Prisoners – the true reps of Palestinians


April 27, 2017
Sarah Benton

This posting has these items:
1) MEE: Palestinians launch general strike to support protesting prisoners, a useful introduction;
2) Freedom and dignity strike, the high-profile people involved;
3) Ma’an news: Palestinians launch general strike in support of imprisoned hunger strikers, Ma’an is the only publication to have taken the general strike seriously producing many photos, and comments, from around Palestine;
4) Kairos: Kairos Palestine Statement on prisoners’ Hunger Strike, a significant move as it means Christians, Moslems and secular Palestinians all support the demands of the prisoners;
5) New Arab: West Bank holds solidarity strike for Palestinian prisoners, there is some support in Gaza but it’s not mentioned here;
6) Samidoun: Tenth day of hunger strike: Palestinian prisoners face worsening health as strike grows; the prisoners’ solidarity NGO provides ideas and info about how to demonstrate your support for the hunger-striking prisoners.


A man sits outside a closed shop during a general strike by Palestinians Photo by AFP



Palestinians launch general strike to support protesting prisoners

Palestinians hold general strike to show solidarity with 1,500 prisoners held in Israeli jails fighting for basic rights

By MEE
April 27, 2017

Palestinians held a general strike on Thursday in solidarity with hundreds of prisoners in Israeli jails on hunger strike for 11 days, with some officials calling it the largest in years.

Stores were closed and roads empty across the West Bank, the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel for 50 years.

In the city of Ramallah, several dozen people gathered at a tent set up in a central square where a protest march was to begin.

“This general strike is unprecedented in years,” said Khalil Rizeq of the Union of Palestinian Chambers of Commerce.

“All Palestinian industries, such as transport, bakeries, stores, all of the private sector and commercial institutions are participating.”

The strike was called in all cities in the West Bank, with only doctors and students nearing graduation excluded.

Palestinian bus services were also on strike in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Oday Homaid, a 27-year-old engineer, arrived at Ramallah’s Yasser Arafat Square with other workers from his lift maintenance company to participate in the protest.

It was the “minimum that we can do for our prisoners,” he said.

Munther Karaja, a 42-year-old who had closed his pastry shop, said: “We can sacrifice one day for prisoners who have given years of their lives.”


A boy and his bike in a deserted shopping area. Photos by Reuters

Palestinian officials say some 1,500 prisoners are participating in the hunger strike that began on 17 April, with detainees ingesting only water and salt.

Israeli authorities have put the number at around 1,200.

Some 6,500 Palestinians are currently imprisoned by Israel for a range of offences and alleged crimes.

Around 500 are being held under Israel’s system of administrative detention, which allows for imprisonment without charge.

Palestinian prisoners have mounted repeated hunger strikes, but rarely on such a scale.

The hunger strike is being led by Palestinian leader and prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti, serving five life sentences over his role in the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, of 2000 to 2005.



freedom-and-dignity 2017-day3
Dubbed the “Freedom and Dignity” hunger strike, it involves some of Palestine’s most high profile prisoners. From right to left: Marwan Barghouthi, Ahmad Saadat [PFLP leader], Karim Yunis [serving longest continuous sentence] (35 years)] doesn’t know most of his relatives as he is denied family visits, Nael Barghouthi [serving longest aggregate prison sentences], Fouad Shubaki, imprisoned in 2009 despite his old age and unstable health, sentenced by military to 20 years in prison for funding a weapons ship.



Palestinians strike in support of protesting prisoners

Marwan Barghouti has been compared to South Africa’s Nelson Mandela

By AFP/ Daily Mail
April 27, 2017

Palestinians held a general strike on Thursday April 27th in solidarity with hundreds of prisoners in Israeli jails on hunger strike for 11 days, with some officials calling it the largest in years.

Stores were closed and roads empty across the West Bank, the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel for 50 years.

In the city of Ramallah, several dozen people gathered at a tent set up in a central square where a protest march was to begin.

“This general strike is unprecedented in years,” said Khalil Rizeq of the Union of Palestinian Chambers of Commerce.

“All Palestinian industries, such as transport, bakeries, stores, all of the private sector and commercial institutions are participating.”

The strike was called in all cities in the West Bank, with only doctors and students nearing graduation excluded.

Palestinian bus services were also on strike in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Oday Homaid, a 27-year-old engineer, arrived at Ramallah’s Yasser Arafat Square with other workers from his lift maintenance company to participate in the protest.

It was the “minimum that we can do for our prisoners,” he said.

Munther Karaja, a 42-year-old who had closed his pastry shop, said: “We can sacrifice one day for prisoners who have given years of their lives.”


A Palestinian man walks past closed shops in the West Bank city of Hebron during a general strike on April 27, 2017, in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails

Palestinian officials say some 1,500 prisoners are participating in the hunger strike that began on April 17, with detainees ingesting only water and salt.

Israeli authorities have put the number at around 1,200.

Some 6,500 Palestinians are currently detained by Israel for a range of offences and alleged crimes.

Around 500 are being held under Israel’s system of administrative detention, which allows for imprisonment without charge.

Palestinian prisoners have mounted repeated hunger strikes, but rarely on such a scale.

The hunger strike is being led by Palestinian leader and prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti, serving five life sentences over his role in the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, of 2000 to 2005.

The prisoners have issued demands ranging from better medical care to phone access.

A series of demonstrations have been held in the West Bank in support of the prisoners, occasionally resulting in clashes with Israeli forces.

Barghouti is popular among Palestinians, with polls suggesting he could win the Palestinian presidency.

A Palestinian NGO said this week that Barghouti’s health has seriously declined and that he was refusing medical treatment.

Palestinian leaders have denounced Israel’s refusal to negotiate with the hunger strikers, warning of a “new intifada” if any of them die.



Ramallah.


Palestinians launch general strike in support of imprisoned hunger strikers

By Ma’an news
April 27, 2017

BETHLEHEM — A general strike was held across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on Thursday, as thousands of Palestinians shut down their shops and businesses in solidarity with some 1,500 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike as part of the  c strike, organized by imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi.

The strike was held on the 11th day of the mass hunger strike, and precedes the Fatah movement’s calls for a Day of Rage on April 28, during which Palestinians are expected to clash with Israeli forces in order to show their solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners’ movement.

Bethlehem


Several entrances blocked off with rocks and tyres, while masked Palestinian men travelled throughout the city speaking with locals of the importance of committing to the strike.

The usually bustling streets of cities, towns, villages, and refugee camps across the West Bank were nearly empty on Thursday, in a scene that several local Palestinians told Ma’an were reminiscent of the First Intifada, which started in 1987, when Palestinians held general strikes as part of a civil disobedience campaign against Israeli forces.

Shops, institutions, banks, and schools all closed in support of the hunger strikers.

Hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel have been participating in the hunger strike since April 17 to protest the torture, ill treatment, and medical neglect of prisoners at the hands of Israeli authorities, as well as Israel’s widespread use of administrative detention — internment without trial or charges.

On Tuesday, the National Committee to Support Hunger-Striking Prisoners called on Palestinians to boycott Israeli products in solidarity with the hundreds of detainees currently forgoing food.

The committee, which is affiliated with the Palestinian Committee of Prisoner’s Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), called on Palestinian merchants to stop selling Israeli products and to empty their stocks of all goods manufactured in Israel.

“As the Freedom and Dignity battle continues, the (Israeli) occupation escalates its discourse and oppressive measures against our children and our heroes who are fighting this saga,” the support committee said in a statement. “To help them remain firm, it has been decided to completely boycott Israeli goods in Palestinian markets.”

Meanwhile, solidarity demonstrations for the hunger-striking prisoners have continued to be organized daily amid calls to escalate solidarity events across the Palestinian territory.

Head of the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Qaraqe released a statement on Wednesday saying that IPS forces had “continued to escalate punitive measures” against prisoners, which started on the first day of the strike, with IPS forces transferring prisoners and leaders of the strike to solitary confinement, and preventing lawyers from visiting prisoners, particularly sick prisoners.

According to Qaraqe, IPS officials have continued preventing prisoners — many of whom are refusing all forms of nutrition except salt and water — from accessing commissaries to purchase salt, provided prisoners with dirty sheets and covers, and carried out provocative search raids of prisoners rooms, and arbitrary transfers of prisoners.

A number of Palestinian hunger strikers also announced that they would begin refusing water.

Ramallah district


In the Ramallah district, a group of Palestinian youths closed all roads leading to the cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh by placing rocks and burning tyres in the streets, preventing Palestinians from entering the cities.

Nablus district

Tulkarem district

Hebron district

East Jerusalem

The occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Beit Hanina:

In the city of Jerusalem:

 



Kairos statement on prisoners’ hunger strike

April 27, 2017

The voice of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails is being heard since April 17 when they announced an all-out hunger strike; around 1,500 prisoners have joined in this hunger strike.

The hunger strike is an appeal to humanity in Israel and worldwide to draw attention to the torture, deprivation and human rights violations faced by prisoners in Israeli political prisons.

This strike asserts the just demand by Palestinian prisoners for their basic rights and human dignity to be respected. They have rights that are guaranteed under international humanitarian law such as the Geneva Convention, and human rights laws and norms oblige the occupation state to observe the basic rights of prisoners.

There are around 6500 Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centres, including 300 children, 61 women and 13 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. These prisoners represent all sectors of the Palestinian people; their detention is a source of concern and distress for their families and all Palestinians. Their detention is a blatant violation of human dignity and Palestinian sovereignty.

Prisoners undergo several forms of inhumane treatment, starting with arbitrary arrest, psychological and physical torture, and cruel and inhumane treatment during interrogation. It ends in the absence of a fair trial, the forbidding of meetings with attorneys, and solitary confinement. These violations conflict with the international and legal commitments of the occupation state and are contrary to human conscience and the teachings of all religions.

There are now 500 administrative detainees in occupation prisons. Many of them have spent long years in detention without charge or being permitted the right to defend themselves properly because the majority of evidence presented to military courts is confidential and inaccessible to defense attorneys. The courts issue sentences to extend detention in an arbitrary manner and prevent detainees from meeting with their lawyers, thereby acting as an accessory in the violation of detainee’s rights.

The key demands made by prisoners and detainees in this strike is to end the practice of administrative detention, increase family visits, and expand the circle of family members permitted to visit. The location of the detention centres and prisons outside the occupied territories is itself a violation of international law, and exacerbates the suffering of families who require a permit to visit their sons and daughters, placing them at the mercy of the occupation. This infringes the rights and dignity of families.

Prisoners, particularly those who are sick or have a disability, demand the provision of decent health services, the replacement of prison clinics with external health and medical services, and permission for specialist physicians to visit them.

Kairos, the Palestinian Christian voice, expresses its support for the just and humanitarian demands of prisoners – children, women and the sick – and their families. Kairos deems it intolerable to see prisoners engaged in an all-out hunger strike to obtain basic rights and humanitarian demands that should be granted to them as human beings and are applicable to all under international law.

We view all prisoners as human beings whose dignity is granted by God; no man or occupying power has the right to deprive them of what was granted by God. The norm is freedom and a just peace for them and the entire Palestinian people. It is unjust for the majority of a people to experience detention and imprisonment in occupation prisons because they demand their freedom and dignity. It is time for Israel to review its position and realize that its security does not lie in its prisons but in recognizing the freedom and dignity of the Palestinian people.

In the name of the humanitarian values espoused by every religion, and in the name of Christian values and teachings, we express our support for prisoners as human beings who possess dignity granted to them by their creator. We support them and demand their freedom; we support their humanitarian demands. Prisoners risk their lives with this demanding step of a hunger strike, but it also proves that their demands and stance are justified and sound.

Every human being with an active conscience should add their voice to those of the prisoners and demand that the authorities in Israel, Palestine, and the international community find an appropriate humanitarian solution so that no prisoner remains in his cell and no Palestinian is stripped off their freedom and dignity.

Our vision is that of every person as a human being whose freedom and dignity are granted by God, including prisoners and persecuted people who most need to enjoy their freedom and dignity.

The key demands made by prisoners and detainees in this strike is to end the practice of administrative detention, increase family visits, and expand the circle of family members permitted to visit. The location of the detention centers and prisons outside the occupied territories is itself a violation of international law, and exacerbates the suffering of families who require a permit to visit their sons and daughters, placing them at the mercy of the occupation. This infringes the rights and dignity of families.

Prisoners, particularly those who are sick or have a disability, demand the provision of decent health services, the replacement of prison clinics with external health and medical services, and permission for specialist physicians to visit them.

Kairos, the Palestinian Christian voice, expresses its support for the just and humanitarian demands of prisoners – children, women and the sick – and their families. Kairos deems it intolerable to see prisoners engaged in an all-out hunger strike to obtain basic rights and humanitarian demands that should be granted to them as human beings and are applicable to all under international law.

We view all prisoners as human beings whose dignity is granted by God; no man or occupying power has the right to deprive them of what was granted by God. The norm is freedom and a just peace for them and the entire Palestinian people. It is unjust for the majority of a people to experience detention and imprisonment in occupation prisons because they demand their freedom and dignity. It is time for Israel to review its position and realize that its security does not lie in its prisons but in recognizing the freedom and dignity of the Palestinian people.

In the name of the humanitarian values espoused by every religion, and in the name of Christian values and teachings, we express our support for prisoners as human beings who possess dignity granted to them by their creator. We support them and demand their freedom; we support their humanitarian demands. Prisoners risk their lives with this demanding step of a hunger strike, but it also proves that their demands and stance are justified and sound.

Every human being with an active conscience should add their voice to those of the prisoners and demand that the authorities in Israel, Palestine, and the international community find an appropriate humanitarian solution so that no prisoner remains in his cell and no Palestinian is stripped off their freedom and dignity.

Our vision is that of every person as a human being whose freedom and dignity are granted by God, including prisoners and persecuted people who most need to enjoy their freedom and dignity.



West Bank holds solidarity strike for Palestinian prisoners

Palestinians held a general strike on Thursday in solidarity with hundreds of prisoners in Israeli jails on hunger strike, with some officials calling it the largest in years

By Robert Cusack, Al Araby/ The New Arab
April 27, 2017

Thousands of people across the West Bank went on a general strike on Thursday in support of a mass hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

The one-day strike saw schools, universities, shops and all public sector offices, except medical facilities, close for the day as various protests were held in individual towns.

The strike was organised by the National Committee to Support the Hunger Strike, receiving backing from a number of political parties, in support of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club NGO.

“We have not seen such a strike for years,” Kadoura Fares, president of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, told The New Arab.

“The decision to strike came from territories that the Fatah movement controls – gaining wider support and great commitment from all sectors of the Palestinian people.

Some protesters organised a ‘go-slow protest’ by driving slowly through the streets, honking their horns and waving Palestinian flags.

Young men wearing masks and military fatigues with Fatah headbands stood on street corners, reportedly to keep the peace while some police officers went on strike.

“This general strike is unprecedented in [recent] years,” said Khalil Rizeq of the Union of Palestinian Chambers of Commerce.

“All Palestinian industries, such as transport, bakeries, stores, all of the private sector and commercial institutions are participating.”

The protest is in support of around 1,500 prisoners, mostly belonging to secular groups, including the PLO and Fatah, who have refused to eat any food since April 17.

The hunger strikers are currently only ingesting water and salt and are protesting for better living conditions, including better medical care and access to telephones.

The hunger strikers are currently only ingesting water and salt and are protesting for better living conditions, including better medical care and access to telephones’There are an additional 2,000 prisoners, who belong to the Hamas group, considering to join the hunger strike.

The protest has led to a new social media campaign, called #saltwaterchallenge or #تحدي_مي_وملح, where supporters drink a glass of saltwater on camera in support of the prisoners’ protest.

The hunger strike is being led by the Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, who is currently serving five life sentences for his role in the second Palestinian intifada.

Barghouti started to develop medical problems a few days ago, but is refusing medical treatment.

Meanwhile, Israeli security forces fired tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets at crowds of protesters while carrying out a large number of dawn raids on Thursday morning, arresting tens of young men.

Naseer Radwan Abu Thabet, a journalism student at An-Najah University, was arrested at dawn in Beit Dajan, a village located east of Nablus. Abu Thabet had been arrested and released in a similar manner only two months previous.

Israeli forces also captured Hamas leader, Fazea Sawafteh, as well as Samir Abu Muhsin, Osama Sawafteh and Lut Bisharat.

Some 6,500 Palestinians are currently detained by Israel for a range of offences and alleged crimes. Around 500 are held under administrative detention, which allows imprisonment without charge.

Palestinian prisoners have mounted repeated hunger strikes, however this protest is reportedly the largest protest in recent times.



Tenth day of hunger strike: Palestinian prisoners face worsening health as strike grows

By Samidoun
April 26, 2017

On the tenth day of the Strike of Freedom and Dignity, over 1,500 Palestinian political prisoners are continuing their hunger strike in Israeli jails. On Monday, 24 April, Hadarim prison, which had held approximately 120 Palestinian political prisoners, was nearly emptied by the Israel Prison Service. 100 Palestinian prisoners have previously been transferred into isolation in other prisons and 8 prisoners were slated for transfer to Eshel prison on Monday. However, Hamas leader Ibrahim Hamed was kept inside Hadarim prison, with only a small number of other prisoners, reported Asra Media.

This is particularly notable, as Hadarim prison was the first to join unanimously, with prisoners from all Palestinian political organizations participating in the hunger strike; in fact, the strike itself was announced in a statement from imprisoned Fateh leader Marwan Barghouthi in Hadarim prison. Barghouthi is now held in solitary confinement with other leaders of the strike, including Kamil Abu Hanish, Wajdi Jawdat, Anas Jaradat and Karim Younis.

Palestinian prisoners in Ramon prison who have not yet joined the strike began to escalate protest actions, reported the Handala Centre for Prisoners and Former Prisoners, noting that a number of prisoners had begun to return meals as part of escalating protests. In addition, 11 prisoners of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Megiddo prison, led by Nidal Daghlas and Sami Subuh, entered the hunger strike.

Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike continue to be subject to denials of legal visits; only three prisoners in Ofer prison have received visits so far and new denials of visit requests were received from Megiddo and Ashkelon prisons. Hunger strikers are calling for the implementation of a series of demands, including an end to the denials of family visits, appropriate medical care for Palestinian prisoners and an end to solitary confinement and “administrative detention,” imprisonment without charge or trial.

Addameer lawyers Mona Naddaf, Samer Samaan and Farah Bayadsi visited non-striking prisoners in Nafha, Hadarim and Ashkelon prisons on Tuesday, 25 April, after being denied visitation with striking prisoners. The non-striking prisoners relayed information about the conditions of the strikers, including that in Hadarim, sick prisoners were taken to Section 5, a civilian detention center with no television or electrical devices and only bare sleeping mats. In all of the prisons, strikers are isolated, denied family visits, legal visits and group prayers; there are multiple reports of confiscation of salt, and prisoners must drink from the tap rather than the usually-provided drinking water.

Following the launch of the strike on 17 April, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, strikers have been hit with an array of repressive sanctions, including blocking family visits, group prayer and recreation and confiscation of clothing, blankets and other materials. Many strikers have been moved into isolation while many others have been repeatedly transferred from prison to prison. These transfers continued on Tuesday as the prison administration transferred Mohammed Musleh, Basil Aref, Naim Misran, Zia al-Agha, Rami al-Aila and Hussein al-Zuraie were taken from Gilboa to Nafha prison. Basil al-Asmar and Ahmed Obeidat were transferred on Tuesday from Nafha to Ramle prison; the Handala Center noted that “these moves are an attempt to create a state of instability and stress on the strike leaders as part of a pressure campaign against them.”

On Tuesday, 25 April, several striking prisoners, including Musallam Thabet, Mohammed Abed Rabbo and Amjad al-Namoura, experienced deterioration of their health, one day after isolated imprisoned Fateh leader Marwan Barghouthi experienced a deterioration in his health, refusing treatment or examination. Several seriously ill prisoners are participating in the hunger strike, including heart patients Said Musallam, Nazih Othman and Riad Amour, who is so ill that he is permanently held in the Ramle prison clinic. Also participating on the strike are Ibrahim Abu Mustafa, ill with serious heart and kidney disease, and Kamal Abu ‘Ar, who suffers from liver cancer.


Gaza City solidarity protests. They are carrying placards showing imprisoned PFLP leader, Ahmad Sadat. Photo by Khaled Hashem.

Popular support for the strike continued throughout Palestine as prisoner support tents filled with families and supporters of the strikers and marchers took to the streets. On Tuesday, 25 April, the national committee to support the strike urged the boycott of Israeli goods, calling on merchants and traders not to sell these goods in order to support the prisoners in their strike.


The “prisoners’ tent” set up in support in Nablus. Photo from Samidoun

Outside Gilboa prison, where hundreds of prisoners are participating in the hunger strike, the families of Palestinian prisoners from Jerusalem and Palestine ’48 gathered in support of their hunger-striking loved ones. Participants in the protest include Amjad Abu Assab, the chair of the association of families of prisoners in Jerusalem and Osama Saadi, member of the Knesset. The participants raised pictures of their children and the Palestinian flag. This protest joined actions in Haifa, Yafa, Nablus, Salfit, Ramallah, al-Khalil, Gaza City and throughout Palestine.

Lawyers, legal workers and law students in the US working with the National Lawyers Guild will engage in a one-day hunger strike

Thursday, 27 April will mark a general strike for all commercial, educational, governmental, university and labor sectors in occupied Palestine in support of the prisoners’ strike. Also on Thursday, new prisoners will join the strike in Ofer, Megiddo, Negev and Ramon prisons, reported Ma’an News, including former long-term hunger striker Samer Issawi, who has had his original sentence reimposed by an Israeli military commission on the basis of secret evidence; he was freed in the 2011 Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange.

International support for the prisoners has also continued to grow. On Thursday, in conjunction with the general strike, lawyers, legal workers and law students in the United States working with the National Lawyers Guild will engage in a one-day hunger strike, while an artists’ mobilization for the hunger strike is being organized by Decolonize This Place. Neoklis Sylikiotis, the chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Relations with Palestine, issued a statement on Monday, 24 April following its meeting in Brussels in support of the hunger strikers’ demands for rights and dignity.

South African activists, including former prisoners of the anti-apartheid movement, also came together for a press conference in Johannesburg on Monday to announce a series of nationally coordinated actions in support of the Palestinian prisoners’ strike. Omar Barghouti, a prominent leader and of the Palestinian Boycott National Commission (BNC), was awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize in New Haven, Connecticut on 24 April, where he dedicated the prize to the strikers:

“As I humbly accept the Gandhi Peace Award for 2017, I dedicate it to the heroic Palestinian political prisoners on hunger strike in Israel’s apartheid dungeons and to every Palestinian refugee yearning to return home to Palestine to reunite with the land and the homeland.”

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all supporters of Palestine and friends of justice to come together to take action from 27 April to 30 April and stand with Palestinian prisoners striking for freedom and dignity!

TAKE ACTION

Materials to support your events and organizing are available for download here.
Please contact Samidoun or reach out to us on Facebook for questions or to share your actions.

1) Organize or join an event in support of the hunger strikers. Protest outside your local Israeli embassy, consulate or mission, or at a public square or government building. You can drop a banner or put up a table to support the prisoners and their strike. See the list of current international events here, and add your own: send your events and actions to us at samidoun@samidoun.net, on Facebook, or use the form to tell us about your actions.

2) Hunger Strike for Justice! Join the Palestinian hunger strikers to support their demands with a symbolic one-day hunger strike in your community or on your campus. Tell us about your solidarity strike at samidoun@samidoun.net, on Facebook, or use the form.

3) Call your government officials and demand action. Call your foreign affairs officials – and members of parliament – and urge action for the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike.

Call your country’s officials urgently:

Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop: + 61 2 6277 7500
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland: +1-613-992-5234
European Union Commissioner Federica Mogherini: +32 (0) 2 29 53516
New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully: +64 4 439 8000
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson: +44 20 7008 1500
United States President Donald Trump: 1-202-456-1111

Tell your government: Palestinian prisoners are on hunger strike for their basic human rights – for family visits, medical care, and freedom from imprisonment without charge or trial. Governments must pressure Israel to recognize the prisoners’ demands!

4) Take action on social media! Support the hunger strike on social media. Post a picture of yourself with a sign saying you support the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike! Include the hashtag #DignityStrike when posting your photo to Facebook or Twitter. Share and re-share information about the strike with the #DignityStrike hashtag.

5) Build the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign! Join the BDS Movement to highlight the complicity of corporations like Hewlett-Packard and the continuing involvement of G4S in Israeli policing and prisons. Build a campaign to boycott Israeli goods, impose a military embargo on Israel, or organize around the academic and cultural boycott of Israel.

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