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.
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.
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
Bassem Tamimi from the West Bank village of Nabi saleh visits his mother at the hospital after his release, Ramallah, April 24, 2012. Bassem Tamimi, one of the central figures in the popular struggle against the settlements’ land theft in Nabi Saleh; was released on bail after more than a year in prison. He is not allowed to leave Ramallah area and go to his village until the final judge decision.
Palestine: Never Before has a people suffered such an injustice yet displayed resilience and resistance - like Never Before.
Discussions on Palestine and the Palestinian cause have included attempts to link it to the struggle of South Africans under the apartheid regime the struggle of the Vietnamese people the Algerian revolution or other just causes throughout history The conclusion,however,was that it cannot be compared to any
What happened in Palestine since 1947 has never happened before in terms of the combination of the elements: brutality and racism of the occupier the injustice of granting one peoples land to others duration of this injustice,complicity and apathy of the civilized world as well as Palestinian people's will to resist all that against all odds
Hence the term the Never-Before Campaign: Injustice that is unfolding like never before met with resistance and resilience,also like never before
The Never-Before-Campaign for Palestine is a Beirut-based campaign launched by individuals of different professional backgrounds including sociologists,political scientists and communications experts
The Never-Before-Campaign calls for a new approach to support Palestine and its people,their cause and their resistance movements This new approach veers away from the traditional competitions for victim-hood which usually seek to elicit the worlds pity Pity only yields sympathy
For decades, Palestinians have been treated,at best,as poor unfortunate beings who might deserve charity and maybe some humanitarian aid Meanwhile,Israel decides,at its own leisure which bits of the usurped rights to give back
The Campaign aims at commanding respect The world does not respect the meek rather the powerful and the confident The Palestinian people are victims here but they are also resilient and determined The Campaign seeks to communicate this image to the world
In addition,the image of resistance,that has been suppressed for fear of being confused with terror,is also and integral part of the campaign No cosmetics,no facades A masked gunman is the current image of the Palestinian resistance whether we like it or not It is this masked freedom fighter facing the might of the Israeli army that makes us proud The campaign does not succumb to Western sensitivities of the post 9-11 era
The West and the whole world are at fault here not the Palestinian people or the resistance movements The Campaign addresses that issue: Palestine will not wait for Western remorse that always comes too late such as for the Holocaust,Rwanda and South Africa
The Campaign recognizes growing awareness about the Palestinian cause all over the world and builds on it It targets different sets of audiences at the same time
The Never Before Campaign has no political or religious affiliation,it only has one enemy All those fighting for the same cause are allies to the Campaign Our purpose is to make those allies as numerous as possible and to share the credit with them once our cause is victorious
A blinding flash of white light Lit up the sky over Gaza tonight People running for cover Not knowing whether they're dead or alive
They came with their tanks and their planes With ravaging fiery flames And nothing remains Just a voice rising up in the smoky haze
We will not go down In the night, without a fight You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools But our spirit will never die We will not go down In Gaza tonight
Women and children alike Murdered and massacred night after night While the so-called leaders of countries afar Debated on who's wrong or right
But their powerless words were in vain And the bombs fell down like acid rain But through the tears and the blood and the pain You can still hear that voice through the smoky haze
We will not go down In the night, without a fight You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools But our spirit will never die We will not go down In Gaza tonight
We will not go down In the night, without a fight You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools But our spirit will never die
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.
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]
DO NOT FORGET TO SHARE THIS MESSAGE ON ALL SOCIAL NETWORKS
كل ما تملكونه من الجيوش، كل ما تملكونه من المقاتلين.. كل ما تملكونه من الدبابات، وجميع جنودكم.. ضد صبي يحمل حجر.. يقف وحيدا هناك.. في عينيه أرى الشمس.. في ابتسامته أرى القمر.. وأتساءل، وأتساءل فقط..؟؟ من هو الضعيف، ومن هو القوي..؟ من هو على حق، ومن هو الخطأ..؟ وأود، أود فقط.. ان يكون للحقيقة لسان..!!....
"All your armies, all your fighters All your tanks, and all your soldiers Against a boy holding a stone Standing there all alone In his eyes I see the sun ...In his smile I see the moon And I wonder, I only wonder Who is weak, and who is strong? Who is right, and who is wrong? And I wish, I only wish That the truth has a tongue..!!
May Allah Subhana wa Ta’ ala grant the Shuhada Jannatul Firdaus, and ease it for their families, loved ones and anyone around them. Allahumma Ameen ya Rabbil Alameen. ‘ Inna Lillahi wa ‘ Inna ‘ Ilayhi Raji’un, Allahu Akbar
We are a group of designers, photographers and artists in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine
Our aim is to publish and share with the whole world information about the Palestinian cause and the unjust occupation
Our tools are photographs, designs, digital, traditional art and logos that we have designed ourselves or collected from fellow members and artists to convey a message of solidarity and make people in other nations aware of the real situation the atrocities and suffering in a land where Arabs, Christians and Jews used to live peacefully
Our wish is to help them lift the blockade and to… FREEDOM FOR PALESTINE!
For Members 4 Deviantation a week in open Galleries 3 Deviantation a week in Favourites under staff votation allowed
For non Members 1 Deviantation a week in open Galleries under staff votation allowed
Open Galleries for Submission:
Photography: Photo about Palestinian issue with 1 Sub Galleries: Photography 2: Photo not specifically Palestinian issue
Digital Art: Digital Artwork on the Palestinian issue with 2 Sub Galleries: Resources: Wallpaper, Texture, Brushes, Icon, Avatar, Stamp, Maps, downloadable file, media info, activist, info link etc. Logo Banner Poster etc: Web Resources, Logo, Banner, Poster, Advertise, Signature etc.
Digital Art 2: Digital Artwork not specifically Palestinian issue
Traditional Artwork: Drawing, Comic, Collage, Sketch, Murales, Stencil, Artisan Craft etc.
History: Gallery contains historic photographs and resources of Palestine
Gaza Flotilla: Photo, Artwork, File, Support etc. about Flotilla
Video: Gallery Folder for Video, Flash, Animation, etc.
Literature: visual file(poem,prose etc), arab typewriting(traditional&digital), typography, callygraphy etc.
Favourite (featured): Best works on Palestine you can found on deviantART (not in our gallery)
Our Goverment(The Greek)is full of Zionist lovers....We the simple people of Greece feel the Palestinians like our own brothers and we condemn the actions of our goverment towards Filistin!!!!!We love you our Arab Brothers!!!!PEACE TO FILISTIN!LOVE FROM GREECE!
Sta.sh
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Gaza Under Attack – Part 1 – in pictures 
Deviants
, except GOD 
- founder of 
