Haifa graffiti saying ‘Sorry my dear Gaza’ lands Palestinians in Israeli security prison
Arabic graffiti in Haifa. Right ‘Don’t be silent, the massacre continues and Gaza’s blood is our blood’; left ‘sorry my dear Gaza’ and ‘Gaza is being annihilated’
Yoav Haifawi writes in Mondoweiss:
The natural thing for me to do in a time of such a bloody war is to demonstrate daily and demand that Israel “Stop the War!” But Israel’s police, led by extreme right-winger Itamar Ben-Gvir, has succeeded, so far, in preventing any demonstrations. So, to compensate for my enforced silence, I have promised Mondoweiss to intensify my reporting about this awful war, and the way we are experiencing it in Haifa.
I have already described in detail how Israel has become a full-scale dictatorship (you can follow my reporting here). Every day, we encounter more mind-blowing examples of political repression, as well as some brave attempts to break the silence. I will do my best to keep you updated.
A surge in the number of Palestinian prisoners
Caring for Palestinian prisoners is always high on our minds and a central part of our activities. Before October 7, there were about 5,200 Palestinian political prisoners and POWS in the occupation prisons. Since then, another 2,500 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank, most of them kidnapped from their homes in violent army nightly raids on towns and villages. As some were released, it was estimated by knowable sources that I spoke with that the number of prisoners from the West Bank is now around 7,000. According to Addameer, the Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in Ramallah, of those 7,000 Palestinian prisoners, 2,070 are under administrative detention, and 200 are children.
Add to these prisoners from Gaza. Thousands of workers from Gaza had permission to work inside 48 Palestine had their work and stay licenses abolished on October 7. Just today, I heard testimonies from some friends that described how big forces of police and border guards encircled Palestinian townships in a hunt for Gazan workers. Some 4,000 workers from the Gaza Strip were initially held in hastily improvised detention centers in the West Bank, without the basic needs or legal status. Many were sent back to Gaza, but it is estimated that more than 700 of these workers are still being held. Less is known about the fate of hundreds or even thousands of people from Gaza that were caught by Israel around the strip or detained by the invading army and are interrogated and now being held in the legal limbo of “illegal combatants.”
Finally, there are many hundreds of Palestinians from inside the Green Line, citizens of Israel, who have been detained for expressing solidarity with the suffering of the people of Gaza. Many of them are held now in harsh conditions in the “security prison” in Megiddo. As my dispatches are mostly about what we call al-Dakhel (“the within”), or ’48 Palestine, you will be able to read more about some of them, what they are accused of, what happens to them in prison, and how they are tried, in future posts.
Another attempt to demonstrate in Haifa
On Sunday, November 12, there was another attempt by (mostly Jewish) peace activists in Haifa to demonstrate against the war and the silencing of dissent. The call was issued only a few hours before the designated time and distributed via closed WhatsApp groups. The protest was to take place in the Horev Center, in the heart of the White-affluent part of the city.