Thirty more Palestinian prisoners of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine joined 19 of their comrades in an ongoing series of solidarity strikes to support six Palestinian prisoners on hunger strikeagainst Israeli administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial. On Monday, 12 August, the Prison Branch of the PFLP announced that 30 comrades in Negev, Ofer, Ramon and Gilboa prisons had joined the solidarity strike, including:

• From the Negev prison, Asem Kaabi, Shadi Ma’ali, Majd Barbar, Munther Mifleh Khalaf, Jamil Yousef, Nazim Assous, Mahmoud Abu Srour, Muhannad Kawar, Mohammed Abu Khdei, Mohab al-Ajarma, Obada Dandis and Maan Awad
• From Ramon prison, Jihad Ma’ali, Ahmad Mousa, Tariq Abu Ayyash, Zaki Atta, Thaer Hanani, Mahmoud Issa and Tamer Abu Zudud
• From Ofer prison, Hafez Omar, Nasser Atta, Rami Karajeh, Majdi Nasr, Bassel al-Wawi and Mahmoud al-Lahham.
• From Gilboa prison, five comrades whose names were not yet reported due to the difficulties of communication imposed by the Israeli prison environment.

They issued a statement, declaring that “as part of our unwavering commitment to support our hunger strikers, a new group of our cadres is joining the open hunger strike to further pressure the prison administration and the Shin Bet to respond to their demands,” emphasizing that the occupation is fully responsible for the life and health of Huzaifa Halabiya and his fellow hunger strikers.

They joined 19 PFLP prisoners who had already joined the solidarity strikes in support of Halabiya and the other strikers.. Halabiya, from Abu Dis in Jerusalem, has been on hunger strike for 44 days, since 1 July 2019. He is a leukemia survivor who was burned over the majority of his body as a child and requires medical care and follow-up. Still, he is persisting in his hunger strike and relying only on water despite the severe deterioration in his health.

He has been imprisoned without charge or trial since 10 June 2018, when Israeli occupation forces took him from his home and his pregnant wife. He is the father of a six-month-old daughter, Majdal, who he has been denied the opportunity to meet.

A lawyer with Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association visited Halabiya on Monday, 12 August in isolation in the Ramle prison clinic. The lawyer reported that he came to the visit in a wheelchair with his hands and feet shackled despite his deteriorating health. He is suffering from severe pain, nausea and cramps in the abdomen, head and elsewhere. He is unable to stand or walk and can sleep only three to four hours a day. At one point, he was shackled and taken to Kaplan hospital, where his blood, pulse and blood pressure were tested and an intravenous salt bag was placed; he was handcuffed and shackled the entire time. Last Thursday, 8 August, a repressive unit broke into his isolation cell, ransacking it.

Administrative detention orders are issued on the basis of “secret evidence” for up to six months at a time. They are indefinitely renewable, and Palestinians often spend years at a time imprisoned with no charge and no trial under repeatedly renewed administrative detention orders.

Also on hunger strike are five more Palestinian prisoners:

• Ahmed Ghannam, 42, from al-Khalil, also a survivor of leukemia. He has been on hunger strike for 31 days against his administrative detention without charge or trial. He is held in solitary confinement in the Negev desert prison.
• Sultan Khallouf, 38, from Jenin, has been on hunger strike for 27 days againt his imprisonment without charge or trial under administrative detention. He launched his strike after he was ordered to detention after his arrest on 8 July 2019. He is held in Megiddo prison.
• Ismail Ali, 30, also from Abu Dis in Jerusalem, has been on hunger strike for 27 days against his administrative detention. He has been jailed without charge or trial since January, and is held in isolation in the Negev prison.
• Wajdi al-Awawda, 20, from al-Khalil, is on hunger strike for the 16th day against his imprisonment without charge or trial, held in isolation in the Negev prison.
• Tareq Qa’adan, 46, from Arraba, is on hunger strike for 14 days against his administrative detention order. A well-known Palestinian leader, he has spent 15 years in Israeli jails in the past.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all supporters and friends of Palestine everywhere around the world to stand with these courageous prisoners who have put their lives on the line to seek freedom and an end to the unjust system of administrative detention. International solidarity can help them win their struggles, so all of our participation, protests and petitions can play a role in helping them to seize victory for justice and freedom.

Take Action:

1) Organize or join an event or protest for the Palestinian prisoners. You can organize an info table, rally, solidarity hunger strike, protest or action to support the prisoners. If you are already holding an event about Palestine or social justice, include solidarity with the prisoners as part of your action. Send your events and reports to samidoun@samidoun.net.

2) Write letters and make phone calls to protest the violation of Palestinian prisoners’ rights. Demand your government take action to stop supporting Israeli occupation or to pressure the Israeli state to end the policies of repression of Palestinian political prisoners. In particular, demand that your political officials put pressure on Israel to end the policy of administrative detention, the imprisonment of Palestinians without charge or trial.

Call during your country’s regular office hours:

• Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne: + 61 2 6277 7500
• Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland: +1-613-992-5234
• European Union Commissioner Federica Mogherini: +32 (0) 2 29 53516
• New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters: +64 4 439 8000
• United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt: +44 20 7008 1500
• United States President Donald Trump: 1-202-456-1111

3) Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Join the BDS campaign to highlight the complicity of corporations like Hewlett-Packard and the continuing involvement of G4S in Israeli policing and prisons. Build a campaign to boycott Israeli goods, impose a military embargo on Israel, or organize around the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. Learn more about the BDS campaign at bdsmovement.net.