[News] Protesters attacked in Ramallah by PA forces as Arab and international cities demonstrate for Basil al-Araj
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Mon Mar 13 11:08:56 EDT 2017
http://samidoun.net/2017/03/protesters-attacked-in-ramallah-by-pa-forces-as-arab-and-international-cities-demonstrate-for-basil-al-araj/
Protesters attacked in Ramallah by PA forces as Arab and international
cities demonstrate for Basil al-Araj
March 12, 2017
Protesting Palestinians in Ramallah came under attack
<http://www.wattan.tv/video/200016.html> by Palestinian Authority
security forces this morning, including the father of slain Palestinian
youth activist Basil al-Araj
<http://samidoun.net/2017/03/israeli-forces-delay-return-of-basil-al-arajs-body-as-young-palestinians-plan-international-protests/>,
journalists and former prisoners, such as Khader Adnan
<http://samidoun.net/2015/07/khader-adnan-qa-it-is-possible-to-break-the-israeli-occupation/>.
Later in the evening, PA police also attacked a march in Dheisheh
<https://www.facebook.com/dheishehevent1/videos/1905040759777503/>
refugee camp near Bethlehem demanding an end to security coordination
and honoring al-Araj.
The demonstration was called in protest of PA security coordination with
the Israeli occupation, under which al-Araj and his comrades
<http://samidoun.net/2016/08/take-action-demand-freedom-for-6-palestinian-prisoners-in-palestinian-authority-jails-on-hunger-strike/>
were initially imprisoned by the PA after a court hearing was maintained
for charges against al-Araj and his comrades for Sunday, 12 March. Their
arrest was touted as a significant achievement
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/why-mahmoud-abbas-boasting-jailing-palestines-youth>
for PA-Israeli security coordination in April 2016.
Al-Araj was shot down by Israeli occupation forces
<http://samidoun.net/2017/03/basil-al-araj-executed-by-israeli-occupation-forces-after-pa-imprisonment-and-months-in-hiding/>
on Monday morning, 6 March, resisting until the end. The prominent youth
activist had gone underground following his release from PA prison after
a hunger strike; four of his five comrades imprisoned with him have
since been seized by Israeli occupation forces and ordered to
administrative detention without charge or trial. All six were charged
by the Palestinian Authority with “unlicensed possession of a weapon.”
Despite the imprisonment of four of the young people – Haithem Siyaj
<http://samidoun.net/2016/10/two-more-former-pa-prisoners-seized-and-beaten-by-invading-occupation-forces/>,
Mohammed Harb
<http://samidoun.net/2016/10/31-administrative-detention-orders-issued-against-palestinians-including-plc-member-and-former-pa-detainee/>,
Mohammed al-Salameen
<http://samidoun.net/2016/10/two-more-former-pa-prisoners-seized-and-beaten-by-invading-occupation-forces/>
and Seif al-Idrissi
<http://samidoun.net/2016/10/seif-al-idrissi-former-prisoners-among-palestinians-seized-by-occupation-forces/>
– and the assassination of al-Araj, the trial was scheduled to go
forward as planned, sparking calls for protest and action.
Ma’an News reported <http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=775910> that at
the hearing in the Ramallah Magistrate’s Court, only the sixth former PA
prisoner, Ali Dar al-Sheikh was present. Lawyer Muhannad Karajah
<http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=775910> had previously requested
that charges be dropped against the four imprisoned Palestinians, and
that the judge requested documented proof that the four were held in
Israeli prison. When Karajah presented that proof in the court session
today, rather than dropping the charges, the judge rescheduled the trial
for 30 April, reportedly stating that “the four may be out of Israeli
prison” by that time, as they are imprisoned without charge or trial
under administrative detention. Further, Karajah said, the judge dropped
charges against al-Araj only when his death certificate was presented in
court, as the charges “expired” upon his death.
Palestinians protesting outside denounced the trial, which was also
condemned by a number of Palestinian political organizations, including
Hamas <http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=775910> and the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine
<http://pflp.ps/english/2017/03/12/pflp-denounces-pa-trial-of-martyr-basil-al-araj-and-comrades-supports-youth-protests-against-security-coordination/>.
The protesters were violently attacked by PA police shooting tear gas
canisters directly into the crowd, using rubber bullets, and hitting
protesters with batons. At least 11 were injured, including Mahmoud
al-Araj, the father of Basil al-Araj, who was taken to hospital after
being beaten amid shouts from participants that he was the father of the
martyr. Several more were detained for a few hours, including former
hunger striker Khader Adnan.
Multiple journalists reported that they were barred from covering the
protest <http://www.wattan.tv/ar/news/200033.html> and some reported the
breaking of their equipment, including reporters for Palestine TV, Watan
and Roya TV. The attack on journalists was condemned by the Palestinian
Journalists’ Syndicate and several other media organizations.
Palestinian human rights organizations and NGOs also widely condemned
the attack on the protest, urging accountability for the security forces.
Speaking several hours later, Mahmoud al-Arajspoke at a press conference
<http://www.wattan.tv/news/200030.html> alongside Adnan, saying that the
attack on the protest was an attack on his son the martyr, as well as a
violation of the rights of the people and of the freedom fighters. He
noted that a sit-in was being called for 4 PM tomorrow, Monday, 13 March
in response to the attack on the demonstrators today. He also said that
he would file a complaint against the security services, with lawyer
Karajah. Farid al-Atrash, of the Independent Human Rights commission,
said that the events today were a crime, and that anyone who gave orders
for the attack on civilians must be held accountable.
Shortly after he spoke, a march in Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem
demanding an end to security coordination in honor of al-Araj was
attacked by PA police,
<https://www.facebook.com/dheishehevent1/videos/1905040759777503/> who
fired on the crowd with rubber bullets and shot tear gas canisters into
the march. People in the camp reported that a child was injured
<https://www.facebook.com/dheishehevent1/posts/1905065413108371> by
rubber bullets fired by PA police inside the camp.
The protests were accompanied by actions elsewhere in Palestine and in
Arab and international cities. In Gaza City
<https://www.facebook.com/67.Jafra.Port/posts/259372677854503>, student
organizations gathered to denounce the assassination of al-Araj and
demand the Palestinian Authority stop security coordination and arrests
against the Palestinian resistance.
In London
<https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.aboelgheit/videos/10155082277233674/>,
protesters gathered outside the Palestinian Mission, demanding an end to
security coordination and attaching a large banner bearing Basil’s image
to the building’s railing. The protesters, mainly young Palestinians,
recalled al-Araj’s life and commitment to struggle and denounced the
PA’s role in his arrest, persecution and eventual assassination.
Meanwhile, in Brussels
<https://www.facebook.com/SamidounPrisonerSolidarity/posts/1506058696094278>,
demonstrators came together outside the Palestinian Mission to the EU,
Brussels and Luxembourg to denounce PA security coordination and
remember al-Araj. Several protesters were personal friends of al-Araj,
and recalled their interactions and experiences with him as well as his
commitment to struggle. One participant, Hala, recalled her own
interactions with al-Araj while reviewing today’s events in Ramallah.
Writer and researcher David Cronin
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/david-cronin/exporting-repression-ulster-palestine>
discussed in detail the role of the European Union and the United States
in PA security coordination with the Israeli occupation, while Charlotte
Kates of Samidoun noted the connection of security coordination with the
imprisonment of Palestinians in Israeli jails.
In Berlin, Palestinian activists gathered outside the Palestinian
mission to Germany to denounce the PA’s ongoing security coordination
with Israel and demand real action after the killing of al-Araj.
Meanwhile, in Amman
<https://www.facebook.com/QudsN/videos/1468366326573597/>, protesters
gathered outside the Palestinian Embassy
<https://twitter.com/m_ali5555>, waving their shoes at the embassy and
holding signs and posters saluting al-Araj as they demanded an end to
security coordination.
Protesters also gathered in Beirut
<https://www.facebook.com/QudsN/videos/1468265313250365/>, Tunis and
Rabat. More protests are being organized
<http://samidoun.net/2017/03/12-13-march-international-protests-against-the-murder-of-basil-al-araj/>,
and two will take place on Monday, 13 March in New York City
<https://www.facebook.com/events/1822830484634682/> and Washington, DC
<https://www.facebook.com/events/661131077422685/>.
--
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