5 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Over 100 students from Bir Zeit University marched to the gates of Ofer Prison, near Ramallah today, to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails.
Prisoners in several Israeli jails began hunger strikes on 27 September 2011 to to protest against solitary confinement, restricted visiting hours and harsh conditions. The protests have since gathered momentum, with Reuters reporting that there are around 500 prisoners currently on hunger strike in Israeli prisons. It is thought that there are around 9 or 10 prisoners in Ofer prison on hunger strike.
The protesters assembled in front of the prison gates at around 1:15pm today, facing Israeli soldiers standing a few metres away just inside the prison compound. The protesters peacefully chanted slogans in support of the prisoners; however, after the majority of protesters had left, a minority of youths threw stones at the Israeli soldiers inside the prison compound. The military responded by deploying tear gas to drive the remaining protesters several hundred meters away from the prison.
The students’ protest followed an earlier demonstration at the prison at 12:00 today, which eyewitnesses claimed was attended by around 200 people and ended in a similar manner; with a minority of Palestinian youths throwing stones and the Israeli military responding with tear gas.
A young female protester from Birzeit University had been protesting peacefully and was hit in the back by a tear gas canister but was unharmed. She expressed concern about the Israeli military’s practice of filming peaceful protests; “I live in Jerusalem and I worry that they will identify me and cause problems for me when I travel through the checkpoint.”
One of the protesters was the mother of a 23 year old Palestinian man who is a student at Birzeit University and is currently being held in an Israeli prison. She said that her son was arrested eight months ago and has spent the last nine days in solitary confinement as punishment for participating in the hunger strike. She also claimed that prison authorities have ruled that prisoners will be denied visitors for one month for every day that they spend on hunger strike.
When asked about the prisoners on hunger strike she said, “They won’t stop until their goals are reached.”
She expressed defiance against the Israeli occupation.
“I’ve lived under occupation for more than 40 years–I am not scared.”
Alistair George is an activist with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
Over a thousand demonstrators attended the fifth anniversary of demonstrations in Bil\’in
Amnesty International has urged an Israeli military court not to convict a Palestinian non-violent activist who has been detained since last July, after he took part in a protest against the Israeli built fence/wall on Palestinian land.
Adeeb Abu Rahma has been charged with “being present in a declared military zone”, “incitement” and “activity against public order”. There is a real concern that the Ofer Military Court in the Israeli-occupied West Bank will convict him on Sunday.
“A guilty verdict would set a worrying precedent for other activists charged and awaiting trial, as Adeeb Abu Rahma would be the first activist against the fence/wall to be brought to a full evidential trial in a case of this kind,” said Amnesty International.
Many Palestinians who protest non-violently against the fence/wall are detained without charge or trial, others who are charged with offences such as stone-throwing will frequently enter plea bargains.
Adeeb Abu Rahma has denied all charges, other than stating that he was present on a number of different occasions in non-violent demonstrations against the fence/wall.
An initial charge made against him for inciting others to throw stones was withdrawn following arguments and evidence put forward by his legal defence.
The activist has repeatedly expressed his commitment to the principle of non-violence. Amnesty International said it is unaware of any credible evidence that he may have used or advocated violence.
“The broad scope of Israeli military orders mean that Adeeb Abu Rahma could be imprisoned solely for legitimately exercizing his right to freedom of expression in opposing Israeli policies in the West Bank,” said Amnesty International.
“If this is the case, we would regard him as a prisoner of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally.”
Under military orders that are applied to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank someone convicted under “Acts of Incitement and Hostile Propaganda” can be subject to imprisonment of ten years or a fine or both. The charge of “Activity Against Public Order” can carry a prison sentence of five years.
Adeeb Abu Rahma, a taxi-driver and father of nine from the West Bank village of Bil’in, was arrested at around 1.30pm on 10 July 2009 while taking part in the weekly demonstration against the fence/wall near Bil’in.
Since March 2009, Adeeb Abu Rahma and his wife Fatima’s families have not been able to visit some 25 acres of their land to cultivate olive trees and cereals as they have been cut off by the fence/wall.
The villagers, together with Palestinian, Israeli and international supporters, have been holding weekly demonstrations for the last five years in protest against the fence/wall and the confiscation of their land by the Israeli authorities.
In March 2010, Israeli soldiers posted flyers in Bil’in declaring that the village and its surrounding area would be a closed military zone every Friday from 8am to 8pm, the day when the protests are held.
While the order applies to “Israeli citizens, foreigners and Palestinians who are not residents of the villages” it states that village residents will not be subject to it.
The arrests of three prominent activists against the fence/wall last year – Mohammed Othman, Abdallah Abu Rahma and Jamal Juma’ – indicated a crackdown on the legitimate expression of opposition to the construction of the fence/wall through the occupied West Bank.
Mohammed Othman and Jamal Juma’ were released without charge in January 2010 following international calls for the end of their detention.
Abdallah Abu Rahma head of the “Popular Committee Against the Wall” in Bil’in, who was arrested on 10 December 2009, is still in detention.
In the last two years, Israeli forces have killed eight people, including a ten-year old boy and two teenagers, at the sites of anti-wall demonstrations and injured scores more, some very seriously.
The Israeli authorities have failed to produce credible evidence that those killed posed a threat to the lives of the soldiers involved.
The Israeli 700-kilometre fence/wall runs from north to south of the West Bank, encircling Palestinian villages as well as whole neighbourhoods in and around East Jerusalem.
The majority of the fence/wall is not built on the “Green Line” (the 1949 armistice line which separates the State of Israel from the occupied West Bank) but is located on Palestinian land inside the West Bank, separating Palestinian towns, villages, communities and families from each other and vital services, as well as cutting off Palestinian farmers from their land.
In June 2004 the International Court of Justice issued a unanimous advisory opinion which stated that the construction of the wall in the OPT is contrary to international law and that Israel was obliged to dismantled sections already built there and provide reparation to Palestinians affected by the construction. The Israeli government rejected these recommendations.
Furthermore, when Palestinians, together with Israeli and international supporters, have demonstrated against the fence/wall, Israeli forces have often used excessive force against them. Some demonstrations are conducted peacefully; in others, some protestors throw stones at the Israeli military or attempt to damage the fence/wall.
Abdallah Abu Rahmah at a demonstration in the village of Bilin in 2005. He was arrested an imprisoned on 10/12/2009 at 2AM.
Dear Friends and Supporters,
It has been two months now since I was handcuffed, blindfolded and taken from my home. Today news has reached Ofer Military Prison that the apartheid wall on Bil’in’s land will finally be moved and construction has begun on the new route. This will return half of the land that was stolen from our village. For those of us in Ofer, imprisoned for our protest against the wall, this victory makes the suffering of being here easier to bear. After actively resisting the theft of our land by the Israeli apartheid wall and settlements every week for five years now, we long to be standing along side our brothers and sisters to mark this victory and the fifth anniversary of our struggle.
Ofer is an Israeli military base inside the occupied territories that serves as a prison and military court. The prison is a collection of tents enclosed by razor wire and an electrical fence, each unit containing four tents, 22 prisoners per tent. Now, in winter, wind and rain comes in through cracks in the tent and we don’t have sufficient blankets, clothes, and other basic necessities.
Food is a critical issue here in Ofer, there’s not enough. We survive by buying ingredients from the prison canteen that we prepare in our tent. We have one small hot plate, and this is also our only source of warmth. Those whose families can put money in an account for us to buy food, do so, but many cannot afford to. The positive aspect to this is that I have learned how to cook! Tonight I made falafel and sweets to celebrate the news about our victory. I cannot wait to get home and cook for my wife and children!
I was arrested in my slippers, and to this day my family has been unable to get permission to supply me with a pair of shoes. I was finally given my watch after repeated requests. For me this is an essential way to keep oriented; it was unbearable not being able to see the rate at which time passes. Receiving it, I felt so overjoyed, like a child getting his first watch. I can barely imagine what it will be like to have a pair of proper shoes again.
Because of our imprisonment, the military considers our families to be a security threat. It is very hard for our wives, children and extended family to visit. My friend, Adeeb Abu Rahmah, also a political prisoner from Bil’in, cannot receive visits from his wife and one of his daughters. Even his mother, a woman in her eighties who is currently in bad health, is considered a security threat! He is afraid that he will not see her before she dies.
I am a teacher and before my arrest I taught at a private school in Birzeit and also owned a chicken farm. My family had to sell the farm at a loss after I was arrested. I don’t know if I will have my position at the school when I am released.Adeeb ‘s family of nine is left without their sole provider, as are many other families. Not being able to care for our loved ones who need us is the hardest part of being here.
It is the support that I receive from my family and friends that helps me go on. I am grateful to the Palestinian leaders who have contacted my family, the diplomats from the European Union and to the Israeli activists who have expressed their support by attending my hearings. The relationship we have built together with the activists has gone beyond the definition of colleague or friend, we are brothers and sisters in this struggle. You are an unrelenting source of inspiration and solidarity. You have stood with us during demonstrations and court hearings, and during our happiest and most painful occasions. Being in prison has shown me how many true friends I have, I am so grateful to all of you.
From the confines of my imprisonment it becomes so clear that our struggle is far bigger than justice for only Bil’in or even Palestine. We are engaged in an international fight against oppression. I know this to be true when I remember all of you from around the world who have joined the movement to stop the wall and settlements. Ordinary people enraged by the occupation have made our struggle their own, and joined us in solidarity. We will surely join together to struggle for justice in other places when Palestine is finally free.
Missing the five-year anniversary of our struggle in Bil’in will be like missing the birthday of one of my children. Lately I think a lot about my friend Bassem whose life was taken during a nonviolent demonstration last year and how much I miss him. Despite the pain of this loss, and the yearning I feel to be with my family and friends at home, I think that if this is the price we must pay for our freedom, then it is worth it, and we would be willing to pay much more.
Yours,
Abdallah Abu Rahmah
From the Ofer Military Detention Camp
