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April 24, 2012 by occupiedpalestine

Why are Palestinian Prisoners on a Hunger strike?

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.

Download the factsheet from odsg.org (PDF)

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Addameer Prisoner Support & Human Rights Organisation | April 18, 2012

Addameer Calls for Continued Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners on Mass Hunger Strike

Ramallah, 18 April 2012 – Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons launched a mass hunger strike yesterday,
17 April, on Palestinian Prisoners’ Day.
The call for hunger strike came amidst a wave of individual hunger strikes initiated in the past few months,
and prisoners on hunger strike continue to face punishments by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS).

An estimated 1,200 Palestinian prisoners (Note: number on April 18, 2012. On April 24 est. 3000 participating the strike)
announced the beginning of an open hunger strike yesterday, along with approximately 2,300 who refused meals
and are currently preparing for a wider campaign of disobedience.
The hunger striking prisoners’ demands include: an end to the IPS’ abusive use of isolation for “security” reasons,
which currently affects ­­­­19 prisoners, some of whom have spent 10 years in isolation;
an end to Israel’s practice of detaining Palestinians without charge or trial in administrative detention,
under which 322 Palestinians are currently detained;
a repeal of a series of punitive measures taken against Palestinian prisoners following the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit,
including the denial of family visits for all Gaza prisoners since 2007 and denial of access to university education since June 2011.


This collective hunger strike follows the 22-day day campaign of disobedience, including a mass hunger strike,
launched at the end of September 2011 in protest of the escalating series of punitive measures taken against Palestinian prisoners in prior months.
On 18 October, prisoners put their hunger strike on hold in light of the prisoner exchange deal concluded by Israel and Hamas.
As most of the punitive measures taken by the IPS against prisoners were part of a policy aimed at collectively punishing them
for the continued incarceration of Gilad Shalit, it was expected that these would be reversed with his release.
At the time of the first phase of prisoner releases, the spokespersons for the prisoner’s movement made a deal with the IPS
that the policy of isolation and other punitive measures would be stopped within three months if the prisoners ceased their hunger strike.
Today marks six months since this agreement was made, and no policy changes have yet occurred.
Prisoners have therefore re-launched their hunger strike to demand their most basic rights.


Notably, at least ten Palestinian prisoners remain on extended hunger strikes
launched during and following the inspiring individual hunger strikes of Khader Adnan,
who was on hunger strike for 66 days and released from administrative detention at around 11:00 pm yesterday,
and Hana Shalabi, who ended her hunger strike after 43 days.
Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh are currently on their 50th day of hunger strike in protest of their administrative detention.
They are both being held in Ramleh Prison medical center, where their health is rapidly deteriorating.
Three other administrative detainees have also been moved to Ramleh Prison medical center,
including Hassan Safadi, Omar Abu Shalal and Jaafar Azzedine, on their 45th, 43rd and 28th days of hunger strike respectively.
Ahmad Saqer, the currently longest-held administrative detainee, is on his 32nd day of hunger strike.


Mohammed Suleiman, Thalassemia patient, is also refusing medical treatment in protest of his administrative detention.
Four additional prisoners remain on hunger strike for other reasons,
including:
Mohammad Taj, on his 32nd day of hunger strike demanding to be treated as a prisoner of war;
Mahmoud Sarsak, moved to Ramleh Prison medical center on 16 April and on his 27th day of hunger strike
in protest of being held under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law;
Azzam Diab, on his 23rd day of hunger strike in solidarity with his brother Bilal;
and Abdullah Barghouti, on his 7th day of hunger strike in protest of his ongoing isolation.


These prisoners have all been punished for their hunger strikes by being placed in solitary confinement and denied family visits.
The prisoners involved in the mass hunger strike have also already begun to face punishments by the IPS.
In an attempt to isolate them from the rest of the prisoners, prisoners on hunger strike in Rimon prison
have been transferred to the isolation section of the prison and prisoners on hunger strike in Eshel prison have been transferred to Ohalei Keidar,
where no other Palestinian political prisoners are held.
Even more troubling, the IPS has made it exceedingly difficult for independent doctors to visit the hunger striking prisoners
and has prevented hunger strikers from meeting with their lawyers.


Addameer particularly condemns the IPS’ efforts to ban Addameer lawyer Samer Sam’an
from all prison visits following the increasing number of Palestinian prisoners engaging in hunger strike.
After being frequently denied visits upon request, the deputy director of Ofer prison informed Mr. Sam’an
on 10 April that he would receive an official ban on access to all prisoners.
According to IPS regulations, the director of a prison can decide to ban a lawyer visit to an individual prisoner for two days,
after informing that prisoner, which can then be extended by the head of the IPS for up to one year.
Mr. Sam’an’s ban therefore violates even the IPS’ own regulations, as he is now effectively being banned from access to all prisoners.
Addameer anticipates that the IPS will continue to use tactics employed in last fall’s hunger strike
in order to systematically prevent lawyers from having access to the hunger strikers,
such as moving prisoners to other prisons without informing their lawyers,
in an attempt to further isolate the hunger strikers and undermine their campaign.


Addameer calls on the diplomatic community to pressure Israel to immediately allow for hunger striking prisoners
to have access to necessary healthcare and legal advisement.
Addameer further urges all political parties, institutions, organizations and solidarity groups working in the field of human rights
in the occupied Palestinian territory and abroad to support the prisoners in their hunger strike
and demand that their legitimate demands be granted.
Addameer will continue to closely follow the prisoner’s campaign of civil disobedience and provide regular updates on the situation as it develops.

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VIDEO | “We Will Live In Dignity!”

17 April 2012 | Al Haq

As an organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of Palestinian human rights,
Al-Haq would like to take the opportunity of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day to highlight
the ongoing violation of the rights of Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli prisons,
many of whom are interned without charge or trial.
The continuing ill-treatment of some 4,600 political prisoners, which includes internment,
the denial of family and lawyer visits, prolonged periods of isolation,
and the lack of fair trial, has largely been overlooked ed by a wider international community
that has grown more and more desensitized to such violations of international law.
Click here to read more

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Here is the letter that the Association for the Defence of Palestinian prisoners
in Israeli jails wants to send to the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli embassies of their countries.
The goal is to put pressure on Israeli authorities ensure that improving the living conditions in prisons.

font: [link] [link] [link]

Dear [See addresses given below]

I am writing to express my deep concern over the hunger strike and campaign
of civil disobedience announced by Palestinian prisoners throughout the Israeli prisons on 27 September.
These actions have been declared at a time when conditions inside the Israeli prisons
have worsened considerably for Palestinian political prisoners.
On 23 June this year the Israeli Prime Minister announced a policy aimed at collectively punishing
Palestinian prisoners for the continued incarceration of the IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
The measures that have since been implemented against Palestinian prisoners
include denial of university education, books, and family visits;
shackling to and from visits with lawyers or family members; restrictions on available TV channels;
the separation of relatives who were previously in the same cell;
and the greater use of isolation and fines as a form of punishment.

Although the Prime Minister claimed that the conditions for prisoners before this date were ‘over-generous’,
there has been widespread international condemnation of the treatment of Palestinian prisoners,
particularly the abusive use of isolation and other forms of ill treatment, including torture.
It is widely recognized that Israel’s policies and practices with regards to Palestinian prisoners
fall far below international standards, due to the regular denial of basic rights such as food and education,
as well as the practice of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment;
all of which are prohibited in international humanitarian and human rights law.

The Israeli Government should also be reminded that any form of collective punishment
is prohibited under international law (Article 33, 4th Geneva Convention).
The Israeli Prime Minister’s speech on 23 June, where further restrictions on Palestinian prisoners
were announced in response to the continued incarceration of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit by militant groups in Gaza,
clearly points to collective punishment against the Palestinian prisoner population.
Indeed since this announcement all university education of prisoners has stopped,
and in some cases family visits have been denied, some TV channels banned from the prisons,
and basic food items are no longer available in the prison canteen.

I am appalled that such measures are being taken against the Palestinian prisoners,
nearly 6,000 of whom are being held as political prisoners who are already subjected to isolation,
long term imprisonment and detention without charge or trial.
It is time for the Israeli Government to cease flouting its obligations and to stop
its use of collective punishment of the Palestinian population.
Until all Palestinian political prisoners are freed,
they must be afforded the treatment which they are entitled to under international law.
In particular, I would like to reiterate the demands of the prisoners themselves:

-          End the abusive use of isolation;

-          End restrictions on University education in the prisons;

-          End the denial of books and newspapers;

-          End the shackling to and from meetings with lawyers and family members;

-          Re-install all TV channels;

-          End the excessive use of fines as punishment;

-          And ultimately end all forms of collective punishment, including the refusal of family visits,
night searches of prisoners’ cells, and the denial of basic health treatment.

Yours sincerely

Address your letter to:

-          Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu
           Prime Minister
           Office of the Prime Minister
           3, Kaplan Street, PO Box 187
           Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem, Israel
           Fax: +972- 2-651 2631
           Email: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il

-          And/or the Israeli embassy or consulate in your country.
A directory of Israeli embassies can be found on the website of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the following link: [link]

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