Tag: Action Alert

Call for action: April 17th Palestinian Prisoners Day

International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) Gaza calls for a global day of action to draw attention to Palestinian political prisoners who are illegally detained in Israel. April 17th marks the Palestinian Prisoners Day, a day in commemoration of the 5834 Palestinians who are currently (as of February 1st, 2011) held in Israeli prisons. No less than 221 of them are children and 798 of them are serving life sentences.

We call upon you to organize events on April 17th or during that week in your countries to oppose Israel’s numerous violations of human rights and international law concerning Palestinian prisoners.

Increase awareness, empower the public, pressure your local and national representatives to hold Israel to account, and demand the following:

* Stop child imprisonment!
* No more administrative detentions in the West Bank!
(These are detentions used to arrest human rights defenders and others requiring no official justification, holding them for 6 months without charge and which are frequently prolonged by a further 6 months)
* Halt the physical and psychological torture of prisoners!
* Grant the right to Gazan prisoners to receive family visits!

Gazans in Israeli jails have not been allowed to receive visitors since June 2007.

Israel receives huge global publicity for Gilad Shalit, the sole Israeli prisoner that is currently held in Palestine, while the world remains largely silent about the 5834 Palestinians that are incarcerated in Israel. They and their families remain anonymous and lifeless in the Western media and political circles despite the huge number of people effected. While torture is common practice in Israeli prisons, Israeli governmental authorities instantly threaten that the “sky will fall” if Shalit is harmed.

“Of course, there is torture in prison. But it is not the worst, physical wounds heal. The psychological torment is much more severe. The guards would wake us up in the middle of the night and get us out of our cells, while they trample the Holy Koran and steal our most personal possessions like letters and pictures”, says a man who was recently released.

As ISM Gaza we especially want to draw attention to the case of Gazan prisoners. Since June 2007, Israel has banned all Gazans from visiting their relatives incarcerated in Israel. The 676 Gazans that are currently imprisoned in Israel have therefore not received a single visitor for nearly four years. Gaza detainees, many of whom are held indefinitely without trial, have since been in virtual isolation, as they are generally not allowed to communicate through phone or over the internet, and are only occasionally allowed to send out a letter to their families.

Because Gazan prisoners are denied family visits, they also have restricted access to basic necessities in prison – such as clothing and money – as visits are often the prisoners’ sole means of accessing these items. Lawyers are prohibited from transferring money to a prisoner and the Israeli Prisoners’ Service insist that only relatives may transfer money, which is obviously impossible.

We are in touch with local organizations and have family members and ex-prisoners that are willing to talk to you through a skype conference that we would be happy to set up with you.

Please contact ISM Gaza by emailing gazaism@gmail.com for more detailed information.

Please ACT in the week of 17th April in the name of Palestinian men, women and children in Israeli prisons who have no voice and like all Palestinians, still have no justice.

Jailed Bil’in Protest Organizer, Abdallah Abu Rahmah, to be Released on Sunday

14 March 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

UPDATE:
Abdallah Abu Rahmah of the Bil’in Popular Committee who was supposed to be released yesterday after 16 months in jail was kept for another night for “administrative reasons” but will be released today.

What: Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s release from prison
Where: The Bitunya checkpoint, near Ofer Military Prison
When: Monday, March 14th, 04:00 PM

11 March 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Abu Rahmah is expected to be released after having served the 16 months sentence imposed on him by the Israeli Military Court of Appeals for organizing demonstrations. Abu Rahmah will be received by his family, friends and supporters, and will hold a press conference at the prison’s gate on his release.

What: Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s release from prison
Where: The Bitunya checkpoint, near Ofer Military Prison
When: Sunday, March 13th, 04:00 PM
Media Contact: Jonathan Pollak +972-54-632-7736

Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was arrested last year by soldiers who raided his home at the middle of the night and was subsequently indicted before an Israeli military court on unsubstantiated charges that included stone-throwing and arms possession. Abu Rahmah was cleared of both the stone-throwing and arms possession charges, but convicted of organizing illegal demonstrations and incitement.

An exemplary case of mal-use of the Israeli military legal system in the West Bank for the purpose of silencing legitimate political dissent, Abu Rahmah’s conviction was subject to harsh international criticism. The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, expressed her deep concern “that the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahma is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest[…]”, after EU diplomats attended all hearings in Abu Rahmah’s case. Ashton’s statement was followed by one from the Spanish Parliament.

Renowned South African human right activist, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called on Israel to overturn Abu Rahmah’s conviction on behalf of the Elders, a group of international public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates, brought together by Nelson Mandela. Members of the Elders, including Tutu, have met with Abu Rahmah on their visit to Bil’in prior to his arrest.

International human rights organization Amnesty International condemned Abu Rahmah’s conviction as an assault on the right to freedom of expression. Human Rights Watch denounced the conviction, pronouncing the whole process “an unfair trial”.

Israeli organizations also distributed statements against the conviction – including a statement by B’Tselem which raises the issue of questionable testimonies by minors used to convict Abu Rahme, and The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) which highlights the impossibility of organizing legal demonstrations for Palestinians in the West Bank.

Legal Background
Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was acquitted of two out of the four charges brought against him in the indictment – stone-throwing and a ridiculous and vindictive arms possession charge. According to the indictment, Abu Rahmah collected used tear-gas projectiles and bullet casings shot at demonstrators, with the intention of exhibiting them to show the violence used against demonstrators. This absurd charge is a clear example of how eager the military prosecution is to use legal procedures as a tool to silence and smear unarmed dissent.

The court did, however, find Abu Rahmah guilty of two of the most draconian anti-free speech articles in military legislation: incitement, and organizing and participating in illegal demonstrations. It did so based only on testimonies of minors who were arrested in the middle of the night and denied their right to legal counsel, and despite acknowledging significant ills in their questioning.

The court was also undeterred by the fact that the prosecution failed to provide any concrete evidence implicating Abu Rahmah in any way, despite the fact that all demonstrations in Bil’in are systematically filmed by the army.

Under military law, incitement is defined as “The attempt, verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order” (section 7(a) of the Order Concerning Prohibition of Activities of Incitement and Hostile Propaganda (no.101), 1967), and carries a 10 years maximal sentence.

West Bank Palestinians anticipate settler’s ‘Day of Rage’

Violence of settlers against Palestinians throughout the West Bank is a known issue and is often excessive, vandalizing, injuring, and sometimes lethal. One month ago, in a span of two days — the 27th and 28th of January — two young men were killed in settler attacks. One, 20-year old Oday Maher Hamza Qadous was shot dead by settlers while working on his fields in the village of Iraq Burin. The other, Yousef Fakhri Ikhlayl, a 17-year-old youth from Beit Ommar, was shot in the head by settlers and left brain-dead in Hebron hospital after around 100 settlers from Bat Ayn settlement descended upon the Palestinian villages of Saffa and nearby Beit Ommar.

This week, after the radical settler outpost ‘Havat Gilad’ was evicted on Monday, factions of the settler movement are calling for a ‘Day of Rage’ against Palestinian villages and people on Thursday.

The policy of ‘price-tagging’ is not a new tactic used by radical settlers. The phrase means revenging any act against them from the Israeli government by punishing Palestinians.

According to Ma’an news, Rabbi Meir Goldmintz, who teaches at a seminary on the outpost, pointed at nearby Palestinian villages and said:
“The government must understand that it doesn’t pay to destroy our homes and we are going to make them regret what happened here. We are going to pay them a visit on Thursday to do what the [Israeli] government should be doing to them and not to us.”

For the onlooker it is difficult to discriminate if the many settler attacks of the last few days have been ‘just the usual’ violence towards Palestinians, as these kind of attacks are a daily routine in many parts of the West Bank.
In the Nablus area there have been reports of cars being vandalized and molotov cocktails thrown against houses.

This week, following the Open al-Shuhada Street Demonstration, Hebron also witnessed an increase in settler harassment. On Sunday, shop-keepers near the Tel Rumeida settlement were attacked in their shop by a settler, while soldiers looked on and did not intervene. The following day settlers in the same area held a ‘prayer’ demonstration, blocking Palestinian access to the road, on behalf of the settler who they claim was attacked by the shopkeepers the previous day.

Whether or not the attacks in the last two days are connected to the ‘price-tagging’ policy of settlers against the eviction of a small illegal outpost, there should be concern for what a ‘Day of Rage’ will mean, when violence against Palestinians is already an every day issue.

We are calling on the International Community to take a stand for the rights of Palestinians to security of their lives, homes, land and work. Furthermore we are calling for for an immediate action to pressure Israel to stand full responsibility, as within International Law an occupying Power is responsible for the well being of the occupied population. This means ending the one sided protection of illegal and violent settlers in the Palestinian territories, and prosecuting at last those settlers who commit these criminal acts.

Action Alert: tell Egypt to open Rafah crossing

19 February 2011 | Gazan human rights organizations

The International Solidarity Movement has received a request from Palestinians in Gaza that concerned people contact the Egyptian embassies to ask them to reopen the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza. They have prepared a statement which you can sign and fax to your embassy in order to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis caused by the closing of the crossing. Below is the email correspondence, and a link to a document containing the statement.

“Please read this letter from Gaza and try and get an organisation/civil society group to endorse it or sign it individually and send it on to your Egyptian embassies. It’s about the continuing Rafah crossing that seems to be the last thing on the Egyptian agenda now. Thousands of Palestinians are stranded at the Cairo airport, and all over the world. Some have gone on hunger strike and the last decision taken by the deposed government was to ban Palestinians from renting in Egypt. You could also send the letter to your local Member of Parliament or representative.

We call on you to sign the attached letter and fax it to the Egyptian embassy where you are based. If you don’t have a fax, please email. Obviously in light of recent events recommencing the movement of goods and people through both directions of the Rafah border with Gaza is a priority, given the devastating effects of the blockade of the Gaza Strip now inside its fourth year. Demand immediate action.

Best,
Palestinians in Gaza

The London Fax number for the Egyptian Embassy in UK is: 020 7491 1542
TEL: 020 7499 3304/2401
The Washington Fax number for the Egyptian Embassy in US is: 202.244.4319, 202.244.5131
TEL: 202.895.5400
The Dublin Fax number for the Egyptian Embassy in Ireland is: 00353-1-6683745
TEL: 00353-1-6606718

Some other Egyptian Embassy contact details can be found here:
http://egypt.embassyhomepage.com/”

“Open the Rafah crossing” letter

Dismantling Impunity: Campaign to help Palestinian victims of army abuse

9 February 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

The Popular Struggle Coordination Committee is proud to announce a new campaign, the “Dismantling Impunity Fund”. This fund will directly challenge Israel’s culture of impunity surrounding the murder and maiming of Palestinians. The fund will be managed by a committee that will include representatives of Popular Committees and Palestinian human rights organizations.

The Abu Rahmah family will be the fund’s first recipient. The family has lost two of their children, Bassem and Jawaher, to Israeli military violence. Both were murdered while nonviolently protesting Israel’s separation wall, built on their village’s land. The family has filed a civil suit in Israeli courts demanding compensation for Bassem Abu Rahmah’s 2009 murder, in which he was shot in the chest from 40 meters with a high-velocity tear gas canister.

The court is demanding 25,000 shekels ($6,700) as a deposit from the Abu Rahmah family. According to a loophole in Israeli law, Palestinians can be considered “foreigners”. This enables the court to demand an upfront deposit large enough to cover the defense’s legal fees, should the prosecution lose the case. If the family does not submit the money, the court will close the case without hearing it.

Through this loophole, Israel has supported its culture of impunity. Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territories are effectively prohibited from filing civil suits against Israel, the Israeli army or individual soldiers. Financial resources are needed to combat this loophole and enable Palestinians to seek legal redress.

Bassem Abu Rahmah was shot in the chest with the same type of canister that critically injured US citizen Tristan Anderson one month prior.After conducting an extensive investigation into Abu Rahmah’s death, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem demanded a criminal investigation be launched. B’Tselem’s findings proved that Abu Rahmah was shot in direct violation of open-fire regulations while acting in a nonviolent manner. Despite video footage and expert testimony to corroborate this, no one has yet been punished or even charged with Bassem’s killing. A civil case is now the option left for the Abu Rahmah family to seek legal redress.

Mohammed Khatib, Coordinator, Popular Struggle Coordination Committee: “From our experience with the Israeli legal system, we do not expect justice from the occupier’s courts. But we do know that a court case brings to light things that the occupation would rather keep in the shadows. By suing, victims of Israeli violence would be extracting both a monetary and political price for the crimes that Israel has committed against them. It is essential to challenge the prevailing culture of impunity, in which Israeli soldiers and settlers murder and maim Palestinians while going unpunished and unquestioned.”

Donate Electronically to the “Dismantling Impunity Fund” by following the link and checking the “Dismantling Impunity Fund” box.

Donate by check: Write checks to “Alliance for Global Justice”, with “CfJS-Dismantling Impunity Fund” in the memo line. Mail checks to:
Alliance for Global Justice
1247 “E” Street,SE
Washington, DC 20003