issue no 18

Issue No: 18 6th May, 2012

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18

Special Issue on: Palestinian Hunger Strike


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Contents

Commentary

Palestinian prisoners are from Earth planet too ................................................................................. 4

Fact Sheet

Why Palestinian prisoners are on hunger strike ................................................................................. 6

News Tour

Palestinian prisoners subject to collective punishment as mass hunger strike continues ................. 8

Israel exerts physical and psychological pressure on prisoners to end hunger-strike ....................... 9

Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike enters crucial period ............................................................... 10

The occupation escalates its repressive measures against the striking prisoners ........................... 12

120 new prisoners join the hunger strike ......................................................................................... 13

Hamas threatens to use all means to support striking captives ....................................................... 13

Ahrar: Detainees on hunger strike till all demands fulfilled ............................................................. 14

Israeli concerns increase as hunger strike broadens ........................................................................ 15

Israeli jailers punish Hamas hunger strikers in Negev prison ........................................................... 15

Israeli judge renews solitary confinement of Barghouthi for six months ......................................... 16

Israeli military court delays decision on two hunger strikers ........................................................... 16

Hunger striking prisoners Diab, Halahleh in grave condition ........................................................... 17

Teibi: Bilal Dhiab at risk of dying any moment ................................................................................. 18

Palestinian hunger strikers in prison clinic ....................................................................................... 19

Palestinian prisoner loses sense of hearing, vomits blood ............................................................... 20

Palestinian Weekly Report is a periodical insight into the latest developments of the

Palestinian Issue. It’s issued by The Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia and it

focuses on the most important news and analysis about the happenings of the

Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation in the Holy Lands of Palestine. The

views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect PCOM's editorial policy.


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Haneyya: Daily contacts made in support of prisoners .................................................................... 20

Arab League to discuss Palestinian prisoner hunger-strikes ............................................................ 21

Tunisian minister on hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners ..................................... 21

Solidarity camps spring up across the West Bank ............................................................................ 22

Solidarity hunger-strikes begin in Gaza City ..................................................................................... 22

A sit-in in Lebanon in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners .............................................................. 23

Freed detainees in Turkey support captives on hunger strike ......................................................... 23

Russian activists call on UN to press occupation to fulfill prisoners' demands ................................ 24

The launch of a broad campaign in Europe to support the prisoners’ issue .................................... 24

Caricature

The battle of Empty Stomachs .......................................................................................................... 25


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Commentary

Palestinian prisoners are from Earth planet too

By: Dr. Daud Abdullah

Given the contrasting reactions of Western

leaders to the case of the former Ukrainian

prime minister and that of the Palestinians in

Israeli jails, one may think that the latter are

from a different planet.

In Ukraine, a single politician, Yulia

Tymoshenko, has gone on hunger strike in

protest against her ill-treatment; leading

politicians and the media across the West to

scream in righteous indignation. In their

worthy efforts to end her ordeal, a growing

number of EU officials are considering a

boycott of the Euro 2012 football

championships due to begin in Kiev next

month. This is all well and good. It may be

that the outrage is based on damning evidence

that Mrs Tymoshenko has been maltreated for

political reasons.

In Palestine, meanwhile, more than 1,700

prisoners have entered their third week of

hunger strike in protest against their degrading

and inhuman treatment at the hands of their

Israeli jailers. There hasn't been a whimper of

protest from Berlin, London or Paris. Is the

silence due to ignorance? Definitely not.

Rightly or wrongly, Mrs Tymoshenko was

tried and convicted of abusing her office. In

Palestine, however, there are among the 6,000

prisoners being held by Israel some 28 elected

members of the Palestinian parliament and

three former ministers; all are being held in

"administrative detention", which means no

charges, no trials and no convictions.

Who in the West can seriously claim

ignorance of the Palestinian case? The

prisoner issue has been festering since the

signing of the Oslo accords almost two

decades ago. It remains a critical factor in the

search for a resolution of the conflict and has

been kept alive by Israel's intransigence on the

one hand and the exceptional status afforded to

the Zionist state on the other, effectively

placing it above the law. Indeed, hundreds of

Palestinians continue to languish in Israel's

prisons, even after their sentences have

expired. The only time the issue of Palestinian

prisoners appeared on the radar of Western

leaders was during their efforts to secure the

release of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad

Shalit.

Lest it be forgotten, under the Egyptian-

brokered agreement for the release of Shalit,

Israel undertook to end its practice of solitary

confinement. The practice still continues,

though, making its end one of the key


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demands of the prisoners on hunger strike

today. Some of these individuals have been in

solitary confinement for more than 12

consecutive years; even at the best of times,

they are only allowed out of their cells for one

hour a day.

The present hunger strike is unprecedented.

Whereas in the past such strikes were isolated

and individual acts, the current protest is

widespread and well-coordinated. If this does

not merit a comment or does not stir the

consciences of Western leaders, nothing ever

will. Their silence is shameful, as is the lack of

coverage by, for example, a national

broadcaster like the BBC.

The Palestinian prisoners' demands are simple,

namely that Israel fulfils its obligations

towards the occupied people as an occupying

power, and towards those whom it holds in

detention. This entails, inter alia, granting

family and legal visits, and medical care, as

well as freedom from all forms of physical and

psychological abuse, especially the practice of

solitary confinement.

The United Nations Convention Against

Torture, which Israel has ratified, defines

torture as "any act by which severe pain or

suffering, whether physical or mental, is

intentionally inflicted on a person". Some may

claim that Israel had resolved to reject torture

completely, according to a 1999 ruling by the

country's Supreme Court. That is obviously

not the case.

Although the Court ruled, "Neither the

government nor the heads of security services

possess the authority to establish directives

and bestow authorisation regarding the use of

liberty infringing physical means during the

interrogation of suspects suspected of hostile

terrorist activities", it did leave a legal opening

which allows interrogators to claim that they

are acting out of "necessity" to save lives.

Even so, nothing justifies torture. Article 2 of

the Convention against Torture and Other

Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or

Punishment states explicitly, "No exceptional

circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of

war or a threat of war, internal political

instability or any other public emergency, may

be invoked as a justification of torture."

Palestinians point out that the argument of

exceptional circumstances granted in 1999 has

since become "the necessity interrogation

procedure" to abuse prisoners.

In the end, there are two ways of explaining

Western inconsistency in the cases of

Tymoshenko and the Palestinian prisoners;

racism or exceptionalism. Either way, it is

damaging and will remain forever a dark stain

on the consciences of the silent appeasers.

There are, however, measures that can be

adopted to avoid this ignominy. For a start,

Israel should be compelled to clarify its legal

position on the status of the Palestinian

prisoners. Are they prisoners of war held by an

occupying power or common criminals?

Where there is doubt, as there appears to be,

the international Court of Justice should be

called upon to issue a ruling.

The contrasting reactions to these two distant

issues have breached all ethical standards.

Whatever security benefits that may be

proclaimed from the abuse of Palestinian

prisoners, they will be outweighed by the

damage done to the nations which are by their

silence betraying their professed values of

justice and the rule of law. Freedom from

cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or

punishment is a fundamental and absolute

right of every person, and this right may not be

violated under any circumstances, whether the

victims are Palestinian or Ukrainian.

Palestinian prisoners are from planet Earth too.


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Fact Sheet

Why Palestinian prisoners are on hunger strike

By: Middle East Monitor (MEMO)

1.1 - The issue of Palestinian prisoners is one

of the worst consequences of the Israeli

occupation. Since 1967, over 700,000

Palestinians, 20% of the population of the

occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip have been

detained. This number represents

approximately 40% of the total male

Palestinian population in the occupied

territories.

1.2 - Today, there are about 6,000 prisoners in

17 Israeli jails and detention centres. They

include six women and more than 200 minors.

1.3 - 330 Palestinians are being held in

administrative detention with no formal

charges having been brought against them in a

court of law. 28 elected members of the

parliament, and three former ministers fall

within this category.

1.4 - Israel is currently holding all these

Palestinian prisoners far away from their

homes, and outside of the occupied territory.

This constitutes a clear violation of the Fourth

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection

of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Article 76

of the Convention states:

“Protected persons accused of offences shall

be detained in the occupied country, and if

convicted they shall serve their sentences

therein.” Article 49 also states:

“Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well

as deportations of protected persons from

occupied territory to the territory of the

Occupying Power or to that of any other

country, occupied or not, are prohibited,

regardless of their motive.”

1.5 - Article 32 specifically prohibits “murder,

torture, corporal punishments, mutilation and

… any other measures of brutality whether

applied by civilian or military agents”. Since

1967, 202 Palestinians prisoners have died

while being tortured in Israeli jails.

1.6 - Israel routinely tries Palestinians before

military courts, none of which meet the most

basic standards of international law;

particularly the laws relating to the treatment

of prisoners of war and people under

occupation.

1.7 - In light of the above, there are now calls

for the prosecution of Israeli officials at an

international tribunal.

Solitary Confinement:

2.0 - Solitary confinement is one of the

favoured methods used by Israel’s prison

authorities to penalize Palestinian prisoners.

More than 1,600 prisoners began a hunger

strike on 17 April under the slogan, ‘we will

live with dignity’. They are demanding an end

to this torment that has become part of the

vocabulary of Palestinian existence.

2.1 - Although the mass hunger strike

commenced on 17 April to mark Palestine

Prisoners’ Day, several prisoners had

previously embarked on hunger strike. Some

have now passed the 50 day mark.

2.2 - Two of the most high profile cases during

this period were Khadr Adnan and Hanan Al

Shalabi.

2.3 - Toward the end of 2011, some prisoners

went on hunger strike for about 20 days.

Through Egyptian mediation, an agreement

was reached between the prisoners’ leadership

and the Israeli authorities who undertook to

end the practice of solitary confinement.

2.4 - Soon after, Israel broke the agreement

and returned to the practice of solitary

confinement, imposing even stricter conditions

on prisoners.


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2.5 - Prisoners are confined to a tiny 1.8 by 2.7

meter cell with not enough room for them to

move or to store their personal possessions.

2.6 - Solitary confinement cells are specially

designed be an additional source of

psychological and physical pressure on

prisoners. They are cement wall structures

painted in dull colours with poor lighting, and

often have very coarse finishing. In one side of

the wall, there is usually a small opening that

barely allows in air. The cells are very damp,

which easily causes the spread of illnesses,

especially breathing problems and skin

diseases.

2.7 - Electricity supplies are routinely

disconnected and visitation from relatives and

lawyers are denied to prisoners.

2.8 - Israel uses solitary confinement as a

punitive measure against influential resistance

leaders as a way of crushing their resolve and

weakening both their morale and physical

capability.

2.9 - Prison conditions became noticeably

worse after the incumbent Netanyahu

government passed what is called the ‘Shalit

law’, prior to the release of captured Israeli

soldier, Gilad Shalit.

2.10 - Ordinarily, prisoners who are not in

solitary confinement are allowed out for one

hour each day to receive sunlight. This

statutory respite is not granted to prisoners in

solitary confinement. They are taken out

according to the mood of their jailers and that

can be at any given time. Sometimes, they are

taken out at six in the morning, even when it is

raining and very cold. And if the prisoner asks

to delay the break, they may lose the

opportunity and not be taken out at all on that

day.

2.11 - As for meals, as a rule, it is dreadfully

substandard. Hence, prisoners often depend on

purchases from the prison canteen when

possible. This adds an additional financial

burden on the individual prisoner, as well as

his relatives.

2.12 - Prisoners held in solitary confinement

are, however, denied access to canteens and

are not allowed to receive money or gifts from

relatives or other sources. They are forced to

consume what they are given and invariably

suffer from malnutrition, poor sight and blood

deficiencies. Their meals are inadequate both

in terms of quality and quantity. Indeed,

prisoners are only allowed to request water at

specific times which they find particularly

difficult in summer when they naturally

require a higher intake of liquid.

2.13 - The Israeli authorities use an

exceptionally severe form of punishment

called the ‘sunduq’ (box) where prisoners are

sent to a very small cell that is 180 cm long

and 150cm wide. It is barely enough to sleep

or pray. It contains two containers; one for

drinking water and the other to urinate. Those

unfortunate enough to be placed here are only

allowed to visit the toilet once a day. To

overcome this obstacle, prisoners try to eat just

the bare minimum in order to avoid the need.

2.14 - Prisoners in the ‘sunduq’ are not

allowed to have watches or clocks. Nor are

they allowed radios, newspapers or televisions.

They are not allowed to purchase food or any

necessity and are not even allowed to have a

pillow.

Basic demands – to live with dignity and:

administrative detention

ives being humiliated at

checkpoints while journeying to and from

visits.


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News Tour

Palestinian prisoners subject to collective punishment as

mass hunger strike continues

As organisations dedicated to the promotion

and protection of human rights in the

Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), the

Palestinian Council of Human Rights

Organisations (PCHRO) is gravely concerned

about the series of collective and punitive

measures taken by the Israeli Prison Service

(IPS) against Palestinian political prisoners in

Israeli prisons currently engaged in a mass

hunger strike.

Also of utmost concern are the lives of Bilal

Diab and Thaer Halahleh, who today began

their 66th day of hunger strike. Both men are

in critical condition and have been denied

access to independent doctors for the majority

of their hunger strike. Thaer noted that they

have been subjected to significant pressure by

prison doctors and the prison administration to

break their hunger strike, but they are

determined to continue with the strike until

they are released. No decision was made in

today’s Israeli High Court hearing regarding

their administrative detention orders. Both

Bilal and Thaer were brought to the hearing

and attended in wheelchairs. During the

hearing, Bilal fainted and there were no

doctors present inside the court. Thaer testified

to the mistreatment he has suffered since his

arrest. Judge Amnon Rubenstein announced

that the panel of judges would make a decision

after reviewing the “secret file”, but after the

review stated that the parties would be

informed at a later time, without specifying

when.

On 17 April 2012, Palestinian prisoners held

in Israeli prisons launched a mass hunger

strike demanding an end to administrative

detention, isolation and other punitive

measures taken against Palestinian prisoners

including the denial of family and lawyer

visits, especially to prisoners from the Gaza

Strip who have been denied family visits since

2007, and access to university education. The

campaign has steadily gained momentum over

the past two weeks and an estimated 2,500

prisoners are now on an open-ended hunger

strike.

Since the beginning of the hunger strike, the

Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has collectively

punished participating prisoners using a wide

range of tactics. Most recent updates indicate

that some prisoners are being fined between

250 (€50) and 500 (€100) shekels for each day

of their hunger strike. In Naqab prison,


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prisoners are experiencing daily inspections of

random sections, which last for approximately

40 to 50 minutes. These inspections include

cell and body searches. In addition, prisoners

are no longer permitted to leave their rooms

for the daily break period.

Many hunger strikers have been transferred to

different prisons or to special sections within

prisons, in an attempt to further isolate them

from the growing movement and the outside

world. The latest transfers include the

movement of prisoners between Megiddo

prison, Shatta prison and a special section of

Gilboa prison. At least three leaders of the

campaign have been placed in solitary

confinement in Beersheba, in addition to many

others who were placed in solitary

confinement upon the announcement of their

hunger strikes. Ninety-six hunger strikers have

been transferred to Ohalei Keidar prison,

where they have been placed two prisoners to

each solitary confinement cell.

Lawyers attempting to visit hunger striking

prisoners have also been prevented from doing

so, with prison administrations banning certain

lawyers outright, claiming visits were not

properly arranged, or declaring “situations of

emergency” right before or during scheduled

and pre-approved visits. On 29 April, a lawyer

from Addameer Prisoner Support and Human

Rights Association was told that his visit to

Ashkelon prison was not approved, even

though it had been confirmed the previous

day. Another lawyer was only allowed to visit

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

(PFLP) Secretary General Ahmad Sa’adat,

who was moved to Ramleh prison medical

center on 27 April, for a period of ten minutes

on 30 April, and was refused a visit the

following day.

Six other Palestinian prisoners remain on

extended hunger strike, including Hassan

Safadi, who today began his 60th day, and

Omar Abu Shalal, who is on his 58th day

today. Jaafar Azzedine, currently on his 43rd

day of hunger strike, reported that he is

suffering from consistent dizziness, which

caused him to injure his head last week after

fainting. These men are all being denied

access to independent doctors and lawyers,

despite their rapidly deteriorating health

conditions, as Israeli authorities continue to

violate their human rights, in particular their

right to health. /AIC

Israel exerts physical and psychological pressure on

prisoners to end hunger-strike

A human rights organization has reported that

the Israeli Prisons' Administration is

deliberately and continuously transporting

isolated prisoners on hunger-strike in

Ashkelon, from one cell to another several

times a day in order to weaken and pressure

them psychologically.

A press release by the Solidarity Foundation

for Human Rights issued on Wednesday, May

2nd, stated that the, "Ashkelon administration

breaks into the cells of the isolated prisoners at

late hours of the night on a daily basis, and

takes them to other cells without allowing

them to transfer any of their belongings.

Moreover, the Israeli ‘Alnhacon' forces (forces

responsible for storming the prisons) are

deliberately grilling meat next to the prisoners'

cells during the night, as one of the

provocative methods used against the hunger

strikers."

Ahmed Al-Betawi, a researcher at the

Foundation, explained that "representatives of

the Israeli prisons' administration have held a

series of individual meetings with the isolated


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striking prisoners in an attempt to break the

strike through enticements to respond to their

demands... However, the strikers have rejected

their offer and demanded that they negotiate

with prisoner Mahmoud Issa, the

representative of the isolated prisoners in

Ashkelon prison."

Al-Betawi added that "there are four isolated

prisoners in Ashkelon, Ibrahim Hamed, Dirar

Abu Sissy, Bages Nakhlah and Raed Abu

Zahir. The four have been on hunger strike for

16 days now." He noted that they now only

drink water as the prison's administration

confiscated the salt they had. /MEMO

Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike enters crucial period

02/05/2012

Updates on the Palestinian prisoners’ hunger

strike after passing the 15th day. Israel is

acting to undermine the prisoners’ struggle,

hoping thus to break Palestinian resistance.

Palestinian prisoner associations call for

urgent international solidarity and action to

end Israeli rights violations and to save the

lives of thousands of Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails began

today the 15th day of an open hunger strike, a

mass protest launched on Palestinian Prisoner

Day (17 April). In the past two weeks their

struggle, called the Karama Strike (Strike of

dignity) or “Struggle of Empty Stomachs”, has

become a national issue. Marches, actions and

demonstrations are held throughout the West

Bank and Gaza Strip on a daily basis, and

Palestinian prisoners found the support of the

Palestinian people.

In every Palestinian city, residents erected a

solidarity tent and numerous relatives of

prisoners, together with ordinary Palestinians,

have begun their own hunger strike in support

of the struggle behind the bars of Israeli jails.

On Tuesday morning (1 May) demonstrators

held a protest at Ofer Prison in support of the

hunger strikers; the Israeli army responded by

launching tear gas and shooting rubber-coated

steel bullets, injuring four people.

And inside the prisons, the number of

prisoners on hunger strike continues to grow.

On 17 April the protest was started by 1,600

detainees, and today more than 2,600

Palestinian political prisoners are refusing

food. Many of them are now in critical

condition and their health situation will only

continue to decline. 14 of the hunger strikers,

included the General Secretary of the Popular

Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ahmad

Sa’adat, have been transferred to Israeli prison

hospitals.

And while the hunger strike is being

conducted by an ever increasing number of

Palestinian detainees, the Israeli Prison

Service (IPS) does not want to discuss

the prisoners’ demands, and continues to to

violate international law. The just demands of

the striking prisoners include an end of illegal

measures, such as isolation and administrative

detention (the imprisonment without charges

or trial, simply based on “secret evidence”); an

end to denial of family visits, especially for

families from the Gaza Strip who have not

been permitted prison visits for the past six

years; access to basic and university

http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/component/content/article/28-news/4323-dignity-hunger-strike-begins-on-palestinian-prisoners-day-.html

http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/component/content/article/28-news/4323-dignity-hunger-strike-begins-on-palestinian-prisoners-day-.html

http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/component/content/article/28-news/4321-demands-of-hunger-striking-palestinian-prisoners-.html


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education; and an end of personal searches

during which the human dignity of prisoners is

violated through invasive strip searches.

Instead of discussing the prisoner demands,

the IPS is attempting to break the hunger strike

and the protest. To undermine the Palestinian

campaign, Israeli authorities are employing

brutal methods and collective punishment

against prisoners involved in the struggle.

These include attacks and aggressions against

Palestinian detainees; confiscation of their

personal belongings; forced transfers from one

prison to another or from one prison section to

another; denial of attorney visits; and

placement in individual isolation.

Meanwhile, eight Palestinian prisoners – five

of them in administrative detection – have

been on hunger strike for more than two

months. Thaer Halahlah, from Hebron, and

Bilal Diab, from Jenin, today entered their

63rd day of hunger strike and they are

confined to a prison hospital because of their

rapidly deteriorating r health conditions.

Hassan Safadi is on his 58th day of strike,

Mohammad Al-Taj on his 48th day (according

to the Prisoners’ Club his health situation is

extremely serious) and Mahmoud Sarsak on

his 40th day without food.

And while more and more Palestinian

prisoners are joining the hunger strike, Israel is

constantly increasing the number of

Palestinians detained. Last night the Israeli

army arrested 23 Palestinians during military

raids throughout the West Bank while the

night before it arrested 15 people, mainly in

the Hebron and Jenin districts.

Local and international action is now urgent to

support the struggle of Palestinian prisoners

and to stop the ongoing violation of

international law by Israeli authorities. The

conditions in which the prisoners are living

inside Israeli jails and the fact that Palestinian

detainees are imprisoned not inside the

occupied Palestinian territory, but inside of

1948 Palestine are clear violations of the

Fourth Geneva Convention and of

international humanitarian and human rights

law.

The Palestinian prisoners’ associations are

accordingly calling on the local and

international publics to support the hunger

strike and to highlight the cruel and brutal

Israeli policies against the Palestinian people.

At the moment, more than 4.600 Palestinians

are held in Israeli jails, 350 of them in

administrative detention (without trial or

charges). 250 prisoners are children, under the

age of 18, and their number since 2000 is

increasing and increasing.

“In the struggle for the liberation of

Palestine,” Abu Kabbara, a former Palestinian

prisoner, said, “the prisoners’ movement had

and still has a fundamental role. Inside the

cells, political generations were born through a

new awareness”.

Indeed, the prisoners’ struggle is again

reaching the national level, through the

support and solidarity throughout the

Occupied Palestinian Territory. This is the

reason why prisoners are the main target of

Israel: undermining the prisoners’ movement

means destroying the Palestinian resistance.

Yet the ongoing hunger strike inside Israeli

jails and the response of Palestinian civil

society outside the prisons demonstrate that

Palestinian resistance is alive and strong. And

Israel will not have an easy time facing this

struggle of the Palestinian people. /AIC

http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/component/content/article/28-news/4237-history-of-the-palestinian-prisoner-movement-.html


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The occupation escalates its repressive measures against the

striking prisoners

Tadamun International for Human Rights said

that the Israeli occupation Prison Service

transferred deliberately the isolated hunger

striking prisoners in Ashkelon solitary

confinement from one cell to another several

times a day in order to tire them physically as

well as psychologically.

According to Ahmed Betawi the researcher at

the Solidarity Foundation, Ashkelon’s prison

administration breaks into cells of isolated

striking prisoners daily at late hours and

transfers them to other cells without allowing

them to take their belongings, in addition to

many other provocative methods against them.

Betawi also revealed that representatives of

the Zionist prison administration held

meetings with isolated striking prisoners each

alone to negotiate the end of the strike which

was rejected by the prisoners who maintained

that negotiations can only be held with the

prisoner Mahmoud Issa, the representative of

the isolated prisoners in Ashkelon.

The isolated prisoner Ibrahim Hamid said that

even though the prisoners’ battle against the

occupation practices is hard, the captives’

determination and will are strong. He

demanded the Palestinian people, the leaders

in 1948-occupied territories and all those in

solidarity with the prisoners’ issue, especially

the students’ movement, to join all their efforts

and participate in all events and activities in

support of the prisoners as the massive

marches.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Prisoners, Dr.

Attallah Abu Subah, called during a press

conference on Wednesday for a massive

popular Intifada in response to the

occupation’s escalating violations against the

prisoners. He called all the resistance factions

to capture occupation soldiers and resist the

enemy, who is practicing murder, terrorism

and abuse.

He pointed out that thousands of prisoners

have been striking for the 16th day and that

some others, such as Bilal Diab and Thaer

Halahla have been striking for more than 65

days.

Therefore, he denounced the world and

Security Council’s suspicious silence and

stressed that all human rights organizations

and all Arab peoples must intervene urgently.

/PIC


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120 new prisoners join the hunger strike

Fuad Al-Khafsh, the director of Ahrar center

for prisoners’ studies and human rights, has

said that 120 new prisoners joined on

Thursday the massive hunger strike launched

by Palestinians in Israeli occupation jails. He

told the PIC that the prisoners, all in Ofer jail,

were 50 from Hamas, 40 from the popular

front, and 30 from Fatah, adding that the

Israeli prison service immediately transferred

them to isolation ward 19 in the same prison.

Khafsh said that the prison administration

confiscated all prisoners’ belongings including

electric appliances, clothes, and even salt and

left them only one set of clothes.

He quoted prisoners as saying that the prison

administration provocatively searches their

cells using police dogs at any time and on

daily basis. Meanwhile, a young Palestinian

woman in Gaza was taken to hospital on

Wednesday after ten days of solidarity hunger

strike with those prisoners.

A spokesman for the Waed society for

prisoners said that Amal Sebaitan was taken to

hospital after fainting at the solidarity sit-in

tent in downtown Gaza. /PIC

Hamas threatens to use all means to support striking

captives

Member of Hamas’ political bureau Dr. Khalil Al-Hayya has called for the escalation of efforts supporting the prisoners’ issue using all means: the media, the law, and resistance.

During the Friday sermon delivered by Hayya at a solidarity sit-in tent in Gaza, he stressed

the need to rally all popular, factional, media, and legal efforts and energies to support this humanitarian issue in parallel with the activation of the role of human rights institutions.

Hayya called for internationalizing the prisoners’ issue through the media. He also urged the Palestinian factions to benefit from their relations with different political parties and countries and urged the PA and its embassies to activate the captives’ issue.

Furthermore, he called on the prisoners to uphold their unity and to beware of the Israeli occupation’s attempts to break their unity and their strike, and demanded the Arab and Islamic countries especially Egypt to stand alongside the prisoners. He also warned that the hunger strike can lead to the death of some of the hunger strikers. Meanwhile, Israeli police forces arrested on Thursday a number of demonstrators in front of Ramla prison after


14

beating them during a demonstration organized by youth groups and activists in 1948 occupied Palestine in support of hunger striking Palestinian prisoners, which brought the number of detainees at Ramla prison to 20.

Arab member of the Israeli Knesset Jamal Zahalka told the demonstrators, "It is expected that thousands of other prisoners will join the hunger strike in the coming days.”

He also emphasized the four key demands of the prisoners represented in ending administrative detention, allowing family visits, ending the solitary confinement, and canceling Shalit law.

Zahalka added, "We have started a campaign of daily activities supporting the prisoners in their battle, through sit-in tents, rallies, and demonstrations. /PIC

Ahrar: Detainees on hunger strike till all demands fulfilled

Al-Ahrar center for prisoners' studies and

human rights said the Palestinian prisoners in

Israeli jails are determined not to end their

hunger strike until all their demands are met.

Commenting on Israeli claims that officials

from the Israeli prison authority met with

senior prisoners, director of the center Fouad

Al-Khafsh said the meeting happened with

prisoners not representing the hunger strikers

and was aimed to prevent more prisoners from

joining the hunger strike.

Khafsh also denied Israeli claims saying that

the hunger strikers want more TV channels

displaying songs and movies in order to end

their strike, and said the Israeli prison

authority is making a mockery of the prisoners'

just demands. He noted that more prisoners

join the hunger strike everyday and their

number so far exceeded 3,000 despite the

Israeli attempts to dismantle their protest step

through separating them from each other and

transferring them to other sections or jails.

The Palestinian center for defending detainees

also asserted that the number of hunger

strikers in Israeli jails is on the rise. It said the

Israeli jailers relentlessly used many ways to

force the hunger strikers to break their strike

including cooking near their cells to make

them smell the aroma of food.

For its part, Wa'ed society for detainees and

ex-detainees warned of dealing with the news

claiming that the hunger strikers would mull

over the prison authority's response to their

demands. Representative of the hunger strikers

Tawfiq Abu Naim told Wa'ed society that the

Israeli response to the demands was not worth

studying and was an attempt to circumvent

them.

Abu Naim affirmed that the committee

representing the hunger strikers, that was

formed by different Palestinian factions, has

the sole right to make a decision regarding the

strike. /PIC


15

Israeli concerns increase as hunger strike broadens

The Ahrar Center for Prisoners Studies and

Human Rights has confirmed that the prison

service resorted to a new way to discourage

and intimidate prisoners against going on

hunger strike.

Fouad Khuffash, the director of the Al-Ahrar

Center, affirmed that the prison service

distributed to the strikers medical bulletins in

Arabic, warning them from the negative

consequences of the strike on their health, in

an attempt to intimidate the prisoners.

He added that the prisoners did not show any

interest to these bulletins where they collect

them and throw them out of their rooms,

saying to the prison administration "we will

continue to strike until our demands are met".

He noted that the prison service is extremely

disturbed by the strike, trying to end it by any

way as soon as possible before it expands

more. He said that prisoners are determined to

continue the strike.

Meanwhile, the director of The Prisoners

Studies Centre, Raafat Hamdouna, said in a

statement that the prisoners' strike became a

political and security issue to the Israeli

occupation government. Despite the huge

urgent political issues especially the early

election, the Israeli PM is following up the

strike issue with deep concern.

Hamouda stated that there is an unprecedented

Israeli occupation political offensive towards

the Palestinian prisoners, where many

occupation ministers called for enacting laws

to crack down on prisoners.

The released detainee Hamdouna called on the

Palestinian, Arab, and Islamist organizations,

human rights institutions and media to work

for the prisoners release and to press on the

occupation and decision makers in EU to

intervene to end the prisoners' suffering.

About 2000 Palestinian captives in occupation

jails went on hunger strike since 17 April to

protest their incarceration conditions, the

policy of solitary confinement for years on end

against some prisoners and administrative

detention without charge or trial. /PIC

Israeli jailers punish Hamas hunger strikers in Negev prison

Hamas prisoners in Negev jail said the Israeli

jailers isolated six hunger strikers in solitary

cells as a punitive measure. In a leaked letter

sent to the Palestinian information center

(PIC) on Saturday, the hunger strikers said the

administration of Negev jail confiscated all

belongings of all hunger strikers, including

their clothes and drinking utensils, and locked

up six of them in isolation cells at the pretext


16

of finding a small amount of salt in their

possession.

The letter noted that the hunger strikers were

stripped naked in search for hidden salt. The

jailers also closed section 9 and prevented

Hamas administrative detainees from taking

their usual break in the yard and threatened all

other prisoners with punitive measures if any

salt was found, with no regard to the bad

medical conditions of some prisoners.

"We have only two options, either to get back

our rights and live in dignity inside the walls

of jails until our liberation comes or to die and

become martyrs in the hope that [such Israeli]

crime can wake up the world," the letter read.

/PIC

Israeli judge renews solitary confinement of Barghouthi for

six months

An Israeli military court in occupied Jerusalem

on Wednesday extended the solitary

confinement of Hamas leader Abdullah Al-

Barghouthi for six months.

Director of Ahrar center for prisoners’ studies

and human rights Fuad Al-Khafsh quoted

Barghouthi’s lawyer Abeer Bakr as saying that

her client appeared in court in high morale

despite his weakness after three weeks of

hunger strike demanding an end to his

isolation.

He told the PIC that the judge refused to listen

to Barghouthi and said that according to what

was available of information for her, she could

not but extend his isolation.

The lawyer said that Barghouthi appeared in

pale face and apparent physical exhaustion but

was adamant on persisting in his hunger strike

until end of his and his comrades’ isolation.

Barghouthi hailed the Palestinian people’s

support for him and called for bigger media

attention to the Palestinian prisoners’ massive

hunger strike. /PIC

Israeli military court delays decision on two hunger strikers

The Israeli military court in Ofer has delayed

ruling on the appeal for the release of hunger

strikers Thaer Halahle and Bilal Dhiab until

further notice.

Lawyer Ahmed Safiya told the PIC from the

court room on Thursday that Dhiab fainted in

the court room and the judge ordered an

immediate checkup on his condition.


17

The court hearing was the last attempt to

secure release of both Halahle and Dhiab, who

have been on hunger strike for 66 days and

whose health condition seriously worsened

over the past few days.

Halahle’s brother earlier Thursday told Quds

Press that the family home turned into a sit-in

rally where many inhabitants of their village

and solidarity activists met on the same time

of the court hearing.

He said that his brother refused an offer by the

Israeli occupation authority to release him on

condition that he would be deported to Gaza if

he ended his hunger strike but he refused,

affirming that he would leave the prison only

to his home.

Both, Halahle and Dhiab, are held in

administrative custody without any charge

leveled against them.

Meanwhile, the Ahrar center for prisoners’

studies and human rights said that the Israeli

prison service was denying hunger striking

prisoners medical care.

The center’s director, Fuad Al-Khafsh, said

that the IPS imposed fines on all striking

prisoners, deprived them of family visits for

one month and of sending message to their

relatives for a similar period.

Khafsh urged the media to expose the IPS

cruel measures against the Palestinian

prisoners who have been on hunger strike for

17 days. /PIC

Hunger striking prisoners Diab, Halahleh in grave condition

An independent doctor from Physicians for

Human Rights-Israel (PHR-Israel) determined

yesterday, 30 April, that Bilal is at immediate

risk of death and that both he and Thaer must

be transferred immediately to a civilian

hospital in order to receive adequate medical

attention. Yesterday’s visit by PHR-Israel was

only the second visit from an independent

doctor since the beginning of their hunger

strikes, and only came following a legal

petition filed in an Israeli District Court for the

Israeli Prison Service (IPS) to allow access to

Bilal and Thaer in Ramleh prison medical

center. Any subsequent visit may still require

going back to court.

According to PHR-Israel, “both detainees

suffer from acute muscle weakness in their

limbs, which prevents them from standing.

They both are in need of full assistance in

daily activities such as showering, though such

help is not provided in the IPS clinic. They

both suffer from an acute decrease in muscle

tone and are bedridden, which puts them under

dual threat: muscle atrophy and

Thromobophilia, which can lead to a fatal

blood clot.”

Furthermore, the PHR-Israel doctor noted that

Bilal’s life-threatening condition includes

sharp weight loss, concern for peripheral nerve

damage, extremely low pulse (39 beats per

minute) and blood pressure, severe

dehydration, and possible internal bleeding.

The doctor stated that Bilal should be

transferred to a hospital immediately and

receive full monitoring of his heart. Following

the doctor visit, Bilal was transferred to a

civilian hospital, only to be transferred back to

Ramleh prison a few hours later. After

collapsing this afternoon, he was transferred

again to Assaf Harofeh hospital, where he

currently remains. These frequent transfers

only serve to further endanger his fragile

condition.

The doctor noted that Thaer is also in grave

condition and suffers from sharp weight loss


18

and pain on the left side of his upper back,

which, according to PHR-Israel, coupled with

his other symptoms “may indicate

inflammation of the pleura [membrane around

the lungs] or even a blood clot, which can be

lethal without proper medical attention.”

Therefore, the doctor concluded that Thaer

must be transferred to a civilian hospital as he

urgently requires a CT scan of his lungs,

which is not provided at the IPS medical

center.

Addameer’s fears that Bilal and Thaer’s

serious medical condition has been met with

inadequate and harmful responses by the IPS

in the Ramleh prison medical center have been

confirmed by yesterday’s doctor visit. In

addition to the reckless transfers back and

forth to the hospital for Bilal, both Thaer and

Bilal reported that prison guards had recently

entered their cells and carried out violent

searches. Thaer also reported being abused by

an IPS doctor two days prior.

Moreover, Bilal and Thaer’s lawyer Jamil Al-

Khatib attempted to visit Bilal this afternoon

in the hospital and was refused by the IPS. He

was told he had to submit a “special request”

to the legal advisors of the IPS. Bilal and

Thaer’s petitions to the Israeli High Court

against their administrative detention orders

will be heard on 3 May. A request for family

visits to Bilal was also rejected today by the

IPS, who stated that he was officially being

denied family visits from 9 February to 9 July

for “violating an IPS order” by being on

hunger strike. The IPS continues to employ

every obstacle at its disposal in preventing

access for lawyers and doctors to hunger

striking prisoners. These tactics are designed

to isolate the hunger strikers as much as

possible from trusted sources of support and

medical information, in complete disregard to

their most urgent condition.

Addameer condemns the IPS’ blatant violation

of medical ethics in its treatment of Bilal,

Thaer, and all the other hunger strikers

requiring medical attention, and holds the

Occupation responsible for their current

condition. Addameer calls on the international

community to demand that both Bilal and

Thaer be immediately admitted to civilian

hospitals, without further transfers, and that

they have unconditional access to independent

doctors and their lawyers. Addameer urges the

European Union, the United Nations and the

International Committee of the Red Cross to

take immediate action and intervene with

Israel in the strongest manner possible to save

Bilal and Thaer’s lives before it is too late.

/AIC

Teibi: Bilal Dhiab at risk of dying any moment

Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, Ahmad

al-Tebi, on Thursday said: “captive Bilal

Dhiab is facing real death, he has reached a

stage where he should be released immediately

and transferred to a specialised hospital to

have comprehensive medical care."

Teibi who was allowed into the court room on

Thursday said that the Israeli prison service

brought the two captives, Dhiab and Halahleh

(who have been on hunger strike for over two

months) without any doctors.

He also said that after examining Dhiab, he

found that his tempreture was 35 degrees and

his pulse rate is only 48 BPM.

Dhiab, who has been on hunger strike for 67

days to protest his administrative detention,

fainted in the court room. The military court


19

postponed passing a ruling on the appeal for

the release of the two captives who are

administratively detained without any charges.

The IOF barred journalists from taking

photographs of two frail captives. /PIC

Palestinian hunger strikers in prison clinic

Ten Palestinian prisoners participating in a

mass hunger strike in Israeli jails have been

placed under medical supervision as

their conditions worsen, officials said.

A spokeswoman for Israel's prison service said

on Saturday that the 10 were transferred to a

prison clinic for medical supervision.

But Sivan Weizeman, the spokeswoman, did

not say when they were transferred or what

medical treatment they were currently

receiving.

Sahar Francis of Addameer, a Palestinian

prisoner rights group, said the men were

moved at different times last week.

She said the prisoners under

medical supervision were those who had been

on hunger strike the longest.

The men are among hundreds of Palestinian

prisoners on hunger strike to demand better

conditions and an end to detention without

trial in one of the biggest prison protests in

years.

At least 1,550 are taking part, although

activists have said the figure is as high as

2,500 out of 4,600 Palestinians held in Israeli

prisons.

Most of those participating began refusing

food 19 days ago, but a smaller core have

been striking for periods ranging from 40 to

almost 70 days.

Another prisoner, Bilal Diab, who refused

food for 68 days, was moved to a civilian

hospital last week.

An independent doctor with Physicians for

Human Rights-Israel said last week that

Bilal was at immediate risk of death.

Addameer reported earlier this week that

according to PHR-Israel, both Bilal and

another prisoner, Thaer Halahleh, were

suffering "acute muscle weakness" which

prevented them from standing.

Sami Hermez, an academic who specialises in

non-violent resistance, told Al Jazeera that

both Bilal and Thaer had not eaten for 68

days, adding that "we're getting to the critical

point where prisoners may start dying and

facing extreme conditions".

"[Non-violent struggle] is very effective ...

hunger strikes have been used throughout the

centuries to pressure governments, regimes,

and occupying forces," he said.

On Thursday, WAFA, the Palestinian News

and Information Agency, reported that the

Israeli high court had postponed a ruling on

the appeals by both prisoners for release.

Family photos The prisoners' principal demands are a halt to

imprisonment without charge for periods

ranging from months to years, in a system

known as "administrative detention".

They are also demanding an end to solitary

confinement, and reinstating family visits from

Gaza, an enclave run by the Palestinian group

Hamas.

Other demands include being allowed to take a

photo with their families once a year, instead

of just once during their prison term.

Israeli officials say they use administrative

detention to hold Palestinians who pose an

immediate threat to the country's security.

They say they keep the evidence secret from

lawyers and the accused, because it


20

would expose their intelligence-gathering

networks if it was released.

The prisoners' conditions is one of the most

emotive issues for Palestinians, many of whom

have had a loved one behind bars at some

point.

Leading members of Hamas have warned

Israel of consequences if any prisoners die

while on hunger strike.

The latest wave of hunger strikes appears

inspired by protests carried out by Palestinian

prisoners Khader Adnan and Hana Shalabi

earlier this year.

Adnan refused food for 66 days to demand an

end to his incarceration without trial, while

Shalabi refused food for 43 days.

Israel claimed both Adnan and Shalabi

belonged to Islamic Jihad. Both were held in

administrative detention though neither were

ever charged with a crime. /Aljazeera

Palestinian prisoner loses sense of hearing, vomits blood

Ratib Al-Deek, a Palestinian prisoner from

Salfit province, has lost his sense of hearing

and was vomiting blood after taking Israeli-

prescribed medication, the Palestinian

prisoner’s association said on Wednesday.

The association said in a press release, quoting

family of the prisoner, that Deek complained

of pain in his ear and the Israeli doctor in the

Megiddo clinic gave him ear drops after which

he lost his sense of hearing.

It said that the prisoner was taken out of his

prison cell with both his hand and feet

handcuffed to see his relatives, who saw him

in a very bad health and psychological

condition.

Deek told his relatives that he was also having

very poor eyesight after the prison doctor gave

him eye drops when he complained of pain in

his eyes. He added that he also suffered acute

stomach ache after that medicine and was

constantly vomiting blood since taking it.

The association quoted the family as appealing

to human rights groups to urgently intervene to

save their son and to treat his diseases. /PIC

Haneyya: Daily contacts made in support of prisoners

Gaza premier Ismail Haneyya has said that his

government was making daily contacts with

Arab and international officials to pressure

Israel into releasing Palestinian prisoners and

responding to their just demands.

He told reporters after attending the Friday

congregation at the solidarity sit-in tent in

Gaza city that he conveyed a message from

leadership of the hunger striking prisoners to

Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan a

couple of days ago.

Haneyya expected the Arab League to hold an

emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the

issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli

occupation jails. He hoped that the League

would adopt decisions that would not remain

“ink on paper”.


21

Arab League to discuss Palestinian prisoner hunger-strikes

The permanent Palestinian representative to

the Arab League and Palestinian ambassador

to Egypt, Barakat El-Farra, has announced a

decision by the Arab League to hold an

emergency council meeting at Palestine's

request. The meeting, which will be attended

by permanent representatives, is to take place

at the League's headquarters on May 6 and

will discuss means of supporting Palestinian

prisoners on hunger-strike in Israeli prisons.

El-Farra explained that this meeting "aims to

shed light on the issue of prisoners and to

discredit Israeli policies based on inhumane

practices against them."

In a press conference held on Thursday, May

3, El- Farra confirmed that the Ramallah

government's foreign affairs minister, Riyad

Al-Malki, would be attending the meeting.

The ambassador called on the Arab Group in

New York to file a petition with the UN

General Assembly with regard to adopting a

resolution that requests an advisory opinion

from the International Court of Justice

regarding the legal status of Palestinian and

Arab prisoners in Israeli prisons. The opinion

would be in accordance with the relevant

provisions of international law taking into

consideration that they are prisoners of war

with legitimate rights to resist the occupation.

He also requested that the "necessary contacts

with countries that support the Palestinian

Cause" be made in order to facilitate the

adoption of such an advisory opinion. /MEMO

Tunisian minister on hunger strike in solidarity with

Palestinian prisoners

Dr. Moncef Ben Salem, Minister of Higher

Education in Tunisia, confirmed that he will

join “We go hungry for a day, we support

freedom fighters" campaign in solidarity with

the Palestinian prisoners, praying for their

victory and release.

This step is in support of the Palestinian

prisoners who need our support as our prophet

ordered us to be in solidarity with our brothers.

The Tunisian minister said in a recorded

statement on social networking sites. We know

indeed the prisoners' suffering as we were

prisoners before the Tunisian revolution, he

added.

He called on the Arab and Muslim nation to

support the prisoners who spent decades in

occupation prisons including members and

head of the Legislative Council.

Meanwhile, the Tunisian delegation visiting

Gaza called on the Arab and Muslim countries

to support the prisoners' issue, to stand behind

them in their suffering, and to press the

occupation to fulfill their demands.

The head of the Tunisian delegation, Anwar

Awlad Ali, said, in a press conference held on

Thursday afternoon in a solidarity tent with the


22

prisoners, that the delegation includes two

groups, one medical to offer medical aid while

the other is a juristic group who will raise

cases against the occupation crimes against the

Palestinian people.

The Tunisian delegation that arrived to Gaza

Wednesday evening through the Rafah

crossing praised the prisoners' strike, calling

them to remain steadfast and to be patient until

their demands are met. They also conveyed the

Tunisian people’s revolutionary greetings to

the Palestinian people.

Solidarity camps spring up across the West Bank

Solidarity activities for the hunger strike

prisoners have gathered pace with the

establishment of camps in cities across the

occupied West Bank.

Several prisoners have now passed 60 days on

hunger strike in protest against the policies of

the Israeli prison authorities, particularly that

of solitary confinement.

The camps are frequented around the clock by

relatives and leading national figures of all

political persuasion. Observers point out that

the prisoner issue has united Palestinians in the

West Bank in manner not witnessed for many

years.

In a new development, a number of relatives,

including mothers, have also begun hunger

strikes in solidarity with their sons. /MEMO

Solidarity hunger-strikes begin in Gaza City

50 Palestinian activists, including many

former prisoners of Israel, have begun a

hunger-strike in solidarity with hunger-striking

Palestinian prisoners currently being held

inside Israeli prisons. The Prisoners' Hunger-

Strike began 15 days ago in protest against

Israeli violations of prisoners' rights.

A solidarity tent has been set up in the centre

of Gaza's Unknown Soldier Square for the

solidarity strikers who have confirmed their

intention to remain in the tent and continue

their open-ended strike for as long as the

prisoners' hunger-strike continues.

Many Palestinian organisations, governmental

bodies and politicians have confirmed their

support for the solidarity hunger-strikers

through various press conferences.

Representatives from the leadership of the

Palestinian police, the lawyers union, doctors

from the ministry of health, and journalists

have affirmed their determination to pursue

the prisoner issue within the media. /MEMO


23

A sit-in in Lebanon in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners

Hundreds of Lebanese citizens and

representatives of political bodies and parties,

factions and Lebanese and Palestinian NGOs

gathered on Thursday in front of the

headquarters of the International Red Cross in

Tyre, southern Lebanon, in the framework of

the monthly supporting sit-in (referred to as

the prisoners’ Thursday) hosted by the

National Committee for the Defense of

prisoners and detainees in the occupation jails.

The coordinator of prisoners’ Thursday,

Yahya Malam, praised the Palestinian

prisoners in occupation jails, and said that they

are the heroes of the Arab nation, in their

battle of the empty stomachs.

He also stressed that the national and popular

forces and the entire Arab world have to

benefit from the prisoners’ unity in the prisons

to achieve unity amongst their supporters

abroad.

Meanwhile, a number of spokesmen have

unanimously agreed that the sit-ins represent a

cry in the face of the unprecedented Arab and

international silence -regarding the prisoners’

suffering in the cells of the Zionist occupation-

and that they reflect the support for the

captives’ steadfastness during their battle.

Furthermore, they called for a broad campaign

in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and

their battle, and called on all Arab parties and

forces to stand alongside them till achieving

their just demands, in addition to calling on the

international community to activate the

resolutions and international treaties,

particularly the Geneva Convention signed by

the UN after World War II, which is

concerned with prisoners of war. /PIC

Freed detainees in Turkey support captives on hunger strike

The freed captives in the last (Wafa Al Ahrar)

deal organized a broad media campaign in

Istanbul in solidarity with the Palestinian

prisoners in occupation prisons.

The campaign included Arab and Turkish

written and visual media through which the

freed captives clarified to the Turkish people,

who are following the prisoners' issue, the

prisoners' suffering in the arrogant occupation

prisons.

The Palestinian freed captives have explained

through several Turkish channels such as

Kanal7 and TV5 that the strike came as a

reaction to the occupation brutal and inhumane

measures against the prisoners.

They also mentioned the punitive policy of

administrative detention, long-term isolation in

so small cells, medical neglect, in addition to

other repressive measures that aim to break the

prisoners' will and determination.

They praised the warm Turkish government

and people hospitality, confirming that the

Palestinian prisoners are in need of more

supportive activities to expose the

occupation’s brutal and repressive practices

against the prisoners through international and

human rights organizations. /PIC


24

Russian activists call on UN to press occupation to fulfill

prisoners' demands

The Russian Youth Movement for Palestine

called on the UN to press on occupation to

fulfill prisoners' demands that they had

declared since the start of the strike three

weeks ago.

The movement leadership handed, on

Wednesday, a protest letter on the prisoners'

conditions to the head of United Nations

Office for Human Rights in Russia, Richard

Komenda, after organizing a mass

demonstration in support of Palestinian

prisoners.

The Russian activists stressed in their letter

their total support for the legitimate demands

of Palestinian prisoners in occupation prisons,

pointing to the inhumane prisoners' conditions

in occupation prisons in violation of

international law.

The occupation is committing crimes against

the Palestinian prisoners in total ignorance to

the UN resolutions and international law, the

activists said in the letter, calling on UN to

press on Israel to stop its crimes against the

prisoners and to improve their conditions in

prisons.

It is noted that the Russian Youth Movement

for Palestine has recently organized various

activities in the Russian capital city in support

of the Palestinian case where they had

organized a sit-in in front of the Zionist

embassy in mid-April and another one in

support of prisoners late last month, insisting

to organize more solidarity activities in the

coming days. /PIC

The launch of a broad campaign in Europe to support the

prisoners’ issue

The General Secretariat of Palestinians in

Europe launched a broad campaign in

solidarity with the prisoners in occupation

jails, aiming at pressuring the decision makers,

the officials in the EU and the different

European parliaments to intervene in order to

support the prisoners’ cause.

The European Campaign for the Defense of

Palestinian prisoners affirmed in a statement

on Tuesday, that it would send a petition,

supported by more than ten thousand

participants in the tenth Palestinians in Europe

conference in Denmark last Saturday, to a

large number of politicians and

parliamentarians, including EU Commissioner

Baroness Catherine Ashton. Thus, the

campaign started sending urgent messages to

the Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-


25

moon, the British PM and his Foreign

Minister, members of the European Parliament

and British MPs as well as contacting dozens

of Palestinians and activists in Europe to urge

them to send an officially signed letter to

members of European parliament and MPs of

the countries that are members in the European

Union.

It is expected that this campaign will continue

for an indefinite period in parallel with the

ongoing prisoners’ strike to increase the

solidarity and to draw the politicians’ and the

media’s attention to captives’ strike, as activist

Rami Abdo said.

The chair of the Palestinians in Europe

Conference and Director-General of the

Palestinian Return Centre Majid Al Zeer as

well as the Secretary General of the

Palestinians Europe conference Adel Abdullah

stressed on the importance to put pressure on

the Israeli occupation to release the prisoners

and meet their demands.

The campaign emphasized that the prisoners’

issue reached a crucial stage that imposes an

urgent European and international

intervention, especially after launching a

hunger strike by thousands of them. /PIC

Caricature

The battle of Empty Stomachs

By: Umayyah Juha

issue no 18

Documents

palestinian hunger strikers

palestinian issue

mass hunger strike

palestinian struggle

striking prisoners

hamas hunger strikers

support of prisoners

prisoners diab