Tag: Prisoner

Akram Rikhawi and the Saga of Palestinian Hunger Strikes

By Richard Falk

9 July 2012 | Richard Falk WordPress

The persistence of Palestinian hunger strikes shocks me for two reasons: that these extreme expressions of moral freedom alert all who choose to expose their consciousness to such realities of the severely abusive arrest, detention, and interrogation procedures that many Palestinians living under Israeli occupation must endure; that the world’s media, foreign governments, the UN, the Arab League barely acknowledge such events, which if they occurred in other countries would generate outpourings of outrage and sympathy, and depending on the geopolitical calculus, hypocritical calls for the application of the ‘responsibility to protect’ norm.

I post below a joint press release by respected NGOs of Palestine and Israel that summarize the desperate medical condition of Akram Rikhawi, who has continued his hunger strike for more than 85 days, an extraordinary display of discipline and resolve, the exemplary Palestinian virtue of samud (steadfastness). Mr. Rikhawi, whose home is in Gaza, has been held in prison since 2004 after being convicted to a nine-year term by an Israeli military court. He has been denied mercy by the Israeli authorities despite a present political atmosphere in which the Palestinian resistance has not been posing violent challenges to Israeli security behind the green line, and his condition would in any event make political activism an impossibility.

As a result of the ‘Shalit Law,’ a vindictive violation of international humanitarian law that retaliates against Palestinian prisoners because of the capture of Gilad Shalit an Israeli soldier who was released a year ago, Rikhawi has been denied family visits since 2006 despite being the father of eight children plus the five young children of his recently deceased brother. Yasmine, daughter of his brother, summed up Akram Rikhawi’s tragic situation: “My uncle made a decision and we support him because we live life once; we either live it with dignity or we die fighting for it.” No human being should be forced to face such a dilemma, and those that do deserve our compassion and support. Jasmine describes Akram Rikhawi as the main source of financial and emotional support of the entire family, which was the center of his life. She describes him as an avid reader who was constantly challenging the family to engage in serious discussions, including issues arising from his intense opposition to the occupation.

He suffers from multiple life-threatening ailments, including serious asthma and diabetes, and has been targeted for abuse since initiating this hunger strike as the following report makes clear.

Putting all the pieces together, including the realization that many hunger strikes have been in process since Khader Adnan had recourse to a hunger strike on December 17, 2010 in protest against his arrest and confinement as a result of an administrative detention decree, we can reach some tentative conclusions:

  • these brave acts of nonviolence have inspired Palestinians and some others, sustaining their dignity under the most difficult and inhumane of circumstances;
  • Western countries and Western NGOs, claiming to be champions of humanitarian diplomacy, have spurned the moral and political challenges posed by these hunger strikes;
  • despite such malign neglect, the hunger strikes have shined a bright light on the unlawfulness and cruelty of Israeli arrest and interrogation procedures and prison conditions that has increased awareness of this dimension of prolonged Israeli occupation of Palestine;
  • with such an awareness comes responsibility, including acting on the request of Addammeer and Phsicians for Human Rights-Israel that letters demanding Akram Rikhawi’s release be sent to listed Israeli officials.

==========

Concern mounts for the life of Akram Rikhawi on his 85th day of hunger strike

An independent doctor from PHR-IL visited Akram Rikhawi yesterday and an Addameer lawyer visited him today, along with Samer Al-Barq and Hassan Safadi. Samer and Hassan are still denied access to independent doctors.

Joint Press Release, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel

Ramallah-Jaffa, 5 July 2012—Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-IL) and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association are gravely concerned for the life of Akram Rikhawi, who is now on his 85th day of hunger strike. An independent doctor from PHR-IL visited Akram in Ramleh prison medical center yesterday, 4 July, which was made possible only after an appeal to the Israeli District Court, where the judge eventually ordered the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) to allow the entry of the independent doctor no later than 3 July.

Following the visit to Akram, the PHR-IL doctor reported the alarming deterioration of Akram’s asthma, which continues to be unstable. The doctor believes Akram has been given very high doses of steroids as treatment, which can cause severe long-term and irreversible damage. The doctor reiterated recommendation for immediate examination by a lung specialist, which was not performed as recommended after the last visit by an independent doctor on 6 June.

Akram also reported that he is experiencing severe dizziness, can no longer walk and is having difficulty standing. Even more troubling, Akram has not been given any assistance in these matters, leaving him vulnerable to the danger of falling, which could result in fatal injury due to his osteoperosis. The doctor further noted that Akram is experiencing tingling and numbness in his left thigh, which could indicate peripheral nerve damage, and recommended immediate examination in a public hospital, for fear of permanent neurological damage.

The IPS has continued to punish Akram for his hunger strike by confiscating his books and reading materials, isolating him from other prisoners and cancelling his daily break. He is also being held in a cell with no fan or air conditioning, despite the high humidity and how badly it affects his asthma.

Akram pointed out to the independent doctor and to Addameer lawyer Mona Neddaf in her visit today that he was recently hospitalized at Assaf Harofeh Hospital, but was shackled at all times to the hospital bed and felt his needs were mostly ignored by the medical staff. He emphasized to Ms. Neddaf his desire to have unrestricted access to the independent doctors from PHR-IL.

Ms. Neddaf also visited Samer Al-Barq, who is on his 45th day of renewed hunger strike in protest against the extension of his administrative detention. Ms. Neddaf noted that he seems significantly weaker than during her last visit on 25 June. He is consuming only water with glucose.

Samer’s family has reported that he suffers from kidney problems and high blood pressure and has lost more than 25% of his original weight. On 21 June, PHR-IL submitted a request to allow access for independent physicians. On 25 June the IPS denied this request without providing any reasons.

Hassan Safadi is on his 15th day of renewed hunger strike, after previously spending 71 days on prolonged hunger strike. His last administrative detention order was due to expire on 29 June and, according to the agreement ending Palestinian prisoners’ mass hunger strike, he was supposed to be released on that date. However, his lawyer was informed on 21 June of the renewal of his administrative detention order for a further six months, in violation of the agreement.

According to Ms. Neddaf after her visit with him today, Hassan’s lawyer submitted a request to the military judge that he review the agreement and consider his immediate release. The judge responded that he would give a decision on this matter in two weeks. Hassan stressed that he will not break his hunger strike until he is released to his home in Nablus.

Hassan was transferred to Ramleh prison medical center last week and is currently being held in an isolated cell. He is drinking water with salt and taking vitamins due to a low potassium level in his blood. He has lost approximately 8 kilos in weight since the beginning of his renewed strike. PHR-IL submitted a request to allow access for an independent doctor on 26 June and have not yet received a response from the IPS.

In light of the deterioration of the conditions of the remaining Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, PHR-IL and Addameer urge the international community to immediately intervene on their behalf and demand:

  • unrestricted access for independent physicians to all hunger strikers;
  • the immediate transfer of Akram Rikhawi and Samer Al-Barq to a public hospital, and the transfer of all prisoners on hunger strike for more than 40 days to public hospitals;
  • that no hunger striker be shackled while hospitalized;
  • that all hunger strikers—especially those in advanced stages of hunger strike—be allowed family visits, while they are still lucid;
  • that all information be given to families as to the medical condition of their loved ones, which is the responsibility of hospitals and medical staff in accordance with standards of medical ethics;
  • that Akram Rikhawi be granted release on humanitarian grounds;
  • that Hassan Safadi and Samer Al-Barq, along with all other administrative detainees, be immediately and unconditionally released.

*Write to the Israeli government, military and legal authorities and demand that Akram Rikhawi be released immediately and receive adequate medical care.

  • Brigadier General Danny Efroni
Military Judge Advocate General
6 David Elazar Street
Harkiya, Tel Aviv
Israel
Fax: +972 3 608 0366; +972 3 569 4526
Email: arbel@mail.idf.il; avimn@idf.gov.il
  • Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon
OC Central Command Nehemia Base, Central Command
Neveh Yaacov, Jerusalam
Fax: +972 2 530 5741
  • Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak
Ministry of Defense
37 Kaplan Street, Hakirya
Tel Aviv 61909, Israel
Fax: +972 3 691 6940 / 696 2757
  • Col. Eli Bar On
Legal Advisor of Judea and Samaria PO Box 5
Beth El 90631
Fax: +972 2 9977326

*Write to your own elected representatives urging them to pressure Israel to release Akram Rikhawi.

20 Palestinian detained children started a hunger strike in Hasharon prison

13 June 2012 | Palestinian Information Center, Gaza

Twenty Palestinian children, detained in Hasharon prison, launched on Tuesday June 12, an open hunger strike protesting the harsh prison conditions and the prison administration’s neglect of their demands.

A 17-years-old child Ahmed Lafi, who was one of the strikers, told the Ministry of the prisoners in Gaza that 20 detained children started an open hunger strike to protest the bad and deteriorating living conditions in the prison, where they are not allowed to visit each other and are deprived from their study.

He also revealed that “the prison administration continues to torture and humiliate the child prisoners even after the agreement signed between the strike leadership committee and the prison administration.”

Ahmed Lafi also stressed that the prison administration holds in solitary confinement every prisoner trying to demand his rights amid the bad conditions he witnesses in the jails.

He pointed out that Israeli intelligence use the most extreme torture methods to extract confessions from the children in violation of all international conventions and rights of children.

There are 190 Palestinian children under the age of 18 in occupation jails in very harsh conditions. These minors are treated the same way as adult prisoners; insufficient food, search raids on their rooms by intelligence officers, provocations, medical neglect and denial of education.

Palestine: Finding the Will to Resist

By Abir Kopty

4 June 2012 | Al-Akhbar English

Palestinian fans hold the sign "Freedom for prisoners" during the opening match of the "Palestine Championship" between the local national team and Vietnam in the West Bank town of Al-Ram, between Ramallah and Jerusalem, on 14 May 2012 (photo: AFP - AHMAD GHARABLI)

During the latest wave of hunger strikes, many Palestinian movements emerged in support of the strikers’ struggle. It is clear that there is persistent action on the ground, but it is still limited to the active circles connected to the families of the prisoners.

At the peak of the strike, when it was crucial to have massive support, many voiced frustration with continued Palestinian apathy, especially when in Scotland and Spain, for instance, thousands marched for the prisoners. Meanwhile, in Ramallah and Nablus, only hundreds bothered to demonstrate.

Despite the long history of Palestinian resistance, current popular action remains limited to small-scale participation. One has to ask, what went wrong?

Before discussing the major factor influencing every single aspect of Palestinians’ lives – the Israeli occupation, one needs to look at the process Palestinians went through since the Oslo Accord of 1993 and the subsequent creation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) that contributed in many ways to Palestinian apathy. Although those who signed Oslo thought they were heading in a positive direction, it is clear today that what they received was a lie. In lieu of a contiguous sovereign Palestinian state, Oslo has given the PA glorified local governance over disconnected city centers. In hindsight, Oslo has been a disaster for the Palestinian cause. The agreement gave much to the Israelis – the colonizers – with minimum concessions, while giving little to the Palestinians – the colonized – while extracting maximum concessions.

One cannot examine the absence of a massive movement on the ground without also taking into consideration the context of separation and division. At present, Palestinians are a separated and divided people. Half of the Palestinian population live in the diaspora and exile, the vast majority in squalid refugee camps in neighboring countries, denied their right of return to their homes and villages. Gaza, ruled by Hamas, and the West Bank, ruled by Fatah, are separated by the occupation. Within the occupied West Bank, divisions also exist. Jerusalem is isolated from the surrounding Palestinian population due to Israeli settlement expansion and occupation. Palestinians with Israeli citizenship were also ignored by Oslo and live in continued isolation from their brethren while suffering daily discrimination in the Jewish “democracy.” Accomplishing the physical unity of Palestinians as a nation to fight apartheid is, thus, difficult. And it’s difficult not only as a result of Israeli policies, and internal division, but also due to Arab countries that host Palestinian refugees, but do not allow them to resist from their borders.

Oslo’s implications pertain not only to geography, demography and land. There were also implications for Palestinian civil society in the occupied territories. Civil society began to be transformed from being part of the liberation movement to “development.” The phenomenon of “NGOzation” has infiltrated Palestinian society. International funders too often dictate to Palestinians their agendas and priorities, killing the spirit of the freedom fighters and resistance in the process.

The Oslo agenda was designed in a way that those trapped in it would have little or no interest in challenging it. Oslo has created the illusion of a “state,” a state for people with no rights and no sovereignty over their borders, resources or fate.

Any decision to dissolve the PA or change its mandate, especially to put an end to the security coordination with Israel, should be made outside the framework of the Palestinian leaders who have vested interests and are terrified at the prospect of losing them. The sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people as a whole, the PLO, is the body to make such decisions. The PNC (Palestinian National Council), the legislative body of the PLO, had its last meeting in 1996, where its members were appointed, not elected as they should have been according to the PLO constitution. Since Oslo, the PLO has lost its mandate and rebellious identity to the “quasi-state” of the PA. We should not expect that the same heads of the PLO, who also run the PA, would want to voluntarily surrender their power. The PLO is occupied by the same faces who have sat there for decades, stifling all sense of change, snuffing out the resistance element of the Palestinian cause. We should not expect such an ossified institution to bring a new vision.

Apathy, therefore, became a natural result of the frustration at the unchanged leadership. This leadership lacks any strategy or comprehensive vision, except the ultimate soap opera of “negotiations.” Furthermore, the security coordination with Israel is designed to ensure Israelis’ “security” not Palestinians’. In many cases, it also impedes the people from challenging the occupation with its security forces that sometimes block protesters from reaching checkpoints and have no tolerance toward anyone who dares to criticize Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas). It creates confusion; where do we start our fight? Against the PA leaders who failed the people but still hold on to power? Or the Israeli occupation forces that have trapped the PA in such a role and still control Palestinian lives? In order to fight, you need to set your target with clear eyes.

That is relevant to the West Bank under the PA and Fatah, however, Palestinians under Hamas in Gaza face similar challenges, and a regime even more oppressive toward critical voices that might challenge its rule.

Some also have concerns based on their experiences of the second intifada, where an unorganized armed resistance led to armed militias and security chaos. Many Palestinians are afraid an uprising will spiral out of control, and the same chaos will return.

Yet, the main reason for the Palestinian apathy and fatigue remains the occupation and colonization that has not relented since the creation of the PA in Oslo.

Israel attempts to crush peaceful resistance with no regard for Palestinian lives. And that, naturally, deters people from participation. When people go to participate in a protest against the occupation, they take the risk of getting shot, beaten, or arrested. Two-hundred and seventy-five Palestinian martyrs have been killed by the Israeli army since 2000 in popular resistance rallies. (Information taken from the Popular Resistance Coordination Committee).

Arrest means a verdict in a military court. Imprisonment is a near certainty and is far more of a persecution than prosecution. The system is heavily stacked against a fair day in court for Palestinians. According to Haaretz, in 2010, 99.74 percent of the trials of Palestinians in Israeli military courts ended in convictions. Arrest and then charges means a “security file” will accompany any attempt to travel, whether for leisure or studies. It kills the already near-impossible chance of getting a permit, either for work in Israel or to visit family or friends. Arrest means one becomes a target – and in many cases one’s family does as well.

Palestinians have sacrificed much for their steadfastness and resistance, with tens of thousands killed, hundreds of thousands jailed, arrested or tortured, and many others losing their homes or lands or source of income. Their sacrifice is met with non-stop Israeli colonization, their resistance is met with brutal Israeli repression, and their screams met with international silence. Combined, it has made Palestinians question the worth of their sacrifice.

Israel has “architectured” the Oslo agreement to make the occupation more efficient. To Palestinians in city centers, the occupation has become slightly less direct. There, you will hardly feel the occupation, unless you have to go through checkpoints every day or you see the Israeli army raiding your neighborhood at night to arrest your neighbor. Many people abandoned the option of filing for a permit to enter “Israel” to visit friends or family or simply Palestine. Many people gave up the idea of traveling abroad because they would need permission from Israel and they would need to cross Israeli “border” points. Most Palestinians have a “security file” in Israel and, if not them, a family member surely does. People just continue to live their lives, adapting to the reality, with the Israeli occupation sapping their will to resist. They fear losing the little they have left if they challenge the status quo.

Understanding this complexity under which Palestinians live post-Oslo explains the current situation where the will to resist has been drained from the people of resistance. In order to break down Palestinian apathy and fatigue, one will have to break down the many reasons that led to it, starting with Oslo.

Abir Kopty is a Palestinian blogger. Follow her on Twitter @abirkopty.

The war on Palestinian soccer: Free Mahmoud Sarsak

By Ramzy Baroud

4 June 2012 | Press TV: Viewpoints

On June 3, Palestinian national soccer team member Mahmoud Sarsak completed 80 days of a grueling hunger-strike. He had sustained the strike despite the fact that nearly 2,000 Palestinian inmates had called off their own 28-day hunger strike weeks ago.

Although the story of Palestinian prisoners in Israel speaks to a common reality of unlawful detentions and widespread mistreatment, Sarsak’s fate can also be viewed within its own unique context. The soccer player, who once sought to take the name and flag of his nation to international arenas, was arrested by Israeli soldiers in July 2009 while en route to join the national team in the West Bank.

Palestinian protesters hold a demo in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) on May 5, 2012 to demand the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

Sarsak was branded an ‘illegal combatant’ by Israel’s military judicial system, and was since imprisoned without any charges or trial.

Sarsak is not alone in the continued hunger strike. Akram al-Rekhawi, a diabetic prisoner demanding proper medical care, has refused food for over 50 days.

At the time of writing of this article, both men were reportedly in dire medical condition. Sarsak, once of unmatched athletic built, is now gaunt beyond recognition. The already ill al-Rekhawi is dying.

According to rights groups, an Israeli court on May 30 granted prison doctors 12 more days before allowing independent doctors to visit the prisoners, further prolonging their suffering and isolation. Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI), which has done a remarkable job battling the draconian rules of Israeli military courts, continues to petition the court to meet with both al-Sarsak and al-Rekhawi, according to Ma’an news agency.

Sadly, the story here becomes typical. PHRI, along with other prisoners’ rights groups, are doing all that civil society organizations can do within such an oppressive legal and political situation. Families are praying. Social media activists are sending constant updates and declaring solidarity. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is merely looking on – not due to any lack of concern for human rights, but due to the selective sympathy of Western governments and media.

Think of the uproar made by US media over the fate of blind Chinese political activist Chen Guangcheng. When he took shelter in the US embassy in Beijing, a near-diplomatic crisis ensued. Guangcheng was finally flown to the US on May 19, and he recently delivered a talk in New York before an astounded audience.

“The 40-year-old, blind activist said that his lengthy detention (of seven years) demonstrates that lawlessness is still the norm in China,” reported the New York Post on May 31. “Is there any justice? Is there any rationale in any of this?” Chen asked. Few in the US media would contend with the statement. But somehow the logic becomes entirely irrelevant when the perpetrator of injustice is Israel, and the victim is a Palestinian. Al-Rekhawi is not blind, but he has many medical ailments. He has been in Ramle prison clinic since his detention in 2004, receiving severely inadequate medical care.

Sarsak, who has been a witness to many tragedies, is now becoming one. The 25-year old had once hoped to push the ranking of his national team back to a reasonable standing. If Palestinians ever deserve to be called ‘fanatics’, it would be in reference to soccer. As a child growing up in Gaza, I remember playing soccer in few minute increments, braving Israeli military curfews, risking arrests, injury and even death. Somehow, in a very crowded refugee camp, soccer becomes tantamount to freedom.

Palestine’s ranking at 164th in the world is testament not to any lack of passion for the game, but to the constant Israeli attempts at destroying even that national aspiration.

The examples of Israeli war on Palestinian soccer are too many to count, although most of them receive little or no media coverage whatsoever. In 2004 Israel blocked several essential players from accompanying the national team out of Gaza for a second match against Chinese Taipei. (Palestine had won the first match 8-0.) The obstacles culminated in the March 2006 bombing of the Palestinian Football Stadium in Gaza, which reduced the grass field to a massive crater. Then, in the war on Gaza (Cast Lead 2008-09), things turned bloody as Israel killed three national soccer players: Ayman Alkurd, Shadi Sbakhe and Wajeh Moshtahe. It also bombed their stadium again.

Sarsak was a promising new face of Palestinian soccer. In times of Palestinian disunity and factionalism, it was the national team that kept a symbolic unity between Gaza and the West Bank – and indeed Palestinians everywhere. These young men exemplify hope that better times are ahead. But Sarsak’s star is now fading, as is his life. His mother, who hasn’t seen him since his arrests, told Ma’an that she thinks of him every minute of each day. “Why is there no one moving to save his life?” she asked.

Writing in the Nation on May 10, Dave Zirin wrote, “Imagine if a member of Team USA Basketball-let’s say Kobe Bryant-had been traveling to an international tournament only to be seized by a foreign government and held in prison for three years without trial or even hearing the charges for which he was imprisoned…Chances are all the powerful international sports organizations-the IOC, FIFA-would treat the jailing nation as a pariah until Kobe was free. And chances are that even Laker-haters would wear buttons that read, ‘Free Kobe.’”

Sarsak is the Bryant of his people. But ask any political commentator and he will tell you why Mohmoud Sarsak is not Kobe Bryant, and why Al-Rekhawi is not Chen. It is the same prevalent logic of a powerful Washington-based pro-Israel lobby and all the rest. Even if the logic was founded, why are international sports institutions not standing in complete solidarity with the dying Sarsak? Why don’t soccer matches include a moment of solidarity with killed Palestinian players, and the dying young man aching to join his teammates on the field once more? Why is Israel not fully and comprehensively boycotted by every international sports organization?

“As long as Sarsak remains indefinitely detained and as long as Israel targets sport and athletes as legitimate targets of war, they have no business being rewarded by FIFA or the UEFA, let alone even being a part of the community of international sports,” wrote Zirin.

It would be a belated step, but an unequivocally urgent one, for Palestinian sportsmen are literally dying.

RB/GHN

Occupied Palestine: farce, tragedy, travesty

By Patrick Keddie

20 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The three snapshots below are composed from interviews conducted whilst working for the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank from September to December 2011.

FARCE

Rodni Jaber is a Palestinian woman who lives and works as a farmer in Al-Baqa’a, a windswept valley situated a few kilometers East of Hebron in the West Bank. Her family is regularly attacked by Israeli settlers and harassed by the Israeli military.

In 1998 Rodni’s son Raja was born. A few days after his birth, settlers attacked the house; one settler made a complaint to the police that someone named ‘Raja’ had put a knife to his chest, threatening to kill him.

Rodni: “Several days later the soldiers came to arrest my son. So I showed them my son who was 40 days old and I showed them his birth certificate because they didn’t believe he was Raja.”

The soldiers left but they contacted the family shortly afterward with a demand.

Rodni: “They said that Raja should come to the court and at the age of 50 days I had to take him. They said, ‘where is the defendant Raja’ and I showed them my son”.

OK, so that was the end of it then?

Rodni: “No – the judge ruled that when he reaches 16 years old he will have to come to back to court!”

Surely when the case comes to court and it becomes apparent that Raja could not even sit up or support the weight of his own head at that time of the incident, let alone threaten to harm anyone, the situation will go beyond parody?

Rodni (laughs): “Of course!”

But the ruling still stands; Raja is 12 years old now and in four years’ time he will have to go to court and explain his role in the incident.

TRAGEDY

Mustafa Tamimi, 28, was fatally injured during a protest in Nabi Saleh in December 2011. The protests began after the village’s Ein al-Qaws spring was taken over by residents of Halamish, a nearby illegal Israeli settlement, in 2009. Hundreds of protesters have been injured in Nabi Saleh but Tamimi was the first fatality during the village’s demonstrations.

Ibrahim Bornat, a 28 year-old artist and activist from Bil’in was with Mustafa when he was fatally injured.

Ibrahim: “We were alone, with the rest of the protest quite far behind. We were chasing after the [Israeli military] jeeps, telling them to leave the village.”

One jeep slowed, opened its rear door a fraction and fired two tear gas canisters directly at them, from a distance of around three meters. As the first tear gas canister was fired…

Ibrahim: “Mustafa pushed me so it went over my head, the second one hit him.”

He saw Mustafa lying prone on the floor but did not realize exactly what had happened.

Ibrahim: “I thought maybe he had passed out from the gas. I went to him and turned him over and took the cloth off his face. The side of his face was blown off, the eye was hanging out and I pushed it back but I could see the inside of his head.”

There were no ambulances around, so they put Tamimi in a service [communal taxi] but the Israeli military stopped it and tried to arrest Tamimi, until they realized how seriously injured he was.

Mustafa lay on the ground for half an hour, receiving ‘treatment’ by the Israelis. He was not allowed to leave until his ID card was found, wasting valuable time.

Although Mustafa’s heart may have been revived later temporarily, Ibrahim knew he was dead.

Ibrahim: “When I was holding him, I’m sure that he died in my arms. He let out a gasp and his soul left.”

Ibrahim was not surprised at the actions of the Israeli military.

Ibrahim: “The occupation maintains itself through killing.”

TRAVESTY

Khowla Wazwaz from Hebron in the West Bank recounts the night in 2005 when her son Moussa, then 23 years-old, was arrested by the Israeli military.

Khowla: “It was around 6pm and it was raining. The soldiers surrounded the house and started to throw sound bombs. When Moussa went outside – every gun has a laser – it was like there were hundreds of laser dots on his body.”

The soldiers told Moussa to remove all his clothes and threw him a white jumpsuit, he took it and they separated him from his family.

Khowla: “After that they started to interrogate me – [the interrogator] asked me ‘where does Moussa go, when does he come back,’ all these questions. I told him everything I knew but he told me, ‘look, the soldiers are beating him, so tell me where the gun is’. I said, ‘he doesn’t have any gun.’”

She was interrogated for three or four hours but she did not know anything. As she was interrogated, she could hear awful sounds from the next room.

Khowla: “I heard someone screaming ‘mother, mother!’. I do not know if they were beating Moussa or not, I think that perhaps it was someone acting.”

Once the interrogations had ended, Moussa was arrested and taken away. The soldiers then turned their attention to the house.

Khowla: “They destroyed the inside of the house. We have a library and they started to open fire [with live ammunition] at the books, they destroyed the computer and took the hard drive.”

Khowla was denied permission to speak to or visit her son for a year after this arrest. Moussa was given 8 life sentences for participating in the resistance – a total of 792 years. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing and was released on 18 October 2011 in the first wave of the deal to exchange Palestinian prisoners for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

But Moussa was not released home to his family in Hebron. He was exiled to the Gaza Strip against his wishes, which Palestinian prisoners’ group Addameer describes as “a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and qualifies as one of the most serious war crimes.” At the time of the interview (November 2011) the family had not been able to visit him.

[This piece is part of an exhibition in creative journalism at the Nolias Gallery, London running from 19-23 May 2012, which features work by a range of journalists and photojournalists, including a selection of David Shaw’s photography from Palestine.]