israeli government on notice that the occupation is both morally and economically untenable. This vote also shows how at-tempts by Jewish institution to forestall principled actions by using accusations of anti-semitism are losing power. Make no mistake - the opposition did everything they could to stop this resolution.

But you should be extremely proud of what JVP contributed to this effort. Our rabbis, young members and chapter leaders worked their hearts out - on the ground here in Detroit and all over the country. I have never been more amazed by what our community can accom-plish, or the thoughtfulness which with we make change happen. We can only hope that as this movement for justice grows, all those who want to see real peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis will join us and cherished allies like the Presbyterian Church (USA) to take concrete action to change policy. Rabbi Alissa Wise, Co-Director of Organizing, Jewish Voices for Peace (USA)

BDS23.06.2014 5 Things you need to know about Presbyterian divestmentI'm still breathless from last Friday's historic vote. The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to divest from Hewlett-Packard, Motorola Solu-tions, and Caterpillar - all companies with well-documented ties to the Israeli occupation. This is the biggest move yet by any institution in the US to take concrete, nonviolent action to end Israel’s occupation. And now, a backlash unlike anything I have ever seen has be-gun. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that the Presbyterian Church hear from all of us now.

My jaw dropped when I heard Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu condemn the divestment vote on Meet the Press yesterday with the harshest words possible. Groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Council of Public Affairs came out with similar state-ments. At Jewish Voice for Peace we have been inundated with hate messages,  but these attacks are certainly coming down even harder on Presbyterians. Every member of the Presbyterian Church deserves our thanks for their thoughtful, open-hearted, principled process. Please join more than 7,000 JVP supporters and add your name to our thank you card today. We will deliver it to the Church leadership in honour of an inclusive interfaith partnership dedicated to building peace for Palestinians and Israelis.

And with such an uproar over this decision, here are five things you need to know about what really happened:1. Presbyterian Church activists invited JVP to partner with them almost a decade ago when they began to search for a way to re-concile their values with their investments. Through extensive study, corporate engagement, and broad interfaith outreach, they crafted a unique resolution that is grounded in their own values and worldview - a stirring model for how other communities can take action. 2. You helped make this happen. Whatever part of JVP’s work that you participate in  – whether for decades or days - you made this victory possible. Now the opposition’s desperate talking point is that we are small and anti-Israel– but you know that neither is remotely true. Our membership, our donor base, our campus chapters continue to grow because we all believe a true peace based on equality and democracy for both Israelis and Palestinians is worth fighting for.3. This process is an especially important model for Jewish communities and institutions. A recent study by the Jewish Council on Public Affairs (a harsh critic of divestment itself) shows that 25% of American rabbis are afraid to speak their real views on Israel. The Presbyterians' process stands in stark contrast to the status of open debate within Jewish communities, where critical conversation about Israel has been systematically censored.4. This decision exposed an unspoken rule in the Jewish Community: it’s OK to oppose the Occupation, but forbidden to pres-sure Israel to end it. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Chief Rabbi of the Reform Movement reiterated that cynical dictate last week, promising the Church a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. (Nevermind that the US Secretary of State just spent a full year meeting with Netanyahu, only to see settlement expansion escalate). The question to always ask is: what concrete action to end the occupation are divestment opponents proposing?5. Interfaith relationships don’t only happen between Christians and Jews, and don't only matter in the US.  Presbyterians invited not just American Jews, but Palestinians – both Christian and Muslim – into their deliberations. For all their talk about the impact of this decision on interfaith relationships, Jewish institutional leaders who criticize the vote aren't mentioning the impact on relationships with Palestinians of any faith - a silence that speaks volumes. And this is just the beginning. In the days and weeks to come, I'm certain this resolution is going to lead to as-yet unimagined opportun-ities, and incredibly difficult challenges, for all of us motivated not simply to talk, but to act, for real justice.Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director, Jewish Voices for Peace (USA)

Child Prisoners01.06.2014 5th JUNE - PROTEST G4S AGM - DEMAND JUSTICE FOR ARAFAT JARADATOn Thursday 5th June we protested outside the AGM of British security contractor G4S for its complicity in Israel's crimes against Palestinian prisoners.

DATE: 5th June 2014,  1:00 pmLOCATION: Western Terrace, Excel CentreRoyal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, E16 1XL, London(public transport: Custom House DLR)

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FACEBOOK EVENT:  https://www.facebook.com/events/479055772240108

ARAFAT JARADAT Over 15 months ago Palestinian father of 2 young children, Arafat Jaradat was tortured to death in an Israeli prison. His autopsy determined the cause of death as "nervous shock as a result of extreme pain from the intensity of the injuries which resulted from multiple direct and extensive acts of torture". G4S provides the security systems that keeps that Israeli torture den, and many others, operational to this day. We have not heard one word of regret from G4S for their complicity in his murder. For G4S, Arafat Jaradat's life is of no consequence as it does not register in their profit column. We will be there protesting outside their AGM to demand justice for Arafat Jaradat, to hold British company G4S accountable for its role in his murder. 

ARAFAT JARADAT – BACKGROUND - Arafat Jaradat, 30 year old Palestinian father of 2 children aged 4 and 2 years old, married with a pregnant wife, died on Saturday 23rd Feb 2013 after being savagely tortured for 5 days by Israel’s secret police Shin Bet. He had been arrested on suspicion of just throwing a stone. 5 days later he was dead. At his last military hearing on 22nd Feb Arafat pleaded that he didn't want to go back to his cell, because he was being brutally tortured. He had severe pain in his back and all over his body due to the beatings and being hung for many hours during interrogation. The judge was dismissive and the torture continued. Arafat died the next day. Shin Bet claimed he had died of a heart attack but the autopsy carried out at the National Israeli Forensic Medicine Center showed no sign of heart failure or any other illness, but revealed broken bones and found his whole body was covered in "strong and excessive bruising".. "under the skin inside the muscle and along the spine at the bottom of the neck deep inside the tissue". The autopsy determined the cause of death : "nervous shock as a result of extreme pain from the intensity of the injuries, which resulted from multiple direct and extensive acts of torture".

It was revealed that an Israeli doctor was involved in Arafat’s torture who had given the green light for further torture. Shin Bet routinely tortures Palestinians with impunity, some 700 cases of torture have been lodged against them yet not a single one has lead to a criminal investigation. Since 2008 the Shin Bet has been exempt from having to videotape interrogations of "security detainees" - ie the 5,000+ Palestinian political prisoners it holds, with the official excuse being 'budgetary limitations'. In the meantime 71 Palestinian prisoners have been murdered by torture in Israeli prisons since 1967. Arafat died in Megiddo Prison following interrogation at the notorious al-Jalame interrogation centre infamous for its abuse of child prisoners. The British-Danish security firm G4S is complicit in Israel's torture and murder of Palestinian prisoners by helping Israel secure both these prisons. At Megiddo the whole central command room is provided by G4S as are the security systems at Al Jalame. The transfer of Palestinians from the West Bank to these prisons in Israel is in contravention of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

MASS HUNGER STRIKE - We will also be protesting in solidarity with the mass hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners demanding an end to Israels's illegal policy of punitive Administrative Detention. The hunger strike which began on 24th April will be their 65th day on Thursday. The Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners Affairs says 1,500 inmates have joined the hunger strike and more than 100 prisoners are in life-threatening condition with dozens of hunger strikers being hospitalized. The youngest prisoner on hunger strike is Ahmad Rimawi, he was a child at the time when the soldiers abducted him when we was on his way to school, they snatched him at the checkpoint and caged him without charge, trial or reason for 6 months under administrative detention. And when the 6 months were up they added another 6 months, and then another 6 months under administrative detention. Israel can hold prisoners for an indefinite period of time on rolling 6 month orders.

86% of administrative detainees are held in G4S secured Israeli prisons. And during Samer Issawi's heroic 266 day hunger strike, in January 2013, his family sent a message for our protest which specifically named G4S for its complicity in Israel's crime. The message was written by Samer Issawi's sister who is today herself languishing in a G4S secured Israeli dungeon. She wrote: 

“We greet the demonstrators against G4S that provides equipment for the prison administration. G4S realizes that they are used in non-humanitarian ways against Palestinian prisoners. Deliver the voice of the oppressed prisoners and hold this company G4S ac-countable for its responsibility towards these prisoners and its partnership to the occupation in its inhumane practices. It must stop providing these supplies to the occupation...

Freedom for our prisoners; for our heroes"Shireen Issawi

MESSAGE FROM FAMILY OF HUNGER STRIKER YASSER PEDERSAWIFor our last protest on Fri 23rd May 2014, we received a message from the family of one of the Palestinian administrative detainees on hunger strike, Yasser Pedersawi. Yasser Pedersawi is from Balata refugee camp and works as the director of the Center for Right of Return - something the illegal Israeli occupation directly opposes. He is 49 years old, and like most Palestinian males he has spent a large portion of his life - 9 years - in Israel dungeons starting as a child prisoner. Most of his imprisonment - 6 of his 9 years - has been under Administration detention orders - caged illegally for an indefinite period of time without any charge or trial. He is the father of 4 daughters aged between 12 and 24 years old. His oldest daughter recalls losing her father at age two. "When I was in the second year of my life my father was taken away to an Israeli prison, and here I am today in my 24th year. I did not share my joy of success in high school with my father, I dreamed he would be next to me when I graduated college, but administrative detention deprived me of all that. After graduating I married young, and this was the only occasion that my father shared with me the joy.  I gave birth to his eldest grandson, and now here I am on the verge of having a second child, and I have lost him again to administrative detention. I ask myself when will I get my father to myself without having to share him with the occupation?" 

His latest administrative detention came just over a year ago on 28th May 2013 when the Israeli occupation forced attacked his home destroying much of his family's belongings before abducting him with no charge. Thirty days ago on April 24th 2014 he began a hunger strike along with 130 other administrative detainees to protest their illegal administrative detention. Israel immediately punished the hunger strikers by cutting of their supply of salt, which is essential for survival, and moved them in to squalid solitary confinement and subjecting them to violent strip searches and assaults. As a result Yasser's health deteriorated very seriously and recently he has had to be moved to Soroka hospital. He loses consciousness intermittently and is vomiting blood and has intestinal pain due to being given contaminated water whilst in solitary confinement. Yasser was illegally caged at the G4S secured Ketziot prison under administrative detention when he began his hunger strike before being moved to Eshel prison for solitary confinement. 

In her message to this protest in London his wife asks for "international solidarity to expose the practices of the occupation and its crimes against us, especially administrative detention, in your Parliament and human rights institutions and help us put an end to administrative detention".

She says  "Administrative detention is a heavy burden for my family, it has taken the taste of life from us. Throughout the period of

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detention of my husband, we keep hoping for his release, and when he is released we live each day waiting for the next arrest and the next administrative detention to start. Sometimes I wish they had just sentenced my husband to 10 years, then we could at least have adapted to that reality and been patient, but the occupations administrative detention is designed to punishes both the prisoner and his family."

CHILD PRISONERS & WOMEN PRISONERS - THE HARES BOYS & LENA JARBONI - We will of course be continuing our campaigns for the Hares Boys - 5 Palestinian boys tortured at the notorious G4S secured Israeli children's dungeon at Al Jalame and then caged at Israel's G4S secured Megiddo prison,  and are facing 25 years for a crime that didn't even take place. And we will continue our campaign for women prisoners, in particular Lena Jarboni who has endured 11 years locked up and abused in Israel's G4S secured HaSharon prison.

https://www.facebook.com/inmindscomhttps://twitter.com/InmindsComPalestinian Prisoners Campaign, www.inminds.com/caged

Child Prisoners15.06.2014 'Blindfolded & bound': Israel puts more Palestinian kids in solitary confinement'In 34 out of 40 cases (85 percent), the children are detained “during the middle of the night by heavily-armed Israeli soldiers“ while in 38 out of 40 cases (95 percent), neither the parents nor the child were told the reasons for arrest, says the study.' http://rt.com/news/158556-israel-palestinian-children-confinement/

Child Prisoners 18.06.2014 ADAM + JOHAR HAVE BEEN RELEASED!From: Camden Abu DisHURRAY!  HURRAY! ADAM + JOHAR HAVE BEEN RELEASED! Here are pictures of them being carried on people's shoulders when they got back to Abu Dis yesterday evening - huge celebrations!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rqe5j99ripelzaq/adam%20released.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/159n5o6u65s01or/johar%20released.jpg

Many congratulations to them and their families -  and many thanks to all of you here in the UK who stood by them, in so many ways, collecting signatures, raising it with representatives, demonstrating in the street,making cakes (well, one!), .HURRAY, well done Adam and Johar, we are really happy and look forward to finding out how you are!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zitn3kqnybdcmj9/Update%20Adam%20and%20Johar%202nd%20June.docx 

Child Prisoners18.06.2014  International media ignores Israel's abduction of Palestinian teensPlease see this article: International media ignores Israel’s abduction of Palestinian teenshttp://electronicintifada.net/blogs/amena-saleem/international-media-ignore-israels-abduction-palestinian-teens

Child Prisoners22.06.2014 24th June - Mother of tortured Palestinian child prisoner to address MPs in

House of Commons

DATE: Tuesday 24nd June 2014  4:30pm (come 30 minutes early to give time for security checks)LOCATION:  Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, House of Commons, SW1A 0AA ( Closest tube: Westminster)FACEBOOK EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/659927214082939

Um Fadi, the mother of Palestinian tortured child prisoner Ali Shamlawi - one of the 5 Hares Boys, will address a special meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Britain-Palestine (APPG) on 24th June 2014. The meeting is in the House of Commons and is open to the public, please come to show your support. Its starts at 4:30pm but please come 30 minutes early for the security checks that have to take place before your are allowed in to the House of Commons. Um Fadi's visit to the UK including this event has been graciously organised by our friends at Watford Friends Of Salfeet: http://www.watfordfriendsofsalfeet.org.uk/

Um Fadi, mother of Ali Shamlawi, in London

HARES BOYS – BACKGROUNDOn 14th March 2013 a simple car accident, when a illegal Israeli settler car speeding along a road built illegally on stolen Palestinian land, crashed in to the back of an Israeli truck which had stopped to change a flat tire resulting in four people being hurt, was later at the behest of angry settlers presented as an attack by Palestinian stone throwing youth. The truck drivers earlier testimony that he stopped due to a flat tire was replaced with the new reason being that he had seen stones by the road, and an accident that nobody saw suddenly became a terror attack with 61 witnesses including the police!

Over the next few days over 50 masked Israeli soldiers with attack dogs stormed the local village of Hares in the early hours of the morning and in waves of violent arrests kidnapped the children of the village. In total 19 children were taken to the infamous G4S secured children's dungeon at Al Jalame and locked up in solitary confinement for up to 2 weeks in filthy windowless 1m by 2m hole in the ground cells with no mattress. The Israeli prime minister Benyamin Natanyahu announced to the settlers that he had “caught the terrorists”. The children were violently tortured and sexual threats were made against the female members of their families in order to

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coerce confessions from the boys.

With the confessions and the new “eye-witness” statements, five of the Hares boys were charged with 25 counts of attempted murder each, even though there were only four people in the car and all are now safe at home. Apparently the military court had decided that 25 stones were thrown, each with an "intent to kill". The five boys - Ali Shamlawi, Mohammed Kleib, Mohammed Mehdi Suleiman, Tamer Souf, and Ammar Souf are currently locked up in another G4S secured facility - Megiddo prison where G4S provides the entire central command room.

In violation of international law Israel has turned prisons in to money making enterprises with the boys essentially forced to pay for their own imprisonment. Israel deliberately fails to provide Palestinian prisoners the basic essentials - food, cloths (underwear, shoes) and hygiene products (soap, toothbrush). The boys are forced to buy these at the extortionately priced prison shop costing the families over €125/month to provide for one child's basic needs in prison.

With no evidence of a crime the military court keeps on postponing the hearing dates from one month to the next, meanwhile the boys remain caged indefinitely and their families facing financial ruin in the process. The occupation in its cruelty doesn't inform the families of cancellations. The families spend most of their day queuing and enduring the humiliation at the checkpoints, then waiting at the court in anticipation of catching a glimpse of their son.. only to be disappointed at the end. Not that evidence, or lack of it, has any bearing in an Israeli military court - a study conducted by the Israeli NGO 'No Legal Frontiers' over a 12 month period concluded that 100% of Palestinian children brought before the military court are convicted. If the five boys are convicted they will be locked up for over 25 years - five young lives ruined with no evidence of a crime let alone their guilt.

Al-Jalame Prison is where the Hares Boys were tortured:

Football12.06.2014 Free the footballers - Adam and Johar - keep up the pressureAdam and Johar were shot and wounded badly by Israeli soldiers on their way home from playing football. They were released and allowed to leave the country. They were LATER arrested and charged with trying to attack the Israeli military camp in Abu Dis...

THE STORY DOES NOT HOLD! Thank you so many of you for helping write letters and taking an interest in Adam and Johar. Today's story from the families is that the pressure might be working.  It sounds as if the Israelis are prepared to negotiate a bit in the plea-bargaining** process.  But we can't trust anything till it happens ... they still aren't getting a proper court... their charge is still transparently false... and they must be freed! Please keep writing the letters and sending us in the signatures you have - If you haven't yet done a letter or signed one, we need your help today please.

--------------------**A note on the plea-bargaining process: Palestinians under Israeli occupation don't get a trial, they get negotiations (the Israeli intelligence vs a lawyer). If the Israelis arrest someone, they try and cover themselves by forcing a confession in exchange for the shortest sentence that the Palestinian lawyer can achieve. So many people have 'convictions' and admissions of crimes that they are certain they didn't commit, but they did want to get out of prison.Camden Abu Dis Friendship AssociationLinking together for human rights

Football12.06.2014 Football Beyond Borders Summer NewsletterWelcome to the Football Beyond Borders Summer Newsletter2014 has been an exciting and challenging year so far for all of us at Football Beyond Borders. Several of our members have spent the year in Brazil preparing for the FBB Legacy Projects which are launching this week. Others have been hard at work consolidating our work in London, deepening our community ties in South-East London and taking our Youth Beyond Borders and Women Beyond Borders projects from strength to strength.

With the FBB SOAS tour around the UK, the Brazil Legacy Projects, a youth football festival in South-East London and a FBB film festival all coming up over the next few months, summer 2014 is going to be absolutely huge for us.

P.S. Every penny we raise goes directly into levelling the playing field for young people and marginalised communities. Please donate by clicking the link below.

FBB All StarsThe FBB All Stars are a team of FBB members and supporters from all walks of life who play matches to bring attention to important social and political issues. If you love playing football and want to 'play for a cause', then this is your chance to learn about and support different social justice campaigns through playing football. The model is simple. We play together, we eat together, we watch a talk or film on the issue and then we publish a blog with some additional context. In our first tournament appearance, we won the  Gaza Development Cup , helping to fundraise almost £900 to fund the building of a new disability centre in Gaza, Palestine.

We have also organised a match with a group of refugees and formerly detained asylum seekers and played in a tournament to mark the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.

Football29.06.2014 Clipped: Football ForumFrom: Football Beyond Borders joelsharples@hotmail.com

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Football Beyond Borders and Tifo Magazine present Clipped: Football Forum10 - 12 July, SOAS University Against the backdrop of perhaps the most politicised World Cup ever we are giving a platform to alternative voices in football through three days of films, director Q&As and panel discussions. On Thursday 10th we will be looking at the challenges faced by footballers in countries afflicted by civil war and occupation, and how football can unite a population against oppression.

On Friday 11th July we are focusing on women's football in the UK and abroad, with films on Senegal, Afghanistan and Iran and a panel discussion that asks 'why aren't there more women in football?'

On Saturday 12th we are showing the UK premiere of Istanbul United, a film about the role of Turkish ultras in the 2013 Gezi Park protests, as part of a day about football and revolution.

Our mailing address is: Football Beyond Borders, 13a Templar Street, London, England SE5 9JB

International03.06.2014 'International kowtowing to Israel must end now' by Gideon LevyThe Americans and Europeans have tried being the voice of reason and failed. Now they must speak to Israel in the language it understands best (hint: it’s not Hebrew.) If there is a world, let it appear immediately. For now, there’s the sense of an ending of the international intervention in Israel. The Amer -icans folded, the Europeans gave up, the Israelis rejoice and the Palestinians are lost. “Sleep now high road / ending comes, Sleep thou king / here comes the clown” (“Shir Eres” [Lullaby], by Natan Alterman, translated by Avigail Caspi-Lebovic).

Occasionally some pope or foreign minister makes a visit (Norway’s FM was here last week), pays loose lip service in favour of peace and against terror and the settlements, and then disappears again. On the high road ending comes, and the king has been replaced by the clown. But even this waning is a statement, and idleness is action: They leave the conflict to the sighs of the Palestinians and the occupation in the hands of Israel, which is sure to perpetuate it and to ground it even more firmly. For that reason, the world’s with-drawal is unacceptable: The international community does not have the option to leave the status quo as is, even if that is Israel’s most fervent wish.

The current situation is not acceptable in the 21st century. It is easy to empathize with the United States for giving up, with Europe for tiring. How much longer can the same road be trodden? How many times can the same futile proposals be read out to deaf ears. After a brief recovery from the American failure, the time has come for a new way, one that has never been tried before. Both the message and the medium must change, to a message of civil rights and the medium of punishment. The previous route included sycophancy toward Israel, one carrot after another in order to please it. It was a resounding failure. It only gave Israel an incentive to further entrench its policy of disinheritance. The message also failed spectacularly: The two-state solution has given up the ghost. The world tried to bring it to life using charm. The proposals came thick and fast, amazing in their resemblance to each other – from the Rogers Plan to the ushuttle diplomacy of John Kerry – and each one only collected dust in some drawer. Israel always said no, only its excuses and condi-tions changing: an end to terror here, recognition of its being a Jewish state there. In the meantime, the number of settlements in the West Bank grew threefold and fourfold, and the brutality of the occupation increased to the point where soldiers now shoot demonstrat -ors out of nothing but boredom. The world cannot lend its hand to this. It is unacceptable, in the 21st century, for a state that purports to be a permanent member of the free world to keep another nation deprived of rights. It is unthinkable, simply unthinkable, for millions of Palestinians to continue to live in these conditions. It is unthinkable for a democratic state to continue to oppress them in this way. It is unthinkable that the world stands by and allows it to happen.

The two-state discussion must now become a discussion of rights: Dear Israelis, you wanted an occupation and the settlements – knock yourselves out! Remain in Yitzhar, dig yourselves into the mountainside and build to your hearts’ desire in Itamar. But you abso-lutely must grant full rights to the Palestinians living alongside, exactly the same rights that you enjoy. Equal rights for all; one person, one vote – that should be the message of the international community. After all, what could Israel say to this new message? That there cannot be equal rights because the Jews are the chosen people? That it would endanger security? The excuses would quickly run out, and the naked truth would come to light: that in this land, only Jews have rights. Such a message cannot go unchallenged. At the same time, the entire approach to Israel must be changed. As long as it does not pay the price of the occupation and its citizens go unpun-ished, they will have no reason to end it, or even to deal with it. The occupation is deep inside the Israeli closet. There is no one to out it, the overwhelming majority want it to remain inside. For this reason, only punitive measures will remind us of its existence. Yes, I mean boycotts and sanctions, which are greatly preferable to bloodshed.

This is the truth, even if it’s bitter. America and Europe have kowtowed to Israel enough. Unfortunately, to no effect. From now on, the world must speak a different language and perhaps it will be understood. After all, Israel has proved, more than once, that the language of power and punishment is its main language. http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.596400

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International04.06.2014 The Elders urge international support for interim Palestinian government

'The new government offers hope: hope of a road to renewed and united leadership; hope of a return to a more normal life and of economic activity for the Palestinians – while strengthening their ability to engage effectively with Israel in any further peace negotiations.'The Elders welcome the establishment of the long-awaited Palestinian unity government. They urge all nations to support the government as it works towards free and fair elections within the next six months. The last elections in January 2006 set the scene for bitter internal conflict, exacerbated by external powers, that has persisted to this day.

Kofi Annan, Chair of The Elders and former UN Secretary-General, said:"The isolation of Gaza from the West Bank and divisions between Fatah and Hamas have had deeply damaging consequences for the peace process and for Palestinian aspirations for independence and an end to occupation. The social and economic damage to the long-suffering people of Gaza has been tragic and will take a long time to repair. "The new government offers hope: hope of a road to renewed and united leadership; hope of a return to a more normal life and of economic activity for the Palestinians – while strengthen -ing their ability to engage effectively with Israel in any further peace negotiations."

Jimmy Carter, former US President, said:"Together with the international treaties and conventions that Palestine has recently acceded to, democratic elections in six months' time offer an opportunity for fully representative and accountable government for all Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jeru-salem. This is a deadline that should not be allowed to slip. "Unlike in 2006, when Hamas's legitimate electoral victory was widely rejec -ted, the international community should recognise and work with the new Palestinian government. We expect it to renew past commit-ments to pursuing independence through non-violent means and to recognise Israel within internationally agreed borders. "This is an opportunity to preserve the world's hope of seeing, one day, two states in the Holy Land living side by side in peace and security."

Israeli Colonisation04.06.2014 Up to 80,000 Palestinians in Jerusalem without running water for three months

Trying to solve their problem, the residents spent three weeks applying ton and to the Jerusalem Municipality, seeking to have running water restored.Israeli water utility company Hagihon has stopped the regular supply of running water to a number of Palestinian neighbourhoods in occupied East Jerusalem, according to a statement issued by Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem. The affected neighbourhoods are the Shu'fat Refugee Camp, Ras Khamis, Ras Sh'hadeh and Dahiyat As-Salam. They have all been isolated from the rest of Jerusalem by the Separation Wall.

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B'Tselem stated that: "Some homes in these neighbourhoods have been completely cut off from the water supply; others receive water intermittently; and as for the rest, the water pressure in the pipes is so low that the water does not reach the faucets." The result, B'Tselem said, is that "an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 Palestinians – mostly permanent residents of Israel – have been left without a regular water supply." Trying to solve their problem, the residents spent three weeks applying to Hagihon and to the Jerusalem Muni -cipality, seeking to have running water restored. However, B'Tselem pointed out that the applications of the affected residents were ig-nored. Therefore, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) petitioned the High Court of Justice on 25 March 2014 seeking to have the water supply renewed without delay. "On 2 April 2014, the Court instructed the State of Israel to respond to ACRI's petition within 60 days, setting the deadline for the first week of June," B'Tselem said.

In the meantime, the residents of these neighbourhoods have had no regular running water. B'Tselem reported residents walking at least one kilometre to get the needed daily supplies of water from relatives' houses, sometimes repeating this journey several times a day.

Israeli Colonisation08.06.2014 EXCELLENT Infographic on Jerusalem - Ethnic Cleansing & DiscriminationInfographic: Jerusalem –   Ethnic Cleansing & Discrimination   in Number | Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Infographic: Jerusalem – Ethnic Cleansing & Discriminati...GET INVOLVED Find your local activist group Subscribe to our newsletter Join or donate to the IPSC UPCOMING IPSC EVENTS [Dublin] Open IPSC Meeting – 12t...

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Israeli Colonisation23.06.2014 Invasion of Abu Dis

Invasion in Abu Dis which is now joining the terror happening all over the West Bank. "We haven't seen anything like this since 1967", we are told. On Saturday night Al Quds University was invaded by Israel soldiers. On Sunday night, the university and now the town filled up with soldiers.   They often come with ten or twenty. This was hundreds of Israeli soldiers, first walking and then in vehicles. They were everywhere, climbing and jumping in and out of buildings. Going into houses, not even asking whose house it was. They didn't stop anyone in the streets - the issue was to invade the houses. They chose more than thirty houses - ones on hills, ones in valleys, ones in the main town, big buildings, flats. These houses were searched and messed up; at least three houses had their gates blown up as soldiers entered.

There were tear gas, sound bombs and shooting.  Four people at least were arrested: three of them under 18. The whole area was invaded in this way – Sawahreh, Aizariyeh, the Bedouin area as well as Abu Dis.

This all started with reports of three Israeli young people going missing near Hebron a week ago:  there is no clear picture of what happened to them. Following this, a military operation involving 15000 Israeli soldiers has turned the lives of people in the West Bank upside down in what feels like a vast collective punishment. In the last week, several people have been killed including a thirteen year old; many hurt; house invasions in all areas of the West Bank; five hundred arrests.  Gaza has been under attack again and people injured.

People in Palestine are trying to work out what this is about. They are subject always to vast racism – the kidnaps of their own children have gone un-investigated for years:  so is this about something else. Is it to bring down the unity government? Or is it military training: Israel preparing not for them but for the next war?

A news report here:  http://www.maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=707014

One of the CADFA volunteers wrote this: http://abudisvolunteers.blogspot.co.uk/ Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association (Our sister group in Camden)Linking together for human rights

Media & Publicity – Future Event26.06.2014 Eyewitness in Palestine: UNA regional meetingIn March, just after the PLO and Hamas signed their accord, but before the Pope's visit, UNA-UK members Neville and Jane Grant and M A Qavi visited the West Bank on a fact-finding tour.

Come and listen to Neville and Jane speak of their experience first hand on 9 July. They will be joined by Sara Halimah(Medical Aid for Palestinians). Neville will also be happy to speak branches/regions. Please get in touch to make arrangements.

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Palestine: A Personal View9 July 2014, 7.15 for 7.30 pm Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church235 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8EP

Media & Publicity30.06.2014 Illan Pappe on World Service

HARDtalk, Ilan Pappe - Professor of History, University of Exeter, UK

HARDtalk, Ilan Pappe - Professor of History, University ...HARDtalk speaks to Israeli historian Ilan Pappe.View on   www.bbc.co.uk Preview by Yahoo

Medical Aid for Palestinians13.06.2014 Medicines in Gaza are running low

MEDICINES IN GAZA RUNNING DESPERATELY LOWPLEASE HELP TO-DAYIn Gaza today, the list of zero-stock medicines (essential medi-cines with less than a month’s supply) now stands at almost a third of all medicines. There are also severe shortages in the West Bank. We are working to help hospitals deal with this situ-ation. Using the donations of sup-porters like you we can procure essential medicines and supplies and get them to where they are most needed.

Read more

NEWSPRESERVING PALESTINIAN IDENTITY IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEMResearch into the challenges faced by Palestinians living in the old city of occupied East Jerusalem and the support provided by one of MAP’s local partners, the Al-Saraya centre, has painted a picture of a hostile envir-onment for a large proportion of the city's in-habitants.

Read more

THE END OF THE TWO STATE SOLUTION?A New Statesman round-table discussion in partnership with Medical Aid for Palestinians asks whether the two state paradigm is dead. Participants included Jack Straw, Richard Bur-den, Ilan Pappe and MAP CEO, Tony Laur-ance.

Read more

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LONDON TO WINDSOR BIKE RIDE SUNDAY 7TH SEPTEMBERJoin team MAP on this exciting bike ride. Start-ing on Richmond Green you will be cycling all the way to Windsor.  Spend the day following the meandering Thames and going through Thames Valley villages on your way to Wind-sor

Read more

Medical Aid for Palestinians | 33a Islington Park Street | London | N1 1QB | United Kingdom | +44 (0)20 7226 4114 | info@map-uk.orgMAP is a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered Number 3038352 England. Charity Registration No. 1045315

MPs and MEPs18.06.2014 Ask your MP to sign EDM 49 :

http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2014-15/49

Early Day Motion 49 

I would like you, as my MP to sign this important EDM 49 about children in Palestine. 

"That this House notes that Israeli forces continue to use excessive force including live ammunition and rubber coated metal bullets on unarmed protestors, including children and that 1,400 children have been killed in this way since 2000; further notes the lack of transparency in the investigation of such incidents; acknowledges the excellent work that Defence for Children International Palestine do in increasing awareness of these deaths; further notes that since January 2008, 129 children have been affected by settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including four fatalities with each of the cases occurring near Palestinian neighbourhoods, villages or roads located close to Israeli settlements and the nature of the violence includes being shot at, beaten, pelted with stones and sprayed with gas; and calls on the Government to press the Israeli government to respect the right to peaceful protest and prioritise the safety of all children who come under such attack on a routine basis."

Palestine Art and Culture18.06.2014 Jenin Freedom Theatre Artistic director denied UK visaSee this article from the electronic intifada. Nabeel was due to speak in Tower Hamlets next Monday, at the venue where we hope the Freedom Theatre will perform in 2015. if anyone has any good ideas for a campaign around this, please get in touch.  we need to be sure that visas are got for next year! 

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/sarah-irving/uk-denies-visa-palestinian-theater-director

Palestine Prisoners02.06.2014 Petition to stop Israeli "Administrative Detention" policy against Palestinian political prisoners and

Detainees

UFree Network launches an international campaign calling for an end to Israeli “Administrative Detention” policy which leaves hundreds of Palestinian political detainees held inside Israeli jails without charge or trial. Although international law restricts the use of administrative detention, Israel is using it regularly in flagrant violation to article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that state prisoners should have a fair trial.Find more: http://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/455/2

Take Action:E-letters to MEPs to end Israeli administrative detention policy: http://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/456/2Administrative Detention... Justifying Human Rights Violations report: http://ufreeonline.net/uploads/1398383253.pdfPetition to end Administrative Detention: http://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/460/2

Palestinian administrative detainees, who have declared their hunger strike for more than a month ago, are in real danger in Israeli jails demanding an end to their continued detention without trial or charge. Along the same line, Palestinian administrative detainee Ayman Atabish continued his hunger strike for the fourth month in a row in Israeli jails amid fears of his sudden death especially that he suffers heart muscle weakness.

* Get the latest update: http://ufreeonline.net/

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* ACTION ALERT: Hunger-striking Palestinian administrative detainees take forefront as negotiations collapse:

Website Link: http://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/483/3Click here to view the petition in your browser: http://ymlp325.net/zYsc67 

Latest News:200 Palestinian administrative detainees have started an open-ended hunger strike Thursday 24th April demanding an end to their administrative detention. Find out more: http://www.ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/454/1 5200 Palestinian political prisoners and detainees declared one-day hunger strike in solidarity with their administrative fellows, who have been on hunger strike for a month ago.Find out more:  http://www.ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/477/1 Ex-detainee Kifah Tafish, who spent 8 years in Israeli jails, has warned shortly after his release of escalating Israeli repressive policy against Palestinian striking detainees.Find out more: http://www.ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/472/1 An Israeli court sentenced Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the Islamic Movement inside “Palestine 48”, with a suspended six-month jail term and a $2600 fine.Find out more: http://www.ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/474/1 International Committee of the Red Cross has informed on Thursday the family of Palestinian detainee Ayman Atabich, 93 consecutive days on hunger strike, of his serious health deterioration especially that he risks death at any moment. Find out more: http://www.ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/479/1 Israeli Prison Service (IPS)  has launched a mass transfer policy against administrative detainees who have been on hunger strike for 36 days in order to prevent any contacts between them.Find out more: http://www.ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/485/1 In 21.4 percent of cases recorded by DCI-Palestine in 2013, children detained in the Israeli military detention system reported undergoing solitary confinement as part of the interrogation process. This represents an increase of two percent from 2012.Find out more: http://www.ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/469/1 Israeli authorities have banned family visits for hunger strikers as part of the punitive measures taken against them recently to undermine their will and force them to break their hunger strike.Find out more:https://www.facebook.com/ufreenetwork/photos/a.182174708491769.38209.177627865613120/716068355102399/?type=1&theater Israeli gunboat kept chasing on 29th of March a Palestinian fishing boat off Gaza waters and arrested the four fishermen on board before carrying them all, along with their boat, to the Israeli Ashdod port, north of the Gaza Strip.Find out more:https://www.facebook.com/ufreenetwork/photos/a.182174708491769.38209.177627865613120/715522248490343/?type=1&theater 40 Palestinian hunger strikers were transferred to hospital for fear of their sudden death after joining the hunger strike more than a month ago demanding an end to their administrative detention.Find out more:https://www.facebook.com/ufreenetwork/photos/a.182174708491769.38209.177627865613120/714925878549980/?type=1&theater Palestinian journalist Mohamed Mona has continued his hunger strike for 40 days in a row protesting his administrative detention.Find out more:https://www.facebook.com/ufreenetwork/photos/a.182174708491769.38209.177627865613120/711633712212530/?type=1&theater Israeli District Court in Occupied Jerusalem sentenced Jerusalemite teen Salman Abu Sabatin, 18, to seven months in prison under a series of alleged charges.Find out more: https://www.facebook.com/ufreenetwork/photos/a.182174708491769.38209.177627865613120/710680942307807/?type=1&theater Jerusalemite female detainee Shireen Issawi, 32, has been on an open-ended hunger strike for a nearly a month, both to protest the Israeli arbitrary detention orders and in solidarity with her fellow administrative hunger-strikersFind out more: https://www.facebook.com/ufreenetwork/photos/a.182174708491769.38209.177627865613120/707383462637555/?type=1&theater

 Statistics and figures: 

294 Jerusalemites are currently held in Israeli jails, including 36 sentenced to life, 37 minors under 18, and three female detainees.142 Israeli administrative detention orders issued since the beginning of 2014.

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27 administrative detainees have been engaged in an individual hunger strike since 2012.100 of Hebron's civilians were arrested by the Israeli forces during April.120 Jerusalemite children are currently held behind Israeli bars. 15 Palestinians including minors arrested in May in Hebron.Over 800,000 Palestinians have been detained since 1967, with 5,224 currently being held in Israeli jails located across the occupied Palestinian territories.A total of 50 Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (MPLC) have been detained in Israeli jails at one time which represented one third of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).19,000 administrative detention orders issued against Palestinians from 2003 to 2012.135 Israeli violations documented during the last 15 months against press freedom in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.1,641 Israeli attacks against press freedom in Palestine were documented since the outbreak of the second Intifada (Uprising) in 2000 till March 2014.15 journalists were killed by Israeli fire since the second Intifada.

 

UFree Network | An independent European-wide human rights network, set up to defend the rights of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees.Join | Share | Like:http://facebook.com/ufreenetworkhttp://twitter.com/ufreenetworkhttp://youtube.com/ufreenetworkofficial Join our mailing-list: http://ymlp325.net/xgmmbeyhgmgh

For all media enquiries, call: 00447721490579 | 004746728978 | 00442081236682 | secretary@ufree-p.net

Palestine Prisoners09.06.2014 Protest in Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners Mass Hunger StrikeDate: Friday 13th June 2014, 3:00pm - 5:00pmLocation: G4S HQ, 105 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QT Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/665837290132242 

www.inminds.com,

As the mass hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners demanding an end to Israels illegal practice of administrative detention enters its 46th day, Israel is getting more and more ruthless towards the hunger strikers. Human rights group Addameer report that: "The Israeli prison guards and special units beat and insult the hunger strikers on a daily basis.Their clothes and basic possessions have been confiscated; and they are only allowed to keep cups to drink water. In some prisons they are forced to drink dirty water from taps or to walk 40 meters in order to get water. Nurses are using urine sample containers to give hunger striker their essential salt and water and guards delay taking the hunger strikers to restrooms Hunger strikes being fined up to  475 NIS.."  

Even basic Hygiene products like toothbrushes and shampoo have been taken away. 80 hunger strikers have now been hospitalized in critical health, with two already having to undergo surgery. Many are being shackled to their hospitals beds 24 hours a day. Israel understands the real strength of those starving men, the power they yield through their resistance over the occupation that it feels threatened. Threatened so much that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to implement a bill that would allow the force-feeding of hunger strikers. His spokesman Mark Regev explained "People go on a hunger strike for political reasons ... and the consequence could be political damage to the state. The state also has the right to stop the strike." The UN Human Rights Commission has declared that forced feeding of prisoners is a a form of torture and prohibited even the threat of force feeding, and the World Medical Association specifically prohibited forced feeding in its Declaration of Tokyo regarding torture. 

But Israeli doctors in the past haven't shied away from assisting in the systematic torture of Palestinian prisoners by giving medical evaluations to interrogator as to the ability of the prisoner to survive forms of torture. Often these 'doctors' get it wrong as in the case of Palestinian father Arafat Jaradat who was tortured to death in Feb 2013 after Israeli doctors gave the green light to interrogators to continue their barbarism.

At this critical time its imperative that activists around the world show their solidarity with the hunger strikers through protests and other actions. With this in mind we are bringing our next protest in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners forward a week to this Friday, 13th June 2014. AYMAN AL-TABEESH - 102 DAYS ON HUNGER STRIKEOn 17th Feb 2013 Israeli soldiers abducted 33 year old Ayman Al-Tabeesh from his home in Dura, near al-Khalil, and caged him at the G4S secured Ofer prison - indefinitely on an illegal rolling administrative detention order with no charge, and no trial.To protest he went on a 105 day hunger strike, only stopping once Israel had agreed in writing that they would not renew his administrative detention. Yet in Jan 2014 Israel reneged on its written agreement and issued a new administrative detention order. As a result Ayman started a second hunger strike on 28th Feb 2014. After 70 days he lost over 25kg in weight and his condition is so critical that he has been moved twice to different hospitals. He eye sight is now suffering and he was developed kidney and stomach problems. He can no longer feel his limbs as numbness overtakes them. Today Ayman Al-Tabeesh completes his 102 days on hunger strike.

For our protest of 9th May we received a short message from the Muhammed Al-Tabeesh the brother of hunger striker Ayman Al-Tabeesh. Muhammed himself was a hunger striker and was released from the occupations prison just 4 months ago. The message was written especially for the protest, it reads:

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"Thank you for standing besides us in supporting the steadfastness of my brother Ayman Al-Tabeesh in his hunger strike. Thank you for your humanity in supporting the Palestinian prisoners, especially the hunger strikers. We need you to tell the international community of Israel's criminal brutality against our prisoners, the violation of their rights. The occupations illegal never ending administrative detention orders is nothing less than a slow death for Palestinian prisoners."

LETTER WRITTEN BY HUNGER STRIKING ADMINISTRATIVE DETAINEES ON DAY 36 OF THEIR HUNGER STRIKEWe have no guns, no rifles, no cannons; we are armed with the weapon of hunger. This is how we resist this sword pointed at our necks, the sword of administrative detention, holding us without charges or trial. 

In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most MercifulAll praise be to Allah and prayers and peace be upon his Messenger, who bore much patience and hardship for the sake of right and truth.

From the heart of our cells, from our pain and suffering, our hunger that weakened us, and our fragile bodies, our legs that cannot hold us anymore, and our weak arms, we remain steadfast and continue our strike.Our bodies are collapsing, we can barely move our eyes, our heartbeats slowly fading away, and even writing this letter required hard work. We are writing this letter to express our suffering, the abuse carried out against us every single day.  Our battle today entered its 36 day, and we are continuing with this strike. 

We are sending a scream, a shout, from behind the walls of our dark cells, between the jaws of death and our jailers, while death stands in front of us, inhabits our cells.. We don’t know who will be taken by death first, but the jailor is just waiting, betting on our defeat.

Our great beloved Palestinian people, will you allow us to become easy prey for the fangs of our merciless jailers? We are behind bars, spending years of our lives for Palestine, for its liberation and the freedom of its people.The Palestinian people are steadfast on their land; as any other nation, they have the right to freedom, independence and dignity. Our battle, as administrative detainees, is open-ended. We started our hunger strike 36 days ago, while this battle is just one of countless battles for freedom, it is a battle against injustice wherever its exists.

We have no guns, no rifles, no cannons; we are armed with the weapon of hunger. This is how we resist this sword pointed at our necks, the sword of administrative detention, holding us without charges or trial.  Our great Palestinian nation, defenders of justice all over the world, organizations struggling for Palestinian rights, all governments and free media outlets; you are our only hope. You are the hope of solidarity and support while we hold this lengthy battle, the battle of every Palestinian, for liberation, and dignity. And for the end of this illegitimate administrative detention, indefinitely holding us prisoner without charges or trial.

Peace and Allah's blessing and mercy be upon you - your hunger striking brothers in the Zionist jails of darkness and oppression. 

Representing the detainees: detainee Khalil Mousa Zawahra, and detainee Mousa Yacoub Ma’marjy. Thursday, 29 May 2014

Palestine Prisoners 10.06.2014 UFree Network condemns the local and international negative position towards

administrative detention hunger strikeUFree Network Media Centrehttp://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/495/3

In light of the continued local and international silence, UFree Network condemned the Palestinian official and international negative position towards the historical longest collective hunger strike which was declared on the 24th April 2014. Palestinian administrative detainees declared an open-ended hunger strike for 48 days in a row protesting their illegal detention for long periods without charge or trial demanding an end to the “Administrative Detention” policy and an end to the Israeli human rights violations, including torture, abuse, overcrowding, solitary confinement and a systematic policy of deliberate medical negligence.Palestinian official position did not live up to hunger strikers' demands despite the large Palestinian popular support. However, Israeli prison administration still refuses to negotiate with the strikers despite their significant health deterioration where they are continuously subjected to force-feeding for fear of international criticism.

The UN Secretary-General has called recently for the release of administrative detainees and for putting an end to such policy; moreover, UFree Network called for more firm positions and international pressures to put an end to administrative detention policy permanently. Although international law restricts the use of administrative detention, Israel is using it regularly in violation to Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, state prisoners should have a fair trial. 

Since the first round of the strike, UFree Network launched an international campaign calling for an end to Israeli “Administrative Detention” policy which leaves hundreds of Palestinian political detainees held inside Israeli jails without charge or trial. UFree Chairman, Mohammad Hamdan, expressed his total support to Palestinian administrative detainees’ hunger strike and called on the European Parliament and European member states to pressure Israel to meet their legitimate demands topped by ending administrative detention policy.

Palestine Prisoners16.06.2014 UFree Network slams Israeli hysterical arrest campaigns in West Bankhttp://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/497/3UFree Network has slammed in a statement issued on Sunday the unprecedented upsurge Israeli raid and arrest campaigns carried out during the last two days throughout West Bank. Palestinian former ministers, Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (MPLC), university lecturers and students together with civilian women and children have been targeted during the Israeli fierce arrest campaign. Human rights activists and ex-detainees were among the arrests including those who were engaged in hunger strikes in Israeli jails as part of the Israeli systematic collective punishment scenario targeting Palestinian civilians and national leadership alike. Most of the detainees were turned to administrative detention according to which thousands of Palestinian detainees have been held without charge

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or trial in total violation to international laws and conventions.  UFree Network called on the international community to intervene and save the Palestinian civilians kidnapped and locked up behind Israeli bars before it is too late. This is an unspeakable Israeli war crime, already pigeonholed by the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions as such. UFree Network has initiated a series of solidarity and human rights activities calling on international community and European Union to pressure Israel to stop such arbitrary and random arrests and immediately release administrative hunger strikers, who have been starving for 54 days in a row.URGENT ACTION NEEDED!Mass Hunger Strike continues by Palestinian administrative detainees for 54 days in a row WITHOUT any change to their detention conditions: * Get the latest update: http://ufreeonline.net/* http://ufreeonline.net/timer/* ACTION ALERT: Hunger-striking Palestinian administrative detainees take forefront as negotiations collapse:Website Link: http://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/483/3Click here to view this email in your browser: http://ymlp296.net/zdXleB* Take Action | Petition to stop Israeli Administrative Detention policy: Sign petition | Sign here: http://ymlp296.net/xgmmbeyhgmguu UFree Network | An independent European-wide human rights network, set up to defend the rights of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees.Join | Share | Like:http://facebook.com/ufreenetworkhttp://twitter.com/ufreenetworkhttp://youtube.com/ufreenetworkofficial Join our mailing-list: http://ymlp296.net/xgmmbeyhgmgh

For all media enquiries, call: 00447721490579 | 004746728978 | 00442081236682 | secretary@ufree-p.net

Palestine Prisoners18.06.2014 Recent mass arrests in West Bank | Updated Facts sheetSince Thursday evening, 12th June 2014, Israeli occupation forces carried out a large-scale arrest campaign in the West Bank targeting Palestinian former ministers, Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (MPLC), university lecturers and students together with civilian women and children. Human rights activists and ex-detainees were among the arrests including those who were engaged in hunger strikes in Israeli jails as part of the Israeli systematic collective punishment scenario. Wednesday, 18th June, 69 Palestinians were arrested including 50 liberated detainees who were released during Shalit Swap Deal reached under Egyptian mediation, in addition to 3 PLC deputies. Israeli forces kidnapped 13 Palestinian MPs and 2 former ministers so far, bringing the number of Palestinian MPs held in Israeli jails to 24 in addition to 3 former ministers. Note that most of the detainees above were held in administrative detention (according to which detainees are incarcerated without charge or trial). The detained and convicted MPs: 1. Marwan Barghouti, sentenced to five life terms imprisonment 2. Ahmed Saadat, the secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, sentenced to 30 years imprisonment 3. Ahmad Attoun, from Jerusalem The MPs held administratively in Israeli jails, some of them are engaged on hunger strike: 4. D. Mahmoud Ramahi 5. Abdel Jaber Fuqaha  6. Mohammed Jamal Natshe  7. Hatem Kufaisheh  8. Nizar Ramadan 9. Mohammed Badr  10. Mohammed Abu Tair 11. Yasser Mansour  MPs who were arrested during the past two days: 12. Dr. Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council 13. Hassan Yousef 14. Ahmed Totah

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 15. Fadel Hamdan  16. Abdul Rahman Zeidan  17. Ibrahim Abu Salem 18. Hosni Borini  19. Azzam Salhab  20. Bassem Zarir  21. Samir Kadi  22. Ayman Daraghmeh  23. Ahmed Mubarak's  24. Ahmad Haj Ali Including three former ministers: 1. Khaled Abu Arafa (Jerusalem Affairs minister)2. Issa Al Jaba’ari (Minister of Local government)3. Wafi Qubaha (Palestinian Detainees and ex-detainees minister)

Updated: 300 arrests reported during the Israeli campaign in West Bank:According to Palestinian Prisoners Society, 300 Palestinians were detained during the Israeli raid and arrest campaign which started on Thursday evening 12th June 2014 throughout West Bank. 52 released political prisoners and detainees following the “Shalit Swap Deal” in 2011 were among the detainees in addition to 11 PLC members. 104 arrests were carried out in Hebron, while 52 arrests were reported in Nablus. 41 Palestinian were detained in Ramallah, 37 detainees were documented in Jenin and 16 others in Tulkarm, while 13 Palestinian citizens were arrested in Qalqilya. 12 Palestinians were also detained in Bethlehem, while 12 from Jerusalem were detained. Including 6 arrests were reported in Tubas town near Nablus, and 5 others in Salfit city near Nablus, while one Palestinian was detained in Jericho. 

  Mass Hunger Strike continues by Palestinian administrative detainees now for 54 days, WITHOUT any change to their detention conditions: #UFreeNetwork_MediaCentre

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#Hungry_for_Freedom #PalHunger#Water_AND_Salt#Salt #Water * Get the latest update: http://ufreeonline.net/* http://ufreeonline.net/timer/* ACTION ALERT: Hunger-striking Palestinian administrative detainees take forefront as negotiations collapse:Website Link: http://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/483/3Click here to view this email in your browser: http://ymlp296.net/zdXleB * Take Action | Petition to stop Israeli Administrative Detention policy: Sign petition | Sign here:http://ymlp296.net/xgmmbeyhgmguu  UFree Network | An independent European-wide human rights network, set up to defend the rights of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees.

Palestine Prisoners30.06.2014 Monthly Update | Palestinian Political Prisoners and Detainees

24 Palestinian MPs held in Israeli jails:

Since Thursday evening, 12th June 2014, Israeli occupation forces carried out a large-scale arrest campaign in the West Bank targeting Palestinian former ministers, Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (MPLC), university lecturers and students together with civilian women and children. Israeli forces kidnapped 13 Palestinian MPs and 2 former ministers so far, bringing the number of Palestinian MPs held in Israeli jails to 24 in addition to 3 former ministers. 

Find out more: http://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/504/1

- Breaking News: Palestinian administrative detainee Ayman Al-Tabeesh has postponed his hunger strike which lasted for 122 days. He ended his  hunger strike following an agreement with the Israeli Prison Service to put an end to his administrative detention. For more information, visit: http://www.ufreeonline.net 

- Palestinian administrative detainees have suspended the hunger strike, which they started last April, after reaching a deal with the Israeli prison administration. The strikers have decided to suspend their hunger strike after having been starving for 63 days. Find out more:https://www.facebook.com/ufreenetwork/photos/a.182174708491769.38209.177627865613120/730774943631740/?type=1&theater

- Israeli forces declared large-scale and unprecedented raid operation in occupied West Bank. 529 Palestinians were detained so far since Israel started its arbitrary mass arrest campaign throughout occupied West Bank on Thursday evening 12th June 2014. Find out more: http://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/503/1

- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Friday expressed his concern about the well-being of Palestinian hunger-striking detainees in Israeli jails. Find out more: http://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/492/1

- UFree Network has slammed in a statement the unprecedented upsurge Israeli raid and arrest campaigns carried out during the last two days throughout West Bank.Find out more: http://www.ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/497/1

- The administrative detainee Ayman Atabish has continued his hunger strike for 113 days in a row protesting his illegal detention without trial or jail.

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Find out more: http://www.ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/500/1

- Ex-detainee Samer Issawi, who has been on hunger strike for more than 266 days, has been re-arrested today after large Israeli forces violently his home in Issawiya town in occupied Jerusalem.Find out more:https://www.facebook.com/ufreenetwork/photos/a.182174708491769.38209.177627865613120/729671773742057/?type=1&theater

- The Israeli authorities intend to turn half of the Palestinians kidnapped in recent West Bank arrest campaigns to administrative detention .Find out more: http://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/502/3

- 13 Palestinian hunger strikers have been transferred to the Israeli hospital Tel Hashomer following a serious decline in their health conditions.Find out more:http://www.ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/493/1

Statistics and figures:  589 Palestinians were detained so far since Israel started its arbitrary mass arrest campaign throughout occupied West Bank

on Thursday evening 12th June 2014.  Israeli forces kidnapped 13 Palestinian Members of Parliament and 2 former ministers so far, bringing the number of

Palestinian MPs held in Israeli jails to 24 in addition to 3 former ministers. 9,000 Palestinian children were arrested by Israeli forces since 2000. 1,518 Palestinian children were killed by Israel's occupation forces from the outbreak of the second Intifada in September

2000 up to April 2013. 6000 children were injured by the Israelis since the start of the Second Intifada against Israel's occupation. Almost two hundred Palestinian minors are being held in prison by Israel; 50 of them are children under 16 years of age. Since 2800 there have been at least 170 Palestinian children in Israeli detention at any given time. 143 Palestinians, arrested as part of the Israeli military campaign waged in occupied West Bank, were sent to administrative

detention bringing the number of administrative detainees held in Israeli jails to 340. 16 Palestinian female prisoners are currently held in Hasharon prison amid very poor detention conditions including 7

convicted female prisoners. 4 Palestinian women belonging to the same family were arrested after raiding their home in Jenin.

460 Palestinians were prevented from traveling last week via Karama border crossing.

UFree Network | An independent European-wide human rights network, set up to defend the rights of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign12.06.2014 PSC update - TAKE ACTION: demolitions taking place in Al ArakibThe Palestine Solidarity Campaign works for peace & justice for Palestinians, in support of human rights & against all racismURGENT ACTION: Help save Al Arakib from destruction and forced eviction!

This morning, according to reports from the Negev Forum for Coexistence, Israeli Forces have started destroying Al Araqib again - the demolitions included water tanks, structures around the cemetery and upheaval all around. The situation is urgent! The village of Al Arakib has already been destroyed more than 60 times since July 2010, and each time the villagers have rebuilt their homes, determined to stay on their ancestral lands, despite the physical and emotional hardships. This time the Israelis are trying to force them off their land permanently.

The remaining residents had received eviction orders stating that by 13th July they must leave the village or be evicted by force. The orders include the dead and people who have left the village. The residents of Al Arakib lay claims to the lands on which their village is built and from which they were first evicted after the establishment of the State in the fifties. Their land claims are still before the courts and have yet to be decided. During the last four years the non-violent resistance of Al Arakib has become a symbol of the Arab-Bedouin struggle against Israeli government plans to forcibly concentrate its Bedouin citizens in government “planned” townships and to

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demolish 35 so-called unrecognised villages, whose population numbers in the thousands. Al Arakib must not fall! Please act now to prevent an eviction that will set the Negev (known in Arabic as the Naqab) aflame. What you can do!Today you can phone the Foreign Office (the FCO) on 020 7008 1500  and ask them to make urgent representations to the Israeli Government. Also Tweet the FCO or comment on one of their facebook posts>

Sign the petition – produced by groups working directly with the villagers: the Coalition for Al Arakib, the Negev Coexistence Forum and the Recognition Forum.

Palestinian prisoners lives in dangerThe Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike is now the longest in Palestinian history, and several prisoners have suffered internal bleeding and required surgery. The Israeli Knesset is seeking to pass a bill that would compel doctors to force- feed Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, despite the fact that force-feeding is officially recognised as a form of torture. The prisoners are protesting Israel’s policy of administrative detention – locking up Palestinians without charge or trial. See PSC’s vice-chair, Kamel Hawwash, highlighting the issue of administrative detention>

British-Danish company, G4S, has come under intense international pressure as a result of their involvement servicing Israel’s prisons - the latest shock to the company being thecomplete divestment from G4S by the Gates’ Foundation – the charitable foundation set up by Bill and Melinda Gates. In an attempt to absolve G4S against the charge of complicity in war crimes, the company has released what it calls an “independent review.” The report is co-authored by two academics who both have a strong and visible pro-Israel stance. Despite this farcical attempt to defend their record, at its AGM G4S said they will not renew their contracts with the Israeli prison service – so we need your help to keep up the pressure to ensure that the company does indeed end its links with the Israeli prison service. Read PSC’s report of the AGM and Amena Saleem’s expose of G4S’ ‘independent review’ on Electronic Intifada>

10.06.2014 Children in the Palestinian Authority juvenile justice system

Ramallah, June 10, 2014—Ahmad was 15 when he was arrested during a 3 am raid by Palestinian security forces at El Far’a refugee camp in September 2013. He was accused of throwing stones, burning tires and insulting members of the Palestinian security service, and was dragged from his house blindfolded and with his hands bound by a plastic cord. As he was placed into a waiting jeep, one of the men arresting him lit a lighter under his wrists to remove the cord. “I was screaming in pain. But he just kept doing it,” said Ahmad, recounting his ordeal to Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-Palestine), a children's rights organization based in the West Bank.

TABLE OF CONTENTS• Outdated law • Not a unique story • Limited social care • Draft law • Ordeal continues • Parallels in Gaza • West Bank   case summaries

Ahmad was taken to the Palestinian Authority (PA) military intelligence headquarters in Tubas in the northeast of the West Bank, a place described by one resident of El Far’a camp as “a nightmare for the civilians who go there.” After being detained overnight he was transferred to a police station where he was interrogated by three police officers - a policewoman asking questions while two other of -ficers sat next to him, kicking and hitting him repeatedly. “Whenever I said I didn't do the things they were accusing me of, one of them would hit me,” Ahmad said. “I didn't know which one it would it be, and sometimes they asked questions one after the other.” The inter-rogator repeatedly threatened him with further beatings if he did not confess to the charges.

Outdated lawThe types of violations recounted by Ahmad are normally associated with arrest at the hands of the Israeli military, which enforces milit-ary law throughout the occupied West Bank. In this case, however, it was the PA that was responsible for his ill-treatment. The legal systems covering the three areas of the West Bank vary. In Area A, home to most West Bank cities, the PA has jurisdiction. Legal con -trol over Area B is shared jointly by the PA and the Israeli military, and Area C, comprising 60 percent of the West Bank, falls under Is-raeli control.

Children from Areas A and B who end up in PA custody report threats, beatings and neglect by forces during arrest and detention, ac-cording to affidavits collected by DCI-Palestine. This is due in part to the fact that those areas of the West Bank administered by the PA rely on a Jordanian legal system dating from 1954 to provide the legal framework for dealing with children. The Palestinian Deputy At -torney General, Ahmad Barak, says that the current law, which has no explicit component on juvenile justice, is outdated. “It is from the 1950s, before the international system safeguarding children’s rights was really in place,” he says. “The current system deals with a child as the perpetrator, not as a victim. It also focuses on punishment and not on rehabilitation. There is a philosophy behind this that doesn't respect the human rights of the child.”

Not a unique storyAhmad’s story is by no means unique. According to figures from the Palestinian police force, PA security forces arrested 2,455 children in 2013, the majority of whom were boys. Like Ahmad, several were subjected to violence from police and security officers.Mohammad was 14 when he was arrested by PA forces in September 2013. He had run away from his house following an argument with his father, and shouted at PA forces stationed nearby. During his arrest and detention Mohammad faced similar treatment to that of Ahmad. Mohammad was detained for 17 days in three different police stations, both alone and with other teenagers. He was subjected to beatings and abuse throughout his ordeal, and was frequently denied food, sleep and access to a bathroom.

Khaled al-Sabateen, chief of staff to the PA police force’s general director, admitted that violations have been known to take place: “We still receive some complaints from cases of children in conflict with the law whose rights have been violated,” he said, “but we take all the necessary precautions to prevent these violations occurring.”

Limited social care

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Like many others, Mohammad was detained in a police station rather than a juvenile center, owing to the lack of facilities for children in the West Bank. The majority of children arrested in 2013 were held in separate cells within adult prisons, or in the cells of police sta -tions.

Salim Qawareeq is director of the Social Protection Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs, which funds and manages the West Bank's two rehabilitation centers for juveniles: the Dar Al-Amal Rehabilitation Center for Boys and the Girls Care House. “If you were to take a snapshot of the police stations in every governorate at any given time there would be around 25 children in them,” he says. According to numbers provided by the Social Protection Department, just 300 boys were taken to the Dar Al-Amal Rehabilita-tion Center for Boys in Ramallah. The few girls who are in conflict with the law in the West Bank are sent to the Girls Care House, which due to a lack of resources also shelters girls who are in need of protection as a result of abuse and neglect in the family home. Qawareeq admits that some practices are not in line with international standards, citing as an example the lack of separation between children who have committed crimes and those seeking protection. "We don't have the capacity to separate the two groups of girls. It is against the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child not to separate them – even at Dar Al-Amal there should be separa -tion between children facing trials and those sentenced – but we don’t have the capacity," Qawareeq says.

The Dar Al-Amal Rehabilitation Center for Boys in Ramallah is run-down, but has an atmosphere of calm. The center, which holds an average of 7 to 25 boys from aged 13 upward, is equipped with computer facilities, a small outside recreation area and an arts room. The boys, most of whom are accused of theft, have friendly relationships with one another and with the center’s staff, and can receive visits from family members throughout the day. Very few children arrested by the PA, however, end up here: most are held in police stations or in adult prisons.

Draft lawIn 2010, after a combined effort from Palestinian ministries and human rights organizations, movement toward a specialized judicial system for children began. It resulted in the 2012 Draft Law on Juvenile Justice. The draft law addresses preventive measures and pro-grams, and creates a domestic juvenile court. It also focuses on alternatives that do not include time behind bars. A further aspect of the draft law is reiterated by al-Sabateen, who says, “our guiding principle within the Juvenile Police Department is to perceive children in conflict with the law as victims of circumstance, and provide as much protection and privacy to them as possible.” But while the draft law has the potential to remedy many of the failings of the current legislation, progress has been slow over the past 18 months, with the paperwork shifted between the President and the PA Cabinet as it awaits amendments and signatures.

Mahmoud Abbas has in the meantime signed 15 international treaties in 2014, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the involvement of children in armed conflict. In signing the CRC and the Optional Pro -tocol, a state accepts an obligation to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the enumerated rights - including by adopting or changing laws and policies in their own national legislation.

Rifat Kassis, executive director of DCI-Palestine, emphasizes the importance of seeing these international commitments implemented at a national level, saying, “Without national laws reflecting international standards, the reality for children in the juvenile justice system will not change.”

Ordeal continuesMeanwhile for Ahmad, the future remains uncertain. After being detained for 15 days, paying 300 Jordanian dinars ($423) in bail costs and signing a confession that he was not allowed to read, he is still awaiting a final decision from the court. According to one of his law-yers, he could be sentenced to 90 days in prison. “I am worried that if this is true my school year will suffer,” Ahmad says, “and I will have to go through more bad treatment.” Until the PA legal system respects the rights of the child, Ahmad’s experience will remain a reality for many more Palestinian children in the West Bank.*Jessica Purkiss is a freelance contributor to Defense for Children International Palestine.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign19.06.2014 PSC update - end Israel's collective punishmentPalestinians under siegeFollowing the disappearance of three Israeli teenagers at the end of last week, Israeli soldiers have rounded up and arrested hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank, shot dead a 20-year-old man, and injured bystanders, including children, and protesters.  300,000 Palestinians are being held under siege or closure. Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, Bethlehem, East Jerusalem and Hebron are among the towns that have been subjected to night raids and ransackings. Israeli soldiers are on the streets of almost every population centre in the West Bank. Read more

A former Speaker of the Israeli Parliament, Avraham Burg, says the Israeli response shows that "we [the Israelis] are incapable of understanding the suffering of a society, its cry, and the future of an entire nation that has been kidnapped by us". Western media too, seem only interested in the missing Israelis, not in the fate of Palestinians, including children who are regularly abducted by the Israeli army Read more>

In the last ten days, Israel has also stepped up its air strikes against Gaza. Seven-year-old Ali al-Awwar died on Saturday following an air strike the previous Wednesday which killed his uncle. Israel’s ongoing air strikes against Gaza, affect all Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip, and again constitute collective punishment – which is illegal under international law. These strikes must stop immediately. PSC has called on the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, to tell the Israeli Government to end its collective punishment against Palestinians following the disappearance of the three Israelis. The international community must step up and speak out against the desperation and instability created by Israel’s illegal and inhumane actions. See more here. Please write a letter to your local newspaper, making the points in this article. If they publish your letter please send us a copy (contact details below). More than 1400 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli Forces since 2000. Ask your MP to sign the parliamentary motion – drafted by Action 4 Palestinian Children – calling for an end to Israel’s killing and injury of Palestinian children.

Israel’s “administrative detention” policy and theplight of Palestinians on hunger strikeTuesday 24 June, 6.15pm-8pmBritish Library (Bronte room)   96 Euston Road London  (nearest tubes: Euston and Kings Cross)Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Arab Organisation for Human Rights (UK) are holding a joint meeting in central London to 

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address the dire plight of nearly 200 Palestinians in Israeli jails on hunger strike (for over 50 days), protesting against their detention without charge or trial under Israel’s “administrative detention” policy. Shackled and  tortured, many are on the verge of death.

Support for administrative detainees on hunger strike is now more urgent than ever. As part of their collective punishment against the Palestinian people, Israel is now worsening conditions in its jails, and still refuses to discuss releasing those it holds without charge.   To add to prisoners' suffering, Israel is rushing through legislation making it possible to force-feed them, a contravention of international law.

This is a call to the international community to give voice to the voiceless and victims of human rights abuses in Israeli jails.Speakers: former Palestinian prisoner and hunger striker, Mahmoud Sarsak, Clare Short, Sir Gerald Kaufman MP, Lawyer Toby Cadman, writer Victoria Brittain, PSC’s Sarah Colborne and Mohammed Jamil – Arab Organisation for Human Rights (UK). 26th June - Um Fadi - A public meeting with mother of tortured Palestinian child prisonerNow even liberal Israelis support BDS says Richard Silverstein

 Kill a Palestinian every hour, says facebook page 

Palestinian anger against Red Cross over silence on hunger strikers, killings and arrests 

Palestine Solidarity Campaign26.06.2014 End Israel's collective punishment - take action now!Following the disappearance of three Israeli teenagers on Thursday 12 th June Israeli authorities have meted out brutal collective punishment against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza. Five Palestinians have been killed.  At the time of writing (Thursday 26 June) Israeli Forces havearrested almost 500 Palestinians in raids and mass arrests throughout the West Bank. Former political prisoners have been particularly targeted, and at least 52 of the prisoners released in the Gilad Shalit exchange have now been re-arrested.

A  Lancet student describes it as “nightly raids on West Bank towns and villages, mass arrests, killings, house demolitions, shootings, severe restrictions of movement, and an escalation of violation and collective punishment measures targeting ordinary people and sparing no one”.

Mustafa Husni Aslan (22 years) died Wednesday 25th June after five days in intensive care. He was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers at Qalandia refugee camp on 20 June.

Ahmad Sabarin (20 years) was shot in Al-Jalazun refugee camp (17 June) Mohammad Dudeen (15 years): was shot in Dura (20 June) Ahmad Said Suod Khalid (27 years) was shot Al-Ein refugee camp (22 June) Mahmoud Tarifi, (30 years) was shot in Ramallah (22 June)

Two further Palestinans have died of heart attacks following Israeli Forces raids

Following the British and Dutch Government’s lead, the French Government publishes guidance warning about financial and business links with Israeli settlements 

Palestinian prisoner enters 119th day on hunger strikeAyman Tbeish is suffering serious health complications as he enters the 119th day of a hunger strike to protest his detention without trial. He had previously reached agreement with Israel, but they broke their agreement by issuing new administrative detention orders against him. On Tuesday, 63 Palestinian prisoners suspended a hunger strike which they had observed in Israeli jails since late April, one of their lawyers said. Currently almost 300 Palestinians are being held without charge or trial.

 

Return of punitive home demolitions Israel is resurrecting their policy of demolishing the homes of those it suspects of crimes, not only impacting on them but their family members.

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