USPCN joins Samidoun, calls for Solidarity with Palestinian Political Prisoners

– August 11, 2015
TAKE ACTION: Stand in support of Palestinian political prisoners   As of Sunday, August 9, there were 180 Palestinian prisoners on an open hunger strike in Israeli jails, with hundreds […]
TAKE ACTION: Stand in support of Palestinian political prisoners
 
As of Sunday, August 9, there were 180 Palestinian prisoners on an open hunger strike in Israeli jails, with hundreds more set to begin striking today. 
WE JUST RECEIVED WORD THAT TODAY’S NEW STRIKE WAS SUSPENDED, because one of the demands was met, but many of the prisoners are still on strike, and the movement is still asking us for action!
The wave of strikes was originally initiated after Israeli special forces attacked Palestinian prisoners in Nafha prison on July 29, injuring 30 prisoners in a violent nighttime raid.  Groups of prisoners were isolated and transferred from Nafha that night, while Palestinian prisoners launched a campaign of resistance.
 
120 prisoners in Nafha launched the hunger strike campaign on Thursday, August 6, demanding an end to isolation and solitary confinement, the return of transferred prisoners, an end to the denial of family visits, canteen (prison commissary) access, and an end to the raids on prisoners. On August 9th, several dozen more prisoners in Ramon and Eshel prisons joined the strike.
While we wait for further directives, this is what you can do now!
 
1. One of the prisoners still striking, Muhammad Allan, 31, a Palestinian lawyer held without charge or trial in administrative detention, has been without food for over 55 days, is in a severe medical emergency situation, and is being threatened with force-feeding by the Israeli military–under a new law that has been condemned by UN representatives, the Israeli Medical Association, and human rights advocates.  Click here to take action on Muhammad Allan’s case!
2. Sign on to this statement in support of the prisoners’ demands. Organizational and individual endorsements are welcome – and organizational endorsements particularly critical – in support of the prisoners’ demands and their actions.
 
3. Send a solidarity statement. The support of people around the world helps to inform people about the struggle of Palestinian prisoners. It is a morale booster and helps to build political solidarity. Please send your solidarity statements to [email protected]. They will be published and sent directly to the prisoners.
 
4. Hold a solidarity one-day hunger strike in your area. Gather in a tent or central area, bring materials about Palestinian prisoners and hold a one-day solidarity strike to raise awareness and provide support for the struggle of the prisoners and the Palestinian cause. Please email [email protected] to inform them of your action – Samidoun will publicize and share news with the prisoners.
 
5. Protest at the Israeli consulate or embassy in your area.  Bring posters and flyers about administrative detention and Palestinian hunger strikers and hold a protest, or join a protest with this important information. Hold a community event or discussion, or include this issue in your next event about Palestine and social justice. Please email [email protected] to inform them of your action – they will publicize and share news with the prisoners.
 
6. Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law. Don’t buy Israeli goods, and campaign to end investments in corporations that profit from the occupation, including Coca-Cola, the company USPCN is targeting as its contribution to BDS.
G4S, a global security corporation, is heavily involved in providing services to Israeli prisons that jail Palestinian political prisoners – there is a global call to boycott it.  Palestinian political prisoners have issued a specific call urging action on G4S.  Learn more about BDS at bdsmovement.net.
 
amer-action-700x3507. In addition, long-time Palestinian activist Amer Jubran – who was persecuted for his organizing, and eventually deported from the U.S. – is now facing 10 years in prison in Jordan after a conviction on dubious evidence in an unfair trial with no due process.  We are calling for action on Amer’s case as well!
USPCN expresses its strongest support for our prisoners on hunger strike, for all of the over 5,700 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, and for those in Jordanian, Palestinian Authority, and other prisons as well.  They are daily on the front lines of the Palestinian struggle for justice, return, and liberation, and their political strength and unity are compass points that inspire all of us in the Diaspora, and all our friends in the solidarity movement.
 
We fully and unconditionally support the Nafha prisoners’ demands, and urge immediate action by Palestinians, Arabs, and all people of conscience across the world!