Chicago, IL – During the week of International Palestinian Prisoners Day, over 20 activists from the Palestine Solidarity Group, United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Students for Justice in Palestine and other organizations braved the bitter cold to stage “Intifada Theater” at the Bean in Millennium Park, April 19.

The performance included scenes that Palestinians know all too well – being detained for taking part in a peaceful protest, being harassed by Israeli soldiers on the way to school and being tortured by Israeli prison guards who threaten your family. And while the actors performed their parts, the chorus rang out – “Freedom to protest? Not for Palestinians! Freedom from racist harassment? Not for Palestinians! Freedom from arrest without charge? Not for Palestinians! Freedom from torture? Not for Palestinians!”

Chicago's action was one of dozens of worldwide protests for the over 4900 Palestinian political prisoners, including children and administrative detainees (jailed without charge or trial), who are held in Israeli jails.

Amongst the most prominent of them to make international news, one is Samer Issawi, who has been on hunger strike for over 250 days, refusing to end it until he wins freedom without conditions. Another is Arafat Jaradat, tortured to death in an Israeli prison; and Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh, who died of cancer after being refused proper medical treatment by the Israeli prison service.

The Israelis, with the support from the U.S. government, continue unabated their illegal policies of jailing Palestinians without charge or trial, jailing children in violation of all international laws and torturing prisoners regardless of their age or gender.

But we have also seen the resistance of Palestinian prisoners to this repression, with waves of hunger strikes throughout the prisons, reminding many of the H Block Martyrs in the north of Ireland. We've seen Palestinians taking to the streets to protest the treatment of the men and women who resist the occupation of their land. And we've seen the protests by Palestinians and solidarity activists across the world – supporting the demands of freedom and justice for all Palestinian political prisoners, the end of Israeli occupation and colonization of Palestinian and Arab land, self-determination for the Palestinian people, and the Right of Return for all Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

As we go to press, there is an initial agreement with the Israelis for Samer Issawi to remain in prison for eight months and then to be released to his hometown of al-Issawia in the East Jerusalem district. The worldwide protests for Samer Issawi have supported his refusal to be deported and to be returned to his homeland, a right shared by all Palestinians.

#ChicagoIL #Palestine #PoliticalPrisoners #SamerIssawi #InternationalPalestinianPrisonersDay

Gainesville, FL – On March 21, Palestine solidarity activists came together on the University of Florida campus to protest inhumane Israeli prison conditions and the mistreatment of political prisoner Samer Issawi. In the middle of a 24-hour solidarity hunger strike, students sat in the center of Turlington plaza with blindfolds over their eyes and duct tape over their mouths.

“We are here in solidarity with Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi to demand an end to his unjust confinement in Israeli prison,” stated Farah Khan, an organizer with the University of Florida chapter of Students for a Democratic Society and UF Students for Justice in Palestine. Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi has been on a protracted hunger strike. Two weeks ago, he began refusing water.

Rami Okasha, vice president of UF Students for Justice in Palestine noted, “Samer Issawi is not just protesting his own treatment. Both his brother and his sister have been detained before. He, like other strikers past and present, is on hunger strike for all Palestinian political prisoners. Rather than people – especially here in the United States – criticizing Palestinians for violence, while ignoring Israel’s acts of aggression, they should start recognizing these extreme acts of non-violence and courage.”

In violation of international law, Issawi has experienced psychological torture and up to 22 hours per day of interrogation. He has also been denied a lawyer for many days at a time. No evidence has come to light justifying Issawi’s imprisonment. Evidence of abuse and torture, however, can be seen from the bruises on his body.

Students for a Democratic Society organizer Conor Munro stated, “Political prisoners like Samer Issawi are making huge sacrifices for the Palestinian cause. We need to stand in solidarity with them and with those targeted by repression in our own country.”

As of March 21, Samer Issawi remains in confinement under Israeli jurisdiction.

The UF chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine organized this action as one of many during their “Palestine Solidarity Month.” For more information about UF SJP, please visit their facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/UF-SJP/492026674165807?fref=ts

#GainesvilleFL #Palestine #PoliticalPrisoners #HungerStrike #IsraeliOccupation #SamerIssawi

St. Paul, MN – On March 1, people of conscience gathered here during rush hour at a busy Saint Paul intersection, to show solidarity with hunger striking Palestinian political prisoners and to demand justice for Arafat Jaradat, who died Feb. 23 as a result of being tortured by Israeli security. Many passing cars honked in support of the protest.

Over 4000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails launched hunger-strike action on Feb.24 to protest the death of 30-year old Arafat Jaradat. He was detained for throwing stones at an Israeli soldier. While detained, he was tortured to death, sustaining six broken bones in his spine, arms and legs; his lips lacerated; his face badly bruised.

Sabry Wazwaz of the Anti-War Committee said, “I am disgusted that the media in the U.S. never reports the murdering of Palestinian prisoners by Israel. Also Israel detains the hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for long periods of time – months and sometimes years – without any charges. This is all against international law and inhumane. Israel has one of the worst human rights records of any country in the world and yet it receives billions of American tax dollars in aid every year.”

At the same time, the lives of several other Palestinian prisoners are in danger, as they have carried on a hunger strike for months, to protest their inhumane and illegal detainment in Israeli prisons. Samer Issawi has been on strike for nearly 220 days.

Issawi has detained by Israeli authorities without any charge whatsoever. He had been released from prison in October 2011 as a part of the Shalit prisoner swap, but was detained again without charge on July 7, 2012, and has been refusing food since August 2012 to protest his detention. He is in critical condition, losing his vision, vomiting blood and lapsing in and out of consciousness.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are striking in solidarity with the long term hunger strikers, and the prisoners’ actions have set off a wave of demonstrations in Palestine and around the world, protesting Israel’s unjust treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

Sophia Hansen-Day, a student and Macalester College said, “I stand in solidarity with the courageous Palestinian hunger strikers. The daring action taken by Samer Issawi, Ayman Sharawna, Tarek Qaadan, Jafar Ezzeldeen and countless others speaks to the deep desire for justice and self-determination among the Palestinian people. As a U.S. citizen complicit in Israeli state violence, I protest today to demand all Palestinian prisoners are released immediately!”

The vigil for Palestine is held every week at the intersection of Summit and Snelling Avenues, sponsored in part by the WAMM Middle East Committee. This week’s special call for solidarity with Palestinian prisoners was sponsored by the Anti-War Committee.

#StPaulMinnesota #StPaulMN #Palestine #HungerStrike #SamerIssawi #MiddleEast