Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) demands Israel immediately release Khitam Saafin, the president of the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, who has been jailed without charge or trial. Saafin was taken into custody on November 2 along with six other Palestinian human rights activists. Her imprisonment is another in the long list of crimes by the callous and cruel Zionist occupiers of Palestine.

Khitam Saafin is among those who stand in the forefront of the Palestinian women’s movement and is a tireless organizer for social and national liberation. She has spoken at many international venues on the plight and fight of Palestinian women, including at the World Social Forum. Saafin served as the chair of the Global Women’s March Palestine. Her only ‘crime’ is to work for freedom.

The Trump administration has given the Israeli authorities a green light to carry out every sort of crime and outrage – be it the occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation, or an endless supply of dollars to a state that tortures prisoners to death. Unfortunately, U.S. support for the occupation of Palestine is a bipartisan affair that will continue after January 20.

FRSO calls on all progressive activists to join the effort to free Khitam Saafin. We must stand with the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and demand an end to U.S. support to the Israeli occupiers of Palestine.

Raise your voice. Say her name. Freedom for Khitam Saafin and all Palestinian prisoners!

#Palestine #PeoplesStruggles #UnionOfPalestinianWomensCommittees #MiddleEast

On March 8, International Women’s Day, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees extend our solidarity and commitment to joint struggle to all activists and campaigners for freedom around the world who are confronting the forces of colonialism, exploitation, occupation, discrimination and racism and struggling for freedom, equality, justice and dignity; to those who defend self-determination of peoples, sovereignty over their resources and capabilities, and liberation from all forms of oppression; and to those who seek true peace with justice.

On this International Women’s Day, the rights of women around the world are violated in numerous ways: through wars and armed conflicts, through the power and oppression of racism; through reactionary forces in many regions, including in the Arab world, where such forces carry the support of imperialism to benefit its clear colonial objectives for control of peoples and their resources. Imperialism in our region has resulted in an increasing number of victims of its policies and ever more risk to the lives of people, especially women and children.

In Palestine, which is still under the yoke of Zionist settler colonialism, the Zionist movement seeks to proclaim its “democracy” and “progressiveness,” but in reality is committed to a mission of racism, murder, destruction and criminality. Palestinian women are struggling for the freedom of their people, and their message is one of insistence on freedom and refusal to compromise our rights, whether national or social, and thus continue their legitimate struggle for the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, the right of return of Palestinian refugees, the right of self-determination, of full sovereignty, and the right to Jerusalem as capital of an independent Palestinian state. At the same time, Palestinian women struggle for full equality in all economic and social fields, ending all forms of discrimination against them in the legal and social fields and the development of laws in line with international conventions upholding the rights of women.

March 8, 2015 comes not long after months of barbaric aggression launched by “Israel” in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 2260 martyrs including many women and children, destroying tens of thousands of homes and displacing hundreds of thousands. Nearly 100,000 are still living without proper shelter, while the siege on Gaza has tightened, leading to further aggravation of the health, social and economic conditions of our people. In the West Bank, the occupation practices its strategy for control over all of Palestine through the brutal repression of our people, through ongoing land confiscation, home demolitions, military invasions, the targeting of our people for arrest, killing and wounding. The number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has increased to 6500, including 22 women and about 200 children, suffering from harsh conditions of detention and many abuses committed against prisoners, especially as Israel refuses to recognize them as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Simultaneously, the project to Judaize Jerusalem continues, as do the racist assaults on our people in the occupied lands of 1948 and the intensification of discrimination and oppression, and the apartheid wall continues to be built, intensifying racism and apartheid in Palestine.

In Diaspora, more than half of the Palestinian people are suffering as refugees, especially those displaced from the camps in Syria and especially the besieged Yarmouk camp. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are facing extremely difficult conditions that have only become more severe after tens of thousands of Palestinians and Syrians fleeing Syria have come to the overcrowded camps in Lebanon.

All of the above only confirms that the Palestinian people are confronting a criminal strategy of colonialism and demand that the world act to stop these crimes, applying international law and holding the Zionist state and its war criminals accountable for their crimes against the Palestinian people.

The Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees salutes March 8 this year and emphasizes the following:

• The continuation of the struggle of Palestinian women for freedom and self-determination until we achieve our national rights;
• The need to confront all crimes and violations by the occupation forces against Palestinian women;
• The escalation of the boycott of Israel, divestment, and sanctions;
• The struggle for unity with a real national strategy to confront the occupation and support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people;
• The urgency of lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip and of reconstruction;
• The necessity to release Palestinian prisoners and force Israel to apply international conventions to their treatment, in particular the Geneva Conventions;
• The importance of developing the Palestinian social and economic structures to protect the rights of women and children and defend the equality of women, in line with international conventions signed by Palestinian officials, and to end all forms of discrimination against women;
• The need to confront the reactionary forces that practice terror against the people, especially women, through the use of religion, and the promotion of the progressive, democratic political trend.

#Palestine #WomensMovement #UnionOfPalestinianWomensCommittees #MiddleEast

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon gave a green light to the Zionist occupation to continue its aggression and carry out more massacres against our people in the Gaza Strip using internationally prohibited weapons. Following his remarks about the need to “immediately and unconditionally release the soldier,” relying on the false claims by the occupation state to justify breaking the humanitarian ceasefire, the occupier has killed more than 200 children, women and men, wounding hundreds more and destroying more homes and displacing thousands more during what was alleged to be a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire!

This comes in addition to his comments that “the United Nations strongly condemns the rocket attacks on Israel, and calls for an end to them immediately.” He says this while there are massive massacres taking place in the Strip impacting every one of our people in Gaza, even those who have taken refuge in UNRWA schools. We are left to bury our people, after these vicious attacks, following which the occupation state declared that the soldier in question was dead.

We demand that Ban Ki-Moon immediately resign from office, as it is clear that he is biased to stand with the perpetrator and the criminal, the occupation, rather than to stand with the victim. We demand that he be tried for the consequences of his actions. And we demand from all forces and institutions, and from all the friends of the Palestinian people to work together to campaign demanding his resignation and his trial as a partner in the aggression against the sons and daughters of our people.

We also emphasize the urgent need to continue all activities to support our people in Gaza, in Palestine and in all areas of the world.

#Palestine #WomensMovement #UnionOfPalestinianWomensCommittees #BanKiMoon #MiddleEast

Ramallah, 12 December 2012 – The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) strongly condemns yesterday morning’s raid by Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) on the office of a number of Palestinian non-governmental organizations in Ramallah.

At about 3am this morning, IOF raided the offices of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, the Palestinian NGO Network and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committee. Addameer is a member of the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council.

During these raids, the offices of all three organizations were ransacked, and their computers, files and video equipment were stolen.

From Addameer’s offices four computers, a hard drive, a video camera and business cards of the employees were taken. It remains unclear as to the amount of Addameer files and documentation also taken. Posters of prisoners and hunger strikers were also ripped from the walls and strewn around the office.

The Palestinian NGO Network office was ransacked, though it appears that no equipment was taken. However, it is still unclear whether data was pulled from the server.

During the raid of the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committee, located in Qaddoura refugee camp in Ramallah, seven computers were taken, as well as the main servers and a number of cameras. In addition, 3000 NIS (about US$ 790) was stolen.

PHROC is deeply concerned about the targeting of civil society organizations, especially those that work in defense of human rights.

PHROC recognizes this brutal raid as part of the continuous campaign to target and hinder the work of human rights organizations and their supporters, as well as to gather information on the employees of civil society organizations.

In October, Ayman Nasser, a researcher with Addameer, was arrested for his work defending human rights and standing in solidarity with prisoners. To date Ayman remains in Israeli detention. Similarly, during the hunger strikes in 2011 and 2012, Addameer chairperson Abdullatif Ghaith was issued a travel ban preventing him from traveling within the West Bank and abroad.

This most recent IOF attack on civil society organizations is an attempt to silence and threaten human rights initiatives for Palestinians. PHROC calls on the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the International Committee of the Red Cross and international human rights organizations to pressure the Occupying Power to end such attacks and crimes against Palestinian human rights, legal and civil institutions. Palestinian civil society will not be deterred by these continuous attacks and will continue our work as long as human rights are being violated in occupied Palestine territory.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council:

Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association

Sahar Francis

General Director

Addameer Association for Human Rights

Khalil Abu Shammala

General Director

Al-Haq

Shawn Jabarin

General Director

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights

Issam Younis

General Director

Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights

Najwa Darwish

General Director

Defence for Children International Palestine Section

Rifat Kassis

General Director

Ensan Center for Human Rights and Democracy

Shawqi Issa

General Director

Hurryyat – Centre for Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights

Helmi Al-araj

General Director

Jerusalem Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights

Issam Aruri

General Director

Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies

Iyad Barghouti

General Director

Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling

Maha Abu Dayyeh

General Director

#RamallahPalestine #Ramallah #Palestine #UnionOfPalestinianWomensCommittees #AddameerPrisonerSupportAndHumanRightsAssociation #PalestinianHumanRightsOrganizationsCouncil #MiddleEast

Fight Back!: You traveled to Palestine with a delegation of other people from the U.S. Why did you go?

Tracy Molm: I had the opportunity to hear a lot of firsthand accounts from visiting Palestinians who are fighting to free their country. The resistance of the Palestinian people to the apartheid policies of Israel is incredibly moving and I wanted to see the struggle for myself. So I decided to join the delegation of Internationals for Justice in Palestine, which was hosted by Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and a student group at Birzeit University. We traveled to Jenin, Nabulus, Tulkarem, Ramallah, Haifa and a number of other towns and villages.

Fight Back!: What kind of conditions do Palestinians face under the occupation?

Tracy Molm: There are travel restrictions, restrictions on movement. There are checkpoints everywhere. People are forced to wait for hours just in order to get to their jobs or to sell their produce at markets or to go to school. The Israelis try to humiliate you. I saw people treated like cattle. Soldiers steal from people. They harass women. Palestinians are detained for hours, without justification.

Palestinians are hounded by poverty. In some villages there is 80% unemployment. Restriction of movement – checkpoints and road closings has made things worse. In refugee camps, it’s not uncommon for 20-plus people to be living in a small home.

Agriculture is being destroyed. Israeli forces uproot the olive groves and cut people off from their lands. They confiscate farmland for ‘security’ and to expand Israeli settlements.

Fight Back!: Israel is building a wall. How is this impacting on the Palestinian people? How are the Palestinian people responding?

Tracy Molm: The apartheid wall being built is basically creating a prison for the Palestinians in the West Bank. It is being used to take even more land from Palestinians, despite agreements that had somewhat solidified the borders for the West Bank. For example, a town called Jayyous in the northern part of the West Bank had 80% of their land stolen – all of it olive groves that support the people.

Additionally the wall cuts Palestinian towns from Jerusalem. Although Jerusalem is supposed to be a neutral city, where Palestinians and Israelis share the capital, building the wall steals the capital from the Palestinian people.

Palestinians respond to the apartheid wall in many ways. When I was there I saw several places that people had burned tires and written graffiti on the wall. I also met with Palestinians that work to document the violence that has happened because of the wall and the continued violence that happens at the wall because of the constant watch by Israeli soldiers that are heavily armed. Lastly I was able to meet with representatives of Al Hoq, a group that does work to document and educate people about the collective punishment measures that Israel is using against Palestinians, even though it is illegal by international law. They have a large campaign going around the apartheid wall and the devastation it has created.

Fight Back!: You were there during the hunger strike. What where the issues and what kind of support did it get?

Tracy Molm: The hunger strike was big. Over 4500 prisoners in over a dozen prisons all over a country where the Palestinian people aren’t allow to travel freely, were able to coordinate a hunger strike that allowed them to demand their rights. They were demanding rights like the ability to have family visits, and that during those visits that they be allow to touch and hold their friends and loved ones, the right to clean food, the elimination of humiliating and random naked searches. These are just a few of the demands that the prisoners were willing to give up their food for for 20-plus days.

What was equally impressive, though, was that every town and village had a solidarity tent. And many places had between five and twenty people who were going without food in solidarity with the political prisoners. In general the strike had big support everywhere because everyone knows someone or is related to someone who has been imprisoned.

Fight Back!: There are many kinds of resistance to the occupation. What are some of the main forms?

Tracy Molm: Continuing to have children and live in Palestine despite the occupation and the Israeli goal to rid the area of Palestinians, is resistance. Also Palestinians continue to resist by building offices and social services that will help them continue to live on their land. While I was there we were able to meet with the Palestinian Health and Work Committees. They have worked to give health coverage to all Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

One of the other main forms of resistance is militant resistance.

Fight Back!: ‘Suicide bombing’ or martyrdom operations have caused a lot of controversy in the West. What was the attitude of Palestinian people towards this?

Tracy Molm: Palestinians always refer to this type of action as martyrdom bombings, which is very telling for how it is viewed by the people. Because of the checkpoints and the wall, one of the few militant methods that continues to show results is martyrdom bombings.

In general, anyone who resists the occupation, especially militantly, is viewed as someone who is truly free by the Palestinian people.

Fight Back!: So how are the Israeli authorities dealing with the growing resistance?

Tracy Molm: Automatically, whenever there is armed resistance, the resister’s house is demolished and the town that the resister is from is put under curfew for at least one day. The family of the resister faces harassment and threats by the military, especially at checkpoints. Cities and villages that have a lot of resistance, like Nabulus, have many settlements surrounding them, have the worst checkpoint violence, and have the most Israeli military presence.

Fight Back!: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is one of the most important organizations fighting to free Palestine. What kind of presence did you see from the PFLP?

Tracy Molm: The PFLP is a very dynamic group, and unlike any other group they have invested much of their work into the building of Palestinian civil society, so they work very hard to help Palestinians get educated and to develop social programs that will continue to develop the society. Thus I think their strength cannot just be measured in numbers but also must look at their integral role in Palestinian society and I think that is very strong r