[Pnews] Palestinian prisoners escalate struggle: PFLP prisoners announce mass hunger strike to begin Sunday

Thu Aug 6 10:54:50 EDT 2015

WordPress.com
samidoun posted: "Palestinian political prisoners are escalating their 
struggle following attacks by Israeli special forces on imprisoned 
Palestinians in Nafha and the ongoing denial of family visits and 
violations of prisoners' rights. On Wednesday, 5 August, 120 prisoner"

    New post on *Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network*

    Urgent Action Call: Palestinian prisoners escalate struggle: PFLP
    prisoners announce mass hunger strike to begin Sunday
    <http://samidoun.net/2015/08/urgent-action-call-palestinian-prisoners-escalate-struggle-pflp-prisoners-announce-mass-hunger-strike-to-begin-sunday/>

by samidoun <http://samidoun.net/?author=1>

Palestinian political prisoners are escalating their struggle following 
attacks by Israeli special forces on imprisoned Palestinians in Nafha 
<http://samidoun.net/2015/07/pflp-leader-ahmad-saadat-attacked-by-israeli-guards-in-nafha-prison/> 
and the ongoing denial of family visits and violations of prisoners' 
rights. On Wednesday, 5 August, 120 prisoners, mostly affiliated with 
Fateh <https://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766884>, began an open 
hunger strike in sections 1, 4 and 10 in Nafha prison, in protest of the 
ongoing attacks, in which Israeli special forces invading the prison 
cells injured 30 prisoners including Ahmad Sa'adat, 
<http://samidoun.net/2015/07/protests-in-palestine-respond-to-israeli-attack-on-saadat-palestinian-prisoners/> 
the Palestinian political leader and General Secretary of the Popular 
Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who recently released this letter 
to the international movement for the boycott of Israel 
<http://samidoun.net/2015/07/call-to-action-from-ahmad-saadat-boycott-israel/>.

On 6 August, prisoners affiliated with the Popular Front for the 
Liberation of Palestine announced that on Sunday, 9 August, they would 
launch an open hunger strike in all Israeli prisons, led by Sa'adat and 
demanding an end to the denial of family visits, medical care for sick 
prisoners, improved living conditions in prisons, the end of 
administrative detention, and a ban on the storming of prisoners' cells 
by Israeli special forces, including the Metsada unit that attacked the 
prisoners in Nafha. *Take action to support the prisoners' demands and 
their strike! <#action>*

The statement follows (click here to read in Italian 
<http://kanafani.it/?p=1078>)

Press Release

The branch of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 
Israeli jails, led by the General Secretary Comrade Ahmad Sa'adat, has 
decided to launch an open hunger strike beginning Sunday, 9 August 2015, 
due to the continued onslaught of frenzied attacks against Palestinian 
prisoners by the Prison Administration, and its refusal to accept the 
just demands of the prisoners.

In this press release, the prison branch of the Front declares that the 
prisoners of the Front have called for a state of high alert in all 
prisons to prepare for taking this step, emphasizing that there is no 
choice but that of confrontatin and steadfastness to confront the 
policies and practices of the occupation, and that they are determined 
to continue and struggle through the strike until their demands are met, 
including:

* allowing family visits for prisoners who have been, until now, 
prohibited from such visits with their loved ones, including Comrade 
Ahmad Sa'adat;
* providing necessary and adequate medical care to sick prisoners;
* ending the policy of administrative detentions
* improving the living conditions inside the prisons
* prohibiting invasions and raids by special units of the Zionist 
forces, including the Metsada unit, on the sections and cells of the 
prisoners.

The prison branch of the Front also stresses that this step is being 
taken to defend the rights of our people in the framework of the 
prisoners' national movement, and is a challenge by the prisoners to the 
policies and laws of the occupation, in particular the new law 
authorizing force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strike, and to the 
ongoing violations against the prisoners, and also to the recent 
statements by some Zionist leaders and officials about the issue of 
Palestinian prisoners.

The PFLP's prison branch urges the masses of the Palestinian people to 
engage in the broadest campaign of support and solidarity for the 
prisoners; this strike is one stage in our ongoing confrontation and 
struggle with the occupation.

With this statement, hundreds of Palestinian political prisoners are 
making clear their intention to launch a mass hunger strike on 9 August; 
Palestinian prisoners from other factions are also expected to escalate 
their steps of protest as well, up to and including open hunger strikes. 
Palestinian prisoners from Hamas were suddenly transferred from Nafha to 
Gilboa prison in the north on Tuesday, sparking a call for disobedience 
in the prisons from prisoners affiliated with Hamas.

*The current hunger strike in Nafha and the strike that will begin on 
Sunday requires support and solidarity also from people and movements 
around the world. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network fully 
and unconditionally supports the prisoners in their demands and urges 
actions around the world by friends of Palestine and Palestinian 
communities to support these prisoners.*

*Take action now!*

*1. Sign on to this statement in support of the prisoners' demands 
<http://bit.ly/HungerStrikeSolidarity>. *Organizational and individual 
endorsements are welcome - and organizational endorsements particularly 
critical - in support of the prisoners' demands and their actions. 
*Click here to sign or sign below: http://bit.ly/HungerStrikeSolidarity*

*2. 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 samidoun at samidoun.net 
<mailto:samidoun at samidoun.net>. They will be published and sent directly 
to the prisoners.

*3. 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 us at samidoun at samidoun.net <mailto:samidoun at samidoun.net> to 
inform us of your action - we will publicize and share news with the 
prisoners.

*4. 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 us 
at samidoun at samidoun.net <mailto:samidoun at samidoun.net> to inform us of 
your action - we will publicize and share news with the prisoners.

*5. 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. G4S, 
a global security corporation, 
<http://samidoun.net/2015/08/stop-g4s-a-call-to-the-global-boycott-movement-from-palestinian-political-prisoners/> 
is heavily involved in providing services to Israeli prisons that jail 
Palestinian political prisoners – there is a global call to boycott it 
<http://www.bdsmovement.net/activecamps/g4s>. *Palestinian political 
prisoners have issued a specific call urging action on G4S*. 
<http://samidoun.net/2015/08/stop-g4s-a-call-to-the-global-boycott-movement-from-palestinian-political-prisoners/> 
Learn more about BDS at bdsmovement.net <http://bdsmovement.net>.

*samidoun <http://samidoun.net/?author=1>* | August 6, 2015 at 6:38 am | 
Categories: Ahmad Sa'adat 
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<http://samidoun.net/?taxonomy=category&term=featured>, Hunger Strike 
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