September 11, 2012 | Ministry of Detainees’ and Ex-detainees’ Affairs
For immediate release
For more information:
Doaa Abu Amer
0792599765048
doa.ah1985@gmail.com
GAZA, PALESTINE, September 11 – The families of Palestinians detained by Israel called for a week of urgent actions to support a mass hunger strike on 13 September, as well as ongoing hunger strikes by individual detainees.
Thousands of detainees will participate in a mass one-day hunger strike on Thursday, 13 September, beginning a “Saving the Strike” campaign to demand that Israel fully implement the agreement that ended the “Dignity” hunger strike on 14 May, 2012.
“The agreement was to allow all prisoners from Gaza to receive visits from family members,” said Sadeya Saftawi, the wife of detainee Emad El Deen Saftawi. “But four months later, I still haven’t been able to see my husband.”
Israel also continues to hold detainees in isolation, despite agreeing to release them into its prisons’ general population, and to renew administrative detention orders in violation of the 14 May deal. Two administrative detainees with extended orders, Samer Al-Barq and Hassan Safadi, remain on their 113th and 83rd days of extended hunger strikes.
“We ask supporters around the world to undertake more activities to pressure Israel to stop its daily violations against our sons, brothers, and husbands, and to help them get back their rights that are violated daily by Israel,” said Mona Abu Salah, the mother of two detainees, Fahmi and Salah Abu Salah.
The families asked supporters to demonstrate outside Israeli embassies, consulates, and missions, international organizations, Israeli prison contractors like G4S, and in other public places from Thursday, 13 September through Wednesday, 19 September.