Hunger Strike Deal: "(R)ight Will
Always Prevail Against Injustice And Wrong Doers"
10 May 2012
By Stephen Lendman
Palestinian hunger strikers redefined courage. Mass
willingness to die for justice is unprecedented.
On May 13, they reiterated their dignity or death
steadfastness. More on that below.
Reports about where things stand leave unanswered
questions. On Sunday, Haaretz headlined "Israel,
Palestinian prisoners on verge of deal to end hunger
strike," saying:
A Fatah Central Committee member claims the Israel
Prison Service (IPS) will present strikers an
agreement on May 14. Egyptian officials are mediating
on behalf of Palestinians.
On May 14, the International Middle East Media Center
headlined "Israel to Present a Deal on Hunger Striking
Prisoners," saying:
The Palestinian Prisoner Association said "Israel will
present a deal that will include references to
administrative detention, solitary confinement, and
visiting permits for Gazan families."
On May 14, Maan News headlined "Egypt brokers deal to
end hunger strike," saying:
An unnamed Palestinian source close to ongoing talks
said Egypt struck a deal that includes "Israel's
acceptance of prisoners' demands in exchange for
ending the hunger strike."
Final details were being resolved. An official
announcement would follow. Israeli officials didn't
comment.
Late Monday, news broke. Strike leaders and IPS
officials agreed on terms. They include:
Israel will make specific accusations or release
administrative detainees at the end of their terms.
Solitary confinement will end within 72 hours. All
detainees are included.
Family visit bans will end. The punitive Shalit Law
imposing them will be revoked.
Prison conditions overall will improve. Without
details, it's unclear what this means.
Netanyahu's spokesman Ofir Gendelman said all
prisoners must end hunger strikes within 72 hours for
concessions to hold.
Long-term strikers Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla refuse
to stop unless freed immediately. Addameer said Bilal
continues to deteriorate dramatically. He slips in and
out of consciousness. His family is being used to
pressure him to eat. He's so weak he could go any
time.
On May 13, the Samidoun Palestinian Solidarity Network
headlined "Statement No. 7 of the Strike Leadership,"
saying:
Prisoners reasserted their "all of our demands"
steadfastness or death. Martyrdom approaches. Partial
settlements are unacceptable. Yielding short of "epic
humanitarian struggle for justice" fulfillment defeats
why this battle was fought.
They "strongly and firmly swear (to) continue (their)
battle of the empty stomachs, whatever the costs may
be, until we achieve the minimum of our demands."
They named three but have others that matter. They
thanked Egypt for not "leav(ing them) to face this
battle alone." They "affirm(ed) categorically that
(they won't) end (their) strike without promptly
achieving (their) demands."
They accept the supreme sacrifice. They're "not
amateurs in hunger. Death is easier than disrespect
for (their) dignity, so (they) swear (they) will live
with dignity or die."
Since strikes began, Israel retaliated harshly.
Prisoners have been beaten, isolated, and denied
essential rights, including medical care, as well as
family and lawyer visits. They've also been
transferred to remote detention facilities.
Nearly 5,000 prisoners are held. Hundreds are
uncharged. From 2,500 to 3,000 refuse food. Around
1,100 are reported ill. Except for pain medication,
medical care is denied. Hundreds suffer from serious
diseases. Dozens of children are affected.
On May 11, Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya warned of
serious consequences if any hunger striker dies,
saying:
"You must realize that the hunger strike is not a
party, and we could be surprised by the death of some
of the prisoners."
Key international community leaders remain silent or
said too little to matter. Obama said nothing. Neither
did other administration and congressional members.
According to the Council for European Palestinian
Relations (CEPR), over 100 parliamentarians signed a
petition calling for ending horrific conditions in
Israel's gulag.
Their campaign "address(es) the undemocratic treatment
of civilians who are detained without charge or trial
for indefinite amounts of time, often secluded in
solitary confinement in cramped cells with little to
no sunlight or food."
They also called on EU High Representative Catherine
Ashton to intervene on behalf of prisoner rights.
America's scoundrel media barely acknowledge what's
ongoing. Virtually none did until well into the
struggle. It's hard to ignore but they try. Support
for Israel alone matters.
Israeli security forces confront hunger strike
demonstrators brutally. In early May, arrests outside
Ramleh Prison were made.
On May 7, Adalah demanded a criminal investigation
into their illegal arrest and abuse, saying:
In custody, "police harassment includ(ed) physical,
verbal, and sexual abuse, and violations of the
demonstrators' rights under Israeli law. Adalah
Attorney Orna Kohn submitted the complaint demanding
an urgent criminal investigation."
Police violently attacked them. Tasers were used.
Beatings followed. Handcuffed in custody they were
brutalized. Women arrested were sexually harassed and
threatened with rape.
Police wanted protesters jailed. They faced charges in
court. Secret evidence was used. Adalah attorney Orna
Kohn said Israel systematically abuses Palestinians
and Israeli Arabs who exercise their assembly and free
expression rights.
"As on many other occasions," she said, "the police
did not hesitate to end a legal demonstration using
violence. There is nothing in the law that allows them
to do this."
Sixteen-year old Ward Kayal said police attacked her
and others. "They put us on the ground and started
beating us. I have bruises all over my body. I suffer
from a (blood pressure related) medical condition, and
am being treated with medicine."
After arrest, "they hand-and leg-cuffed us all, as
they continued to use tasers while cursing and
humiliating us."
"I told the police, as did my mother who also
participated in the protest, that I suffer from a
medical condition and to allow me to take the medicine
and see a doctor."
While cuffed, "they pushed me down the stairs, beat me
with their fists and tasers, and forced me to use the
bathroom while the door was open to humiliate me. Four
hours later I was too weak to stand on my feet and
fainted."
"When they saw that my condition was bad, they took me
to a hospital nearby, while hand- and leg-cuffed, and
in my medical record it stated that my blood pleasure
was 150/122 and that I should take medicine. They kept
me under custody and I was deprived any medicine until
I was released the following day."
She and others were interrogated until around 3AM. "I
find the support of the hunger strikers of national
importance....The support should be more active,
especially since it has a significant meaning for the
strikers (to know) of our support, which gives them
hope to go on with their struggle."
Twenty-seven year old Thaira Zoabi also suffered
injuries. She was attacked, lifted off the ground with
her kuffiyeh (traditional scarf). She couldn't
breathe. She was badly bruised.
She saw one protester's mouth forcibly opened and spat
into. Police spat on her face. While undergoing a full
body search, she was threatened with rape. Despite
what happened, she and others won't cease their
activism for justice.
On May 14, the International Federation of Human
Rights (FIDH) strongly denounced Israel's horrific
treatment of Palestinian hunger strikers. It also
condemned Israeli prison conditions overall.
It called for the immediate release of "arbitrarily
detained" prisoners. Those on protracted hunger
strikes are especially at risk. It highlighted the
inviolability of fundamental international laws. It
stressed that human rights can't be comprised for
security concerns, real or contrived.
On May 14, Addameer headlined "International Action
for Palestinian Prisoners' Hunger Strike on Monday,
May 14," saying:
Addameer and the General Federation of Independent
Trade Unions in Palestine urged all Palestinians and
supporters worldwide to observe a 10 minute
activity-free period at 9:00AM GMT (noon in Jerusalem)
in solidarity with prisoners striking for justice.
Monday marked Bilal Diab's 77th day without food. On
day 75, he wrote his family:
"We will have victory, but only through either
martyrdom or immediate release -- not any partial
solution as claimed by the prisons administration."
"I am still determined, patient and focused on
continuing against conspiracies, threats and solitary
confinement by the fascist Israeli prison
administration."
He told family members to bury him at ground level
according to Islamic teaching. He asked them to
distribute sweets at his funeral to celebrate what he
struggled and died for.
He requested Khader Adnan's presence to lower him into
his grave. He thanked everyone who supported him. As
of May 14, he's alive but faces imminent death. So
does Thaer Halahla. Both reached day 77. Others
refused food for weeks.
On day 75 without food, Thaer Halahel wrote his
two-year-old daughter. He explained why he hasn't seen
her. He said in part:
"My Beloved Lamar, forgive me because the occupation
took me away from you, and took away from me the
pleasure of witnessing my first born child that I have
always prayed to God to see, to kiss, to be happy
with."
"When you grow up you will understand how injustice
was brought upon your father and upon thousands of
Palestinians whom the occupation has put in prisons
and jail cells, shattering their lives and future for
no guilt but their pursuit of freedom, dignity and
independence, you will know that your father did not
tolerate injustice and submission, that he will never
accept insult and compromise, and that he is going
through a hunger strike to protest against the Jewish
state that wants to turn us into humiliated slaves
without any rights or patriotic dignity."
"Lamar my love: that day will come, and I will make it
up to you for everything, and tell you the whole
story, and your days that will follow will be more
beautiful, so let your days pass now and wear your
prettiest clothes, run and then run again in the
gardens of your long life, go forward and forward
nothing is behind you but the past, and this is your
voice I hear all the time as a melody of freedom."
"(W)e are righteous," he said. "(R)ight will always
prevail against injustice and wrong doers."
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached
at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is
titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized
Banking, Government Collusion and Class War" http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html Visit
his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to
cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on
the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive
Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour.
©
EsinIslam.Com
Add Comments