8th March 2013| Popular Struggle Coordination Committee
Muhammad Asfour, 23, was injured two weeks ago from rubber coated steel bullet in his head during a protest. His Funeral will take place after Friday noon prayer in Aboud. Since the beginning of 2013, six Palestinians were killed from soldiers’ shooting.
The medical staff of Echilov hospital declared today the death of Muhammad Asfour, 23, resident of the village of Aboud West of Ramallah, of injury sustained two weeks ago, after he was shot by Israeli soldiers during clashes that erupted during a protest at Aboud in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger striker.
Funeral of Muhammad Asfour March 8th 2013 (Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Asfour was shot on February 22nd, with a rubber coated steel bullet in the head which settled in the brain. He was evacuated to Salfit hospital and then to Rafidya Hospital in Nablus. Few days later he was transferred to Echilov hospital in Tel Aviv in critical condition.
Asfour was 4th year Physical Education student at Alquds University in Abu Dis and played football in the village’s team. Born on 9.3.1990, Asfour dies two days before celebrating his 23rd birthday.
Asfour is the sixth Palestinian to die from Israeli soldiers shooting in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, (see B’Tselem report here), in addition to prisoner Arafat Jaradat who died two weeks ago in the Israeli prison “Megiddo”, six days after his arrest:
11 January 2013: Anwar al-Mamluk, 20, of a-Shuja’iyeh neighborhood, Gaza City, fatally shot by soldiers near the Gaza military perimeter fence
12 January 2013: ‘Udai Darwish, 21, of Dura, Hebron District, fatally shot by soldiers after crossing the Separation Barrier into Israel on his way to work
15 January 2013: Samir ‘Awad, 17, of the village of Budrus, Ramallah District, fatally shot by soldiers beside the Separation Barrier near Budrus
18 January 2013: Saleh al-‘Amarin, 15, of al-‘Aza Refugee Camp, Bethlehem District, fatally shot by soldiers in al-A’yda Refugee Camp
23 January 2013: Lubna al-Hanash, 21, of Bethlehem, fatally shot by soldiers near Route 60, by al-‘Arrub Refugee Camp
7th March 2013| International Solidarity Movement, Occupied Palestine
“ISM Co-Founder and soon to be father, Adam Shapiro prohibited from witnessing the birth of his first child due to an undisclosed travel ban from 2009 and forthcoming deportation”
“Adam and I are expecting our first child, a boy in about 5 weeks. As joyful as this blessing is, we’ve had to make some difficult decisions.”
The words of ISM (International Solidarity Movement) co-founder Huwaida Arraf as she speaks on her husband of 11 years imminent deportation by the state of Israel. Shapiro, a US citizen and Arraf, a Palestinian citizen with an Israeli ID have played a fundamental role in guaranteeing on the ground, international activism since the beginning of the second Intifada. Since 2002, Shapiro’s indefatigable human rights work for Palestinian justice has led him to be a persona non grata. Just like thousands of solidarity activists, Shapiro has found himself on the receiving end of an illegal 10 year ban from Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, alongside millions of Palestinians who have been denied the right of return to their homeland.
On Sunday March 3rd 2013, Shapiro and a 35 week pregnant Arraf defied injustice by attempting to travel through Tel Aviv; however after being held for hours at immigration, it didn’t lead to a happy family rejoicing but a bleak separation of loved ones. As Arraf wrote her story from her village of Mi’ilya and Shapiro was kept in a detention cell. The main dilemma faced by this couple, was that due to Israel’s apartheid policies, denial of Palestinian rights, including the UN resolution 194 right of return, their unborn child’s only chance to breathe the air of his native country and to step foot on the land of his people, as to be with his family, was that the child must be born in Israel. Israeli citizenship cannot be claimed outside of Israeli borders without laborious process, since Arraf is not a Jewish citizen of Israel or of Jewish descent but Palestinian. Arraf justly writes “”I wrote…that I’m always unnecessarily optimistic. However, I’ve never been optimistic about the Israeli Injustice system.” Unfortunately, despite Arraf’s optimistic nature, she had to forcibly accept this inequality, knowing that her husband would most likely be prevented from being present at the birth; either choice is devastating for the family.
Adam Shapiro (Left) and Huwaida Arraf (Right) [Photo via IMEU]
Shapiro’s previous 2002 ban came during the time of the second intifada, when enormous Israeli military incursions were taking place in the West Bank. His apparent wrongdoings were that he cross the threshold into President Arafat’s besieged compound as not only an ISM activist but a medical volunteer, assisting two men who had been shot, to safety and a few months after this, he stood in solidarity with the village of Huwwara, near Nablus, as they protested the invasion of the West Bank and attempted to break the military curfew. This latter activity saw him jailed for 5 days and deported swiftly. Later in 2009, both were aboard the Flotilla “Spirit of Humanity” which attempted to breach the illegal and brutal blockade on the Gaza Strip, it was in this time that Adam was surreptitiously handed down another 10 year ban, due to being charged with “illegally entering Israel”, even after the judge in that case agreed with Adam that he wasn’t endeavouring to enter Israel at all.
Better news was not to come on March 5th 2013, as Shapiro’s court hearing only lasted a short, disheartening 30 minutes. In this time Arraf explained that it was clearly explained that neither of them had any previous knowledge about the 2009 ban, as Arraf states “The judge didn’t care that we were never informed about the ban in order to challenge it beforehand”. This perversion of the law would have happened regardless of the unsubstantiated 10 year ban which is just used as a thin “official” veneer, since it was never clearly addressed, for as Arraf bluntly notes ““So, even if Adam didn’t have this ban issued in 2009, the Israeli authorities would have found other reasons to keep him out.” It must be noted that had the US embassy been an advocate of Shapiro’s case, the courtroom judgement may have ended with a compromise. To flip the coin and rub salt into these open wounds, the US congress has undergone introduction of a resolution known as the US-Israel strategic Partnership Act of 2013. This act, if passed, will oversee a new right for Israelis travelling to the US, as they become exempt from having to obtain visas when entering the USA, whilst hundreds of US citizens will be denied entry to occupied Palestine due to their ethnic background, religious and political views.
As Shapiro’s and Arraf’s situation unfolded over the past few days, it showed clear the utter disdain Israel holds for human rights defenders and the racism and inhumanity Palestinians face in regards to immigration, travel and citizenship. Arraf’s closing statements are telling of her dwindling hopefulness as she pronounces:
“I’m not sure that there is more to be done legally. We may try to challenge the ban, but this could take months or longer. Many of you have written to ask what you can do to help. Again, I don’t think that much can be done for us.”
5th March 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine
22 year old Ibrahim Saadi is still being held at Ofer Prison in Ramallah after being shot in the head close range by a rubber bullet and arrested during a peaceful demonstration in Hebron on Friday.
His brother told us he had recieved a number of stitches on his head before being transferred to Ofer.
Ibrahim Saadi with wounds to head being dragged down street by soldiers
The peaceful protest organised in remembrance of the Abraham mosque massacre in 1994 was broken up by tear gas and stun grenades in Hebron on Friday. Many parts of Hebron have been shut off to palestinians since the massacre, including Shuhada Street which was once a busy commercial area.
The demonstration was organised by Hebron Defence League and was attended by Palestinian, Israeli and International activists who sat down on the road close to the gate which blocks access to Shuhada street. Soldiers threw tear gas canisters and sound grenades at the demonstrators causing many to disperse.
When the remaining demonstrators regrouped, they were prevented from moving anywhere else by a line of soldiers. Soldiers attempted to take the megaphone of one activist but was blocked by both Israeli and International activists.
Not long after the demonstration ended , 22 year old Ibrahim Sa`adi was dragged unconscious down the street by a group of soldiers with his face covered in blood. According to several eyewitnesses including his brother, Ibrahim was shot at close range with a rubber bullet. His eight year old sister saw the entire scene and was left in shock.
After the news of Sa`adi`s arrest spread , clashes erupted around bab al zawiya area of Hebron. Dozens of demonstrators were injured , including one international, as the army fired rubber coated steel bullets, tear gas, stun grenades and live ammunition. The clashes continued until after sunset.Israeli Occupation Forces stand in between peaceful demonstrators
Earlier that morning 19 year old Abdel Basset was arrested by soldiers in Tel Rumeida A witness who filmed the arrest was made to delete the video by the soldiers.
Ibrahim Saadi is dragged down the street unconscious by soldiers
3rd March 2013 | International Action for Palestine, Gaza, Occupied Palestine
“Our prisoners are dying.” said Gaza student Khaled Shehab from the Islamic University. “We won’t wait till the death of another prisoner to move in solidarity with all the detainees.” Khaled was joining the thousands attending the growing number of demonstrations in the Gaza Strip right now.
Majeda Sabbah, with other students protesting the death of Arafat Jaradat in Israeli custody . Photo by Joe Catron
It is not lost on young people in Palestine acting in support of Palestinian prisoners that many who have spent years in Israeli jails were at the same age when they were originally imprisoned. While there has recently been a spotlight on the 219 Palestinian children currently detained by Israel, it is often forgotten that the majority of detainees arrested are youths or in their early twenties. Some have spent the entire decade of their twenties removed from their parents, their families and communities, a young person’s life defined by Israeli prison walls.
Mohammed Al Adini explained his story late at night in the tent erected outside the Red Cross offices in the Gaza Strip, where some Palestinians were on hunger strike in support of those striking in Israeli prisons. He was arrested aged 20 in June 2003, just short of concluding a two year office management course at a college in Deir El Balah, central Gaza. He was imprisoned for nine years and released in the prisoner swap deal after which he was able to complete his course at the University of Gaza aged 31.
Mohammed Al Adini, hunger striking in solidarity after nine years in Israeli prisons. Photo by Ehab Omar
“There were some classes in prison but we were often prevented from going. So we organized our own “internal education” where any prisoners with an academic background such as languages, history and law would teach the other prisoners. It depended on the cell we were in but classes were generally around ten to twelve students. I taught history and Palestinian issues.”
Mohammed knew many students and academics on long term prison sentences. Yassir Namrouiti visits the solidarity tent in Gaza regularly. He was studying at the University of Al Quds when he was arrested in 1987. He didn’t see freedom again until 24 years later when he was released with Mohammed in the Gilad Shalit swap deal 24 years later. Karim Younis who remains incarcerated after 31 years, was a student when arrested in 1983 and was attending classes at Ben Gurion University on the day the Israeli army raided his house. He is now a prison representative and the author of two books. His personal and historical writings from prison have reached and inspired many who support him and the other 4800 Palestinian detainees.
Mohammed does not appear bitter that his education was taken away and is enthusiastic about the rise in student solidarity. “I am so pleased that students in Gaza have rallied around the cause of the prisoners.” said Mohammed. “They are using different languages to express our cause through facebook and other media, which is something we have never been able to do before.”
Khaled shares Mohammed’s certainty that the youth of Palestine have a crucial role to play in the resistance against occupation, which is why many student leaders have been a target for Israeli arrests and incarceration. “Youth and young people are strongly involved in resistance against occupation. Israel arrests them to stop resistance. They want to destroy the educational life for the students. They are aware that students can expose them and their crimes to the world, especially now that so many are communicating directly to Western audiences.”
Student activist Khaled Shehab calling for the release of Samer Issawi . Photo by Jomanah Hadad
He cites other Palestinian students from Gaza such as Malaka Mohammed and Shahd Abusalama whose blogs and reporting on the prisoners in the English language have amassed many followers globally, with frequent updates on the individual stories of prisoners and the ordeals and injustices facing them.
The day after 30 year old Arafat Jaradat was killed after six days of Israeli detention last Monday, Majeda Sabbah, Khaled and other students immediately organized a demonstration, calling for united support for all Palestinian prisoners.
“Arafat didn’t just die” said Majeda. “He was killed under the systematic torture that takes place in Israeli Jails.”
We are here to show our support for all the hunger strikers and all the political prisoners. The sons of Palestine sacrificed their freedom and belief for others, like Samer Issawi who is now in a critical condition after a hunger strike of over six months. We young people in Gaza support them, which is why we mobilized quickly as soon as we heard about Arafat. We can’t wait for the parties to move. If we didn’t act for a united struggle then no one would.”
Most Palestinian families contain someone who has been detained in Israeli Jails or is currently incarcerated. “My uncle was a prisoner.” said Khaled. “He spent 25 years in Israeli prisons and was recently freed in the swap deal. He joked that over time they changed the prison door three times while he remained in the same room.”
For relatives of current detainees in Israel the struggle can never go away. It is a double agony – for those on the inside and those on the outside. The last hunger striker who won his freedom was Akram Rikhawi, who in his ninth year of incarceration refused food for 104 days. “When I was released I could not recognize Samah, my eleven year old daughter” Akram told us. Samah was just two years old when he had last laid eyes on her. “My wife was allowed to visit me once in that time and my mother also once. I learned of my mother’s passing on prison radio a month after she had died.”
Mohammed Al Adiny said that it was being away from his family and friends that hurt most in prison. “I would send letters to my mother. I would tell her that if she wants me to be okay, just smile. Your smile is what gives me strength is what I would tell her.”
The fight of the hunger strikers goes on. Samer Issawi, now weighing just 44 kg was recently moved to Haifa hospital after a serious deterioration in his health. Ayman Sharawna was moved to the Soroka Israel hospital in Beersheba last month, briefly falling into a coma after which for a period he was unable to move, suffering severe pain to several parts of his body.
Hana Shalabi, a female detainee released after a 43-day hunger strike in March 2012 was in attendance at Sunday’s demonstration and she described to some of the students what Samer and Ayman were going through. “I’m sorry for the death of Jaradet, sorry for his family in the West Bank. Sadly I’m not surprised, this is not a new thing with over 210 prisoners who have been killed in Israeli prisons since 1967. By my experience on hunger strike I feel what they feel. You can’t sleep because of the pain, you can’t speak, you can’t move, there’s hair loss, pains in the stomach and joints, you can’t see well, there are heart irregularities, palpitations and migraines. Soon your body, like mine, can’t accept water.”
Hana Shalabi, released after a 43-day hunger strike, remains an inspiration. Photo Eva Barlett
At the time of writing Samer Issawi and Ayman Sharawna are among 178 prisoners who are being held under what Israel defines as “Administrative Detention” . This open ended imprisonment without a formal charge has been condemned by major international human rights groups. This self-sacrifice of Samer, Ayman and the other detainees has struck a chord with young people across Palestine who are absorbed in the struggle for life and dignity of the hunger strikers. They want immediate action.
“When students and young people become more aware and start writing about israel’s crimes it’s like a disaster for Israel. We want to deliver our message all over the world. Palestinian prisoners don’t have basic human rights or dignity. They’re not treated as human beings. We demand the Israeli government release the hunger strikers.”
Adie Mormech is a Gaza-based activist with International Action for Palestine and a teacher at Al Aqsa University in Gaza City.
One international activist and two Palestinians were arrested at this Friday´s demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum.
Although being restrained by armed police, a rock is used to finish the job (source: Wafa/ICAI)
Around 150 Palestinians, together with Israeli and international activists, participated in Kufr Qaddoum’s weekly demonstration against the closure of the road leading to Nablus.
After midday prayers, protesters marched from the center of the village up the main road, but they were soon blocked by Israeli border police who threw stun grenades at the crowd. Clashes ensued for half an hour, after which Israeli forces retreated. Soon after, border police agents suddenly reappeared at the scene and, whilst throwing stun grenades, arrested two Palestinians – Belal Fathi Jomaa (22, now in Huwara military base) and Nayif Khalel Jomaa (17, currently in Megiddo prison, where Arafat Jaradat was recently murdered) – and one ISM volunteer. The Palestinians were beaten up, one with a rock against his head and the other was caused a nose bleed; whilst the international activist was, once captive, blindfolded, punched in the head twice and had rifles cocked next to him in order to intimidate him.
Israeli authorities are falsely charging the three protesters with throwing stones, a common ruse. The international activist is facing deportation within the next few days. Recently, two other international activists were deported after taking part in Canaan protest camp in the South Hebron Hills. Israeli authorities regularly falsely accuse international human rights activists in order to deport them. This can be seen by the fact that no evidence of crime was presented during the ISMer´s court hearing on Sunday.
Palestinian getting arrested by Israeli border police during Kufr Qaddoum weekly protest, 1st March 2013.
Another international activist who was present at the scene stated: “We will never be deterred by these arrests and deportations. We are not doing anything illegal, but supporting the Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle against an illegal military occupation. We will continue coming to Palestine, in hundreds and thousands. Israel will never stop the movement of international solidarity.”
![Adam Shapiro (Left) and Huwaida Arraf (Right) [Photo via IMEU]](https://palsolidarity.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Shapiro.jpg)
