Call for international solidarity actions for the thousands of
Palestinian
political prisoners on hunger strike. Wednesday September 1st, 2004

On the 15th of August, thousands of Palestinian political prisoners
declared
a hunger strike. They are demanding better conditions of detention,
which
include improved health, basic sanitary conditions, increased rights
for
family visits and a stop to indiscriminate beatings. They demand that
they
and their families be treated according to the law and to basic human
rights. When asked, the Israeli Security Minister Tsahi Hangabee
said,
“From my perspective, the Palestinians can strike until they die, no
demand
will be accepted… the prisoners can starve to death”.

The situation of the prisoners is extremely serious. International
solidarity with the Palestinians is needed now more than ever. On
Wednesday
September 1st, people from various countries will do local solidarity
actions. Everyone is urgently called to participate and organise
actions in
their areas.

Proposed actions for the day are:
- Solidarity hunger strikes in front of supermarkets that sell
Israeli
products taken from or produced in Palestinian occupied territories
- Encouraging the ongoing boycott of these products
- Sending faxes to Israeli embassies denouncing the prisoners’
bad
conditions of detention and demanding that the government takes
immediate
action to meet their demands.
- Sending faxes and letters to national governments demanding
the
total suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement that offers
favourable conditions of trade with Israel. (Article 2 of this
agreement
has a human rights clause stating that the relationship between the EU
and
Israel shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic
principles,
which guide their internal and international policy as an essential
element
of the Agreement.)
- Demonstrations and protests at Israeli embassies and consulates
- Demonstrations with banners informing of the hunger strike.

The purpose of these actions is to call for the Israeli government to
meet
the demands of the prisoners and to denounce the occupation of the
Palestinian territories, the repeated violation of human rights (the
fourth
Geneva Convention).

These actions are not in any way proposed with anti-semitic intentions
and
are clearly targetting the actions of the State of Israel rather than
Jewish
people or culture. There is a strong distinction to be made between
Israeli
Zionists, Israeli non-Zionists and Jewish people. This lack of clarity
in
actions related to the Palestinian struggle has often lead to conscious
or
unconscious displays of anti-semitism, which are inhumane, offensive
and
ill-informed as well as ultimately being counter-productive to the
liberation of Palestine. We urge anyone doing actions to please be
thoughtful about the literature they distribute, the images they use
and the
message they send out.

MORE INFORMATION:

Information on the goods to boycott:
 http://www.bigcampaign.org/boycott.html
Since capitalism is such a complicated interlinked system that does not
respect any borders, this website also provides information on big
(predominately American) companies that are involved or encourage the
present state of Israel’s politics.

Article on Hunger Strike by the International Federation of Human
Rights:
 http://www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=1853

Press release on the EU Israel Association Agreement:

 http://www.euromedrights.net/english/emhrn-documents/pressreleases/18_10_2002.htm

International Solidarity Movement
 http://www.palsolidarity.org

Proposals for faxes and to be sent to the Israeli embassies and to
national
governments will be sent on this list tomorrow.


in solidarity ...........via zeiad faied
pinelopi
 penchu78@yahoo.com
Background information on Palestinian Political Prisoners


> ADDAMEER Fact Sheet: Palestinians detained by Israel
>
> Since the beginning of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian
territories
in 1967, over 650,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel. This
forms
approximately 20% of the total Palestinian population in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories (OPT). Considering the fact that the majority
of
those detained are male, the number of Palestinians detained forms
approximately 40% of the total male Palestinian population in the OPT.
>
> As of 15 August 2004, there are approximately 7,500 Palestinian
political
prisoners being held in Israeli prisons. Over 750 of these are
administrative detainees, held without charge or trial for indefinite
periods of time. 380 of the political prisoners are aged 18 and under,
78
of whom are 16 years and under. There are 106 Palestinian female
political
prisoners, 20 of whom are mothers and 2 of whom gave birth in prison,
with
their children remaining in prison with them. Of the total 7,500
political
prisoners, 3,800 are being held in civil prisons, with the remaining
political prisoners held in Israeli military detention centers and
prison
camps.
>
> The arrest and detention of Palestinians living within the OPT is
governed
by a wide-ranging set of military regulations that govern every aspect
of
Palestinian civilian life. There are approximately 1500 military
regulations governing the West Bank and over 1400 governing the Gaza
Strip.
The Israeli military commander of the region issues military orders,
and the
issuance of new orders often remains unknown and become apparent when
they
are implemented, as the military commander may issue new military
regulations at any moment.
>
> Palestinians are tried within Israeli military courts located within
Israeli military centers in the OPT. These military tribunals are
presided
over by a panel of three judges appointed by the military, two of who
often
do not have any legal training or background. These tribunals rarely
fall
within the required international standards of fair trial.
>
> Israeli prisons and military detention camps are primarily located
within
the 1948 borders of Israel. There are a total of 5 interrogation
centers, 6
detention/holding centers, 3 military detention camps, and about 20
prisons
in which Palestinians from the OPT are held. The location of prisons
within
Israel and the transfer of detainees to locations within the occupying
power's territory are illegal under international law and constitute a
war
crime. The Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly states that "Protected
persons accused of offences shall be detained in the occupied country,
and
if convicted they shall serve their sentences therein." (Article 47)
Most
of the Palestinian Prisoners are being held in detention facilities
located
outside the OPT.
>
> As a result of an arbitrary permit system which governs Palestinians
movement within the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East
Jerusalem, and to and from the 1948 borders of Israel, family visits to
detainees are often not possible, extremely infrequent, or impossible.
Since the beginning of the current Intifada in September 2000, family
visits
have been prevented repeatedly and for long periods at a time.
>
> Under Israeli military regulations a Palestinian can be detained for
up to
8 days without the Israeli military informing the detainee of the
reason for
his/her arrest and without being brought before a judge. Between April
and
June 2002, this period of time was increased by Israeli military order
1500
to 18 days. Following or during the 8 days of detention, a detainee is
sent
to an interrogation center, charged with an offense, given an
administrative
detention order, or released.
>
> A Palestinian detainee can be interrogated for a total period of 180
days,
during which he/she can also be denied lawyer visits for a period of 60
days. During the interrogation period, a detainee is often subjected
to
some form of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment ranging
in
extremity, whether physical or psychological. The use of practices
that
constitute torture during interrogation has been legalized within the
Israeli judicial system and permitted in individual cases in which the
GSS
deems a detainee a threat to state security or a "ticking bomb". In
some
instances, detainees have died while in custody as a result of torture.
Confessions extracted through torture are admissible in court and/or
military tribunal.
>
> Administrative detention, arrest without charge or trial, has been
used as
a form of collective punishment by the Israeli military against
Palestinians, illegal in this form under international law. For
example,
during the period of March 2002 to October 2002, Israeli occupying
forces
arrested over 15,000 Palestinians during mass arrest campaigns,
rounding up
males in cities and villages between the ages of 15 to 45. In October
2002,
there were over 1,050 Palestinians in administrative detention.
>
> Administrative detention is indefinitely renewable under military
regulations. A detainee may be given an administrative detention order
for
a period of between 1 to 6 months, after which the order may be renewed
again. Administrative detention is based on secret evidence brought
forward
during military tribunals, to which neither the detainee nor his/her
lawyer
have access to. One of the longest Palestinian administrative
detainees
remained in custody for over 8 years, without being charged with a
crime.
>
> Under military regulations in force in the OPT, a child over the age
of 16
is considered an adult, contrary to the defined age of a child as under
18
in the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, to which Israel is a
signatory. In practice, Palestinian children may be charged and
sentenced
in military courts beginning at the age of 12. Between the age of
12-14,
children can be sentenced for offences for a period of up to six
months.
For example, a child who is charged for throwing a stone can be
sentenced to
six months imprisonment. After the age of 14, Palestinian children are
tried as adults. There are no juvenile courts and children are often
held
and serve their sentences in cells with criminal prisoners and are
often not
separated from adults, illegal under international law.
>
> Prison conditions in Israeli military detention camps are inhumane.
Detainees are held in overcrowded prison tents that are often
threadbare and
do not provide for adequate shelter against extreme weather, are not
provided adequate food rations, neither in quantity nor quality, not
provided with clean clothes or adequate cleaning supplies. Many of the
detainees currently being held in military detention camps were injured
during their arrest and have not been provided the necessary medical
attention, in addition to those who suffer from chronic illnesses.
>
> Palestinian lawyers from the OPT are not permitted any special travel
privileges in order to defend their clients. They are subjected to the
same
travel restrictions as all Palestinians in the OPT. Those lawyers who
are
able to access detainees have extremely high case loads and are often
subjected to strip searches and humiliated when visiting their clients.
>
> Issued on 16 August 2004
>