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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Khader Adnan - Day 64
RAMALLAH (Reuters) -- The health of a Palestinian prisoner on
hunger strike for 61 days to protest against his detention, has
significantly worsened, his wife said Thursday after visiting her
husband in an Israeli hospital. Khader Adnan, 33, a member of Islamic
Jihad, has been refusing to eat since mid-December, shortly after his
arrest in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces.
Jerusalem (CNN) -- A 33-year-old West Bank baker who has
become a symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israeli detention policies
entered the 63rd day of a hunger strike Saturday despite a doctor's
warning that he could die any time. "Mr. Khader Adnan is in immediate
danger of death," according to a report issued this week by the Israeli
branch of the nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights, which sent a doctor
to examine him. Adnan's two-month protest is the longest hunger strike
in Palestinian history and is a high-stakes gamble that increased
scrutiny on Israel's arrest and detention policies of Palestinians.
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – Palestinian prisoners in Israel’s Ashkelon prison have
started an open hunger strike to support Islamic Jihad affiliated
prisoner Khader Adnan, the Palestinian prisoners’ society said
Sunday. Prisoner Nasser Hmeid told the society’s lawyer Kareem Ajwah
that six prisoners already started a hunger strike and that another
group joins them every day, a statement from the society said. In a
week, he added, all inmates in Ashkelon will be on hunger strike in an
attempt to exert pressure on Israel to release Khader Adnan.
Palestinians rally for prisoner
Thousands have rallied in Gaza and the West Bank in support of a
Palestinian on the 62nd day of a hunger strike in protest at his
detention by Israel.
http://www.bbc.co.uk
Today marked the seventh anniversary of protests by the village of
Bil'in, in the occupied territories, of Israeli confiscation of village
land to make way for a Jewish settlement, but the focus of today's
demonstration was imprisoned hunger striker Khader Adnan.
Jewish Voice for Peace and Ta’anit Tzedek: Jewish Fast for Gaza are calling for a one day fast (from sunrise to sunset) on Friday, February
17, 2012 in solidarity with Khader Adnan, who today is in his 61st day of a hunger strike. Khader began his hunger strike on December 18th,
2011 after he was arrested in a nighttime Israeli military raid on his home in the West Bank village of Arraba. Since his arrest, Khader has
been held in “administrative detention”--without trial or charges against him. It has been reported that he is affiliated with Islamic
Jihad, but no evidence of that affiliation has been presented. Regardless of his political beliefs, administrative detention and the
interrogations which sparked his hunger strike are entirely unacceptable
according to international law.
Today Khader Adnan began the 62nd day of his hunger strike in protest of his administrative detention by Israel. He is chained to a bed in Ziv Hospital in Safed
even though he has been too weak to walk for several days. In an interview today with The Independent, Randa Adnan — his wife — said “I know my husband. He will not change his mind. I expect him to die.”
Washing your hands of Khader Adnan: My response to weasel words of EU's Catherine Ashton, Ali AbunimahToday my colleague David Cronin wrote about the weasel worded response
of the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, for comment on the case
of Khader Adnan. Here is my response, which I sent her by email.
If #KhaderAdnan was a Jewish terrorist, he might be free, Max BlumenthalAs I write this, Khader Adnan is near death, on the 63rd day of a hunger strike to protest his detention without
charges by Israeli occupation authorities. Having been seized on
December 17 in the middle of the night by Israeli soldiers, jailed
without trial, humiliated and abused, Adnan is waging one of the longest hunger strikes in Palestinian history.
Standing in solidarity with Khader AdnanNehad Khader - Electronic Intifada "We are in solidarity because we can all
imagine ourselves as Khader Adnan. Maybe if his jailers thought for one
moment that they could also be Khader Adnan they would have more
compassion."
Day 62 and counting. Adnan's hunger strike continues. On February 15,
Israel let his wife Randa see him for the second time. She said "(h)is
health has drastically deteriorated from the last time I saw him" a week
ago. "I expect the worst. He insists on continuing with the hunger
strike." He wants to live but will die for justice. PLO official Saeb
Erekat said Abbas pressed Russia, China, Britain, and EU authorities to
help during meetings with acting EU representative to Palestine John
Gatt-Rutter, UK Consul-General Vincent Fean, Russian representative
Alexander Rudakov, and Chinese PA ambassador Yang Wei Guo.
Today Khader Adnan entered his 63rd day on hunger strike. A trend has taken
place on twitter under the name #hungerstrike63days, in an effort to
spread the news of a subject that has gotten little to no attention by
western media outlets. Even Haaretz the Israeli left wing newspaper only
mentioned the strike as it entered its 60th day. One person commented
on the trend saying “freedom is more important than food”, another
commented “and the world is still indifferent to the injustice”. This
trend has taken place not only to spread the news, but also show
solidarity with Khader Adnan and the whole Palestinian people. It’s not
clear whether there will be a #hungerstrike64days, as Khader Adnan’s
health is deteriorating minute by minute, and the Israeli court has
already rejected his appeal, and blamed him for his own health
situation. PNN will keep you updated on the situation on our website,
and through our twitter page @pnnenglish.
After sixty days on hunger strike, Palestinian detainee Khadr Adnan remains shackled to a bed in an Israeli hospital in Safad. Mr Adnan is
not an Israeli citizen and no criminal charges have ever been brought against him. He is a Palestinian who was abducted from his home in the
occupied West Bank and taken forcibly to Israel. International humanitarian law prohibits "Individual or mass forcible transfers, as
well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the
territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country,
occupied or not... regardless of their motive." We must assume that the
only reason why this matter has been allowed to continue for so long is
because the Israelis believe that in this, as in other instances when
they treat international law with contempt, they have the power to act
with impunity.
Watch: Huwaida Arraf and Ali Abunimah discuss Palestinian strategy, Khader Adnan and BDS on The Stream, Ali Abunimah
On 16 February, Ali Abunimah and Huwaida Arraf appeared on Aljazeera
English’s The Stream. Major topics included Palestinian hunger striker
Khader Adnan, the “reconciliation” deal between Hamas and Fatah, and the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.
Land Theft & Destruction / Ethnic Cleansing / Apartheid & Occupation
Israel Demolishes Buildings in South Hebron-Area VillagesOn 15 February, the Israeli military demolished five buildings in the Palestinian village of Saadet Tha'lah and destroyed a water tank and
tore down 50 trees in the Palestinian village of Ar Rakeez.
Bedouins in E1: “I said that this was my home, that I was born here, and he told me to go to Ramallah”
Yousef Thayafeen, 37, lives with his wife and their five children in
Wa’r al Beik, an area bordering the town of Anata, a suburb of East
Jerusalem cut off from the city by the separation wall.
Attacks on Palestinians
Israeli airstrikes early Thursday morning injured six persons, including rescue workers. Meanwhile, area residents say this is not the first time they have been subjected to Israeli strikes.
The Israeli occupation forces carried out a small-scale incursion
into northern Gaza Strip on Friday evening and bombed a residential area
east of Al-Bureij camp without any reported injuries.
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that two residents were
wounded, on Saturday evening, when the Israeli Air Force bombarded a
blacksmith workshop in Az-Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
Detainees
Detained Hamas commander goes on hunger strikeHassan Salame, a commander in the armed wing of Hamas, has decided to go on an open-ended hunger strike starting on Thursday.
Detainees In Ramon Punished For Protesting AbuseThe Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) reported Friday that Palestinian political detainees held at the Ramon Israeli prison, are being punished
for protesting abuse against their families, who are being ordered to
undergo humiliation and strip search before they visit their detained
family members.
Palestinian’s Trial Shines Light on Justice System
As a grass-roots leader goes on trial, having been incriminated by a teenager, questions are being raised about the legal system Palestinians are placed into.
Ex-political prisoner shares journey though Israeli jailsAlexis Thiry--There were 4,937 political prisoners in Israeli prisons and
detention centers in November 2011 according to Adameer, a Palestinian non-governmental organization. Yazan Abdulhadi was one of them before he was released on November 28, 2011, between the two swaps of the deal between Israel and Hamas to free Gilad Schalit (not as part of the
deal). On January 7, 2012, he agreed to give an interview that would be published in +972 Magazine
Popular Protests
IOF quell peaceful march of Kafr Qaddum villageDozens of Palestinians and foreign activists suffered different injuries on Friday when their peaceful anti-settlement march were violently attacked by Israeli soldiers in Kafr Qaddum village.
BDS
Veteran British pop star Engelbert Humperdinck faced calls to
refrain from returning to Israel on Saturday, ahead of a planned trip to Lebanon in March. Humperdinck, famous for his hits “Release Me” and
“The Last Waltz,” performed in Tel Aviv in December despite a campaign led by British university students. He is due to perform at Casino Du
Liban in Jounieh on March 9 and 10. A letter from the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon (CBSI) condemned Humperdinck for
performing in Israel but did not call for his performances to be cancelled.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) will vote on a resolution to divest from Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola at its next General Assembly to be held June 30 - July 7, 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The church is considering divestment because "products made by those
companies are used in nonpeaceful ways in the Israel-Palestine conflict"
and dialogue and shareholder actions with the companies have not
yielded results.
A new handbook for BDS activists around the world offers tactical
and practical suggestions for strengthening global boycott actions.
Video: right-wing groups attack U.S. professors over Ilan Pappe speaking tour, Allison Deger
So Norman Finkelstein gave an interview in London on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Campaign (BDS). I
noticed that Finkelstein’s views on the subject have been attracting a
lot of attention and criticism. I was asked about such views during my
UK university tour last month and in each case I stated that I would not
publicly criticize Finkelstein although I disagree with some of the
views he holds. But his recent remarks, I felt, went too far.
Bahrain
Bahrain released all females political prisoners bar one on
Thursday, with prominent activist Zainab Al-Khawaja detained
indefinitely, according to activists. Twelve female protesters were
released on Thursday evening in a move welcomed by pro-democracy
campaigners. Khawaja, who has become the leading female activist in the
country after writing about the protests under the Twitter name
@angryarabiya, remains in jail. Khawaja was arrested last Sunday as she
tried to approach the Pearl Roundabout, the scene of large-scale
protests last year until Bahraini and Saudi security forces crushed the
revolt.
Saudi-backed Bahraini security forces have launched a fierce overnight crackdown on
anti-regime protesters across several regions of the country, Press
TV reports.
Bahrain police, protesters clash, Western activists held (Reuters)Reuters - Bahraini police detained two Western activists who had joined a women's protest on Friday, after clashing overnight with protesters in Shi'ite districts of the Gulf Arab state.
People & Power - Bahrain: Audacity of hopeOne year on from the suppression of pro-democracy protests in Bahrain,
activists are still hoping that political reform can be achieved. Is the hope that inspired last year's uprising still shining brightly?
Why Bahrain is not Syria, Pepe EscobarHow poignant that the first anniversary of a true Arab pro-democracy
movement in the Persian Gulf – then ruthlessly crushed – falls on February 14, when Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the West. Talk about a doomed love affair. And how does Washington honor this tragic love story? By resuming arms sales to the repressive Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty in power in Bahrain. So just to recap; United States President Barack Obama told Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad to “step aside and allow a
democratic transition to proceed immediately” while King Hamad
al-Khalifa gets new toys to crack down on his subversively
pro-democratic subjects. Is this a case of cognitive dissonance? Of
course not; after all Syria is supported by Russia and China at the United Nations Security Council while Bahrain hosts the US’s Fifth Fleet – the defender of the “free world” against those evil Iranians who want to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.
Egypt
Moussa: The peace treaty with Israel should be reconsidered
Amr Moussa, a likely candidate for the presidential elections in Egypt, said on Thursday that his country should reconsider some sides of its peace treaty with Israel.
Lebanon BEIRUT (Ma'an) -- A Lebanese military court has handed down three
death sentences for spying for Israel, two of them in absentia, the Now
Lebanon news website reported Friday. It cited a report from the state
National News Agency saying the court ordered the sentences for Haitham
Sahmarani, who is in custody, and Sahira Sahmarani and her husband
Mohammed Amin Khazaal, who are both at large. More than 100 people have
been arrested on suspicion of spying for the Israeli Mossad since April
2009, including members of the security forces and telecom employees,
Now Lebanon reported.
Nasrallah: our enemy knows how we avenge Mughniyeh
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said his party was not involved in
recent bombings that took place in India, Georgia, and Thailand earlier
this month, while reiterating the party's intention to avenge the
killing of its leader Imad Mughniyeh four years ago. "It is insulting
for Hezbollah to avenge its great leader by killing ordinary Israelis,
as fr those who are our target, they know who they are and they are
taking measures and I tell them to remain doing so for we shall avenge
Imad Mughniyeh in an honorable way," Nasrallah said.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi women hold sit-in protest in QatifA
group of Saudi women have staged a sit-in protest in the kingdom’s
oil-rich Eastern Province to draw international attention to their
sufferings.
Saudi authorities should free Hamza Kashgari and drop any charges
against him based on comments he made on Twitter expressing his personal
religious views. On the morning of February 12, 2012, Malaysian
authorities deported Kashgari back to Saudi Arabia to face charges of
apostasy there, hours before lawyers obtained a Malaysian High Court
injunction against his deportation.
IOC/Saudi Arabia: End Ban on Women in SportAs
the world prepares for the 2012 Olympics, the Saudi government is
systematically discriminating against women in sports and physical
education, and has never sent a female athlete to the Olympics, with no
penalty from the international Olympic authorities. Human Rights Watch
called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make ending
discrimination against women in sports in the kingdom a condition for
Saudi Arabia’s participation in Olympic sporting events, including the
2012 London Games.
"Mustapha
Ouanes, an Algerian-born engineer and a member of the Saudi royal
family's entourage, has been convicted of rape in New York, the Atlantic Wire reported.
Ouanes was charged for bringing two women back to his hotel room after
a night of drinking in January 2010 and raping one of them after they
fell asleep, according to the Atlantic....Ouanes, a Canadian citizen,
works for a firm that contracts with the Saudi royal family, and spent
about half his time working and traveling with a Saudi prince, the
Atlantic reported." Let me tell you what I know about the story and which has not been
reported yet: the Prince in question is none other than Prince
`Abdul-`Aziz bin Fahd, and the man in question works for Saudi Oger
(owned by the Hariri family).
Syria
Syria: Fears for activists arrested in Damascus raidThe Syrian authorities must release or charge a group of at least
14 people arrested on Thursday in a raid on the Syrian Centre for Media
and Freedom of Expression in Damascus, Amnesty International said
today. A lawyer based in Syria told Amnesty International that the
centre’s director Mazen Darwish and Syrian-American blogger Razan Ghazzawi were among those detained.
Israel's Efraim Halevy believes a collapse of the Assad regime in Syria could deal a blow to ally Iran's regional ambitions and nuclear program. Instability in Syria poses stark security risks for Israel, but it also offers a chance to deliver a stinging blow toIran's regional ambitions and even its nuclear program, Israel's former national security advisor says.
Analysis / Op-ed
“Four days in Ramallah through the lens of dehumanization” – remembering Anthony Shadid, Paul MutterI didn't know Anthony Shadid personally, but I respected his writing. His last story for the NYT, on militias running amok in Libya, was perhaps the best one I'd read
about the country's internal conflict since it began in 2011. It
reminded readers - well, those few who care to recall Libya - that
"interventions" do not end when the last bomber flies back to base,
whether we're claiming "mission accomplished" in the name of
neoconservatism or the "responsibility to protect." |
| For further information contact Shadi Fadda |
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