Today as the world celebrates “International Women’s Day”, spare a thought for Hana Shalabi who is on hunger strike for 22 days. Hana is in the Israeli prison of Hasharon, and she started her hunger strike on February 16th in protest against her detention without trial or charge by the Israeli authorities.

Hana was arrested  on February 16th and immediatly began refusing food. To date, she has only been drinking water, and when her lawyer visited her on Monday, she was experiencing pains in her chest and waist. Her voice has become weakened, and she is suffering from severe nausea and dizziness.

Hana confirmed that on 16 February, she was forcibly strip searched by a male soldier and assaulted, merely hours after soldiers brought her to Salem Detention Center following her arrest. In the affidavit given to Addameer Lawyer Samer Sam’an, Hana described the forced strip search and assault at the hands of the soldiers of the Israeli Occupying Forces as “utterly degrading” and that what they did to her was “not acceptable in all customs of the world”.

Since her arrest, Hana’s parents have not been allowed to visit her, and for the past 13 days, they too have been on hunger strike in support of their daughter.

Just 2 weeks ago, Khader Adnan ended his hunger strike after 66 days. Like Hana, Khader was protesting against Administrative Detention. Khader recieved worldwide attention and support, and the same support is now needed to save Hana’s life.

Amnesty International are urging people to take up Hana’s case, and to contact the Israeli authorities to demand her release.

For further information on Hana’s arrest and detention, please click on the following link for Addameer, the Prisoner Support And Human Rights Association.

http://addameer.org/etemplate.php?id=448

Khader Adnan is now on his 62nd day on Hunger Strike, and is very close to death.

Yesterday, Khader’s wife visited him in hospital, and she described his condition in the following statement:

 ”His health has drastically deteriorated from the last time I saw him. . . .I expect the worst,”

“The world should pressure the Israeli government to release him before it’s too late.”

““Israel denied Khader fairness & decency, maybe the rest of humanity will show more mercy.”

 

A Doctor who examined Khader on Wednesday, described his condition as been “In immediate danger of death”, and his Lawyers have filed an urgent appeal. The appeal was approved by a High Court Justice, and will be heard at the earliest opportunity.

Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories,  described the situation as urgent, and said the international community should intervene on Mr. Adnan’s behalf.

“In view of the emergency of his situation, the Government of Israel must take immediate and effective action to safeguard Mr. Adnan’s life, while upholding his rights,” said Mr. Falk in a statement.

Richard Falk went even further today in an Op Ed piece in the following Al Jazeera article:

Saving Khader Adnan’s life is saving our own soul Richard Falk

The Jimmy Carter Center in Atlanta issued the following statement today:

“The Carter Center calls on the Israeli government to immediately charge or release Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, who was arrested on Dec. 17, 2011, based on “secret evidence” and has been held in administrative detention without charge. Mr. Adnan has undertaken a hunger strike since his arrest 62 days ago and his life is in imminent danger. His grave medical condition has been verified by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.”

Due to the urgency of Khader’s condition, the Palestinian Council of Human Rights Organizations (PCHRO) urges the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union to take immediate action and intervene with Israel in the strongest manner possible to save Khader’s life.

The PCHRO demands that the international community put pressure on Israel to end his arbitrary detention before it is too late.

Across the world, vigils are been held for Khader, and at the prison facility, Ofer, daily demonstrations are been held. The protesters have come under sustained attacks from the Israeli military, and many people have been injured after been shot with rubber bullets, and effects of tear gas inhalation.

Support for Khader Adnan has also come in from Oliver Hughes, whose brother Francis , 25, died in the H Blocks after 59 days. His cousin, Thomas McElwee, 33, also died on Hunger Strike after 62 days. In total, 10 Irish men died during this Hunger Strike in 1981 which included Bobby Sands.

OnTuesday, as Khader Adnan entered his 60th day on Hunger Strike, Oliver, sends a message of support and solidarity to Khader.

Click on the link below to hear Oliver’s message.

Khader Adnan receives message of support from Oliver Hughes. Feb 14th, 2012

Khader was arrested on 17 December 2011 and has since been refusing food and medical treatment until he is granted release. On 8 January 2012, Israeli authorities issued a four-month administrative detention order, which was confirmed on 7 February 2012 by an Israeli military judge despite his worsening health condition.

The appeal against his administrative detention order was rejected by an Israeli military judge on 13 February.

Carlos Latuff

 Khader Adnan is now only a few short hours away from starting his 62nd day on Hunger Strike.

Tonight, his wife visited Khader, and she described his condition in a short statement:

 ”His health has drastically deteriorated from the last time I saw him. . . .I expect the worst,”

“The world should pressure the Israeli government to release him before it’s too late.”

““Israel denied Khader fairness & decency, maybe the rest of humanity will show more mercy.”

 

A Doctor who examined Khader on Wednesday, described his condition as been “In immediate danger of death”, and his Lawyers have filed an urgent appeal. The appeal was approved by a High Court Justice, and will be heard at the earliest opportunity.

Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories,  described the situation as urgent, and said the international community should intervene on Mr. Adnan’s behalf.

“In view of the emergency of his situation, the Government of Israel must take immediate and effective action to safeguard Mr. Adnan’s life, while upholding his rights,” said Mr. Falk in a statement.

Richard Falk went even further today in an Op Ed piece in the following Al Jazeera article:

Saving Khader Adnan’s life is saving our own soul Richard Falk

Due to the urgency of Khader’s condition, the Palestinian Council of Human Rights Organizations (PCHRO) urges the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union to take immediate action and intervene with Israel in the strongest manner possible to save Khader’s life.

The PCHRO demands that the international community put pressure on Israel to end his arbitrary detention before it is too late.

Across the world, vigils are been held for Khader, and at the prison facility, Ofer, daily demonstrations are been held. The protesters have come under sustained attacks from the Israeli military, and many people have been injured after been shot with rubber bullets, and effects of tear gas inhalation.

Support for Khader Adnan has also come in from Oliver Hughes, whose brother Francis , 25, died in the H Blocks after 59 days. His cousin, Thomas McElwee, 33, also died on Hunger Strike after 62 days. In total, 10 Irish men died during this Hunger Strike in 1981 which included Bobby Sands.

OnTuesday, as Khader Adnan entered his 60th day on Hunger Strike, Oliver, sends a message of support and solidarity to Khader.

Click on the link below to hear Oliver’s message.

Khader Adnan receives message of support from Oliver Hughes. Feb 14th, 2012

Khader was arrested on 17 December 2011 and has since been refusing food and medical treatment until he is granted release. On 8 January 2012, Israeli authorities issued a four-month administrative detention order, which was confirmed on 7 February 2012 by an Israeli military judge despite his worsening health condition.

The appeal against his administrative detention order was rejected by an Israeli military judge on 13 February.

Khader's wife and children join protests after visiting her husband

A Tunisian medical aid convoy began its journey to Gaza on Thursday from Tunis, Palestinian officials said.

The convoy carrying four tons of medical aid left Tunis-Carthage International Airport earlier in the day, medical officials told Ma’an.

The coordinator of the medical services in the Gaza Strip said the convoy was organized by a Tunisian scout group and will arrive in Cairo and depart for Gaza shortly thereafter.

Some 11 scout leaders are part of the delegation, which is to visit Gaza’s hospitals and civil society groups before checking up on local scouts.

Ma’an

Over 300 pilgrims left Gaza for Mecca on Friday night, to take part in Eid al-Adha celebrations in the holy city, the director of Palestinian Airlines said.

The first group, which left Gaza via the Rafah crossing to take two Palestinian Airlines jets from the northern Sinai town El-Arish, will be followed by pilgrims from the West Bank later in the month.

Airline chief Ziad al-Bada told Ma’an that 328 pilgrims were on their way to Saudi Arabia, where they will complete the Muslim pilgrimage to mark Eid al-Adha in early November.

This is the third year Palestinian Airlines has transported Palestinians to Mecca for Hajj, or pilgrimage, al-Bada said.

Based in Egypt and owned by the Palestinian Authority, the three-plane fleet offers once-a-week flights to Amman and charter services to Saudi Arabia during the pilgrimage season.

Ma’an

One of the groups involved in the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit said Thursday that the transfer of some 450 Palestinian prisoners will begin Tuesday.

Spokesman Abu Mujahed of the Popular Resistance Committees said Thursday that as soon as the detainees are released, officials will check each one to make sure they are among those listed in the deal.

Once the prisoners are checked, the factions holding Shalit will release him too.

An official in the PRC’s military wing, meanwhile, released a list of prisoners it says Israel agreed to free in exchange for Shalit. The list includes 477 names along with the conditions of each prisoner’s release.

Several lists are floating around, including one which appeared on Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV. The ministry of prisoners affairs in the Gaza Strip says none of them are entirely accurate.

Abu Mujahed, the PRC spokesman, said those detainees who are to be exiled from the West Bank will depart Israel via Egypt and enter Gaza. Those who will be exiled abroad will go to Turkey or Qatar via Cairo.

Israel and Hamas agreed Tuesday to swap more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for captive soldier Shalit, resolving one of the most emotive and intractable issues between them.

The deal was overseen by the Egyptian intelligence minister two weeks ago. Israel and Hamas send delegates to Cairo and it was agreed that 450 prisoners would be freed in a first round.

There are at least 6,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. They are regarded as heroes in their struggle against Israeli occupation and quest for statehood.

Shalit, who also holds French citizenship, was last seen in a videotape released by his captors in September 2009. He has received no visits from the Red Cross, despite many appeals.

Ma’an

The “induced euphoria” that characterises discussions within the mainstream media around the upcoming declaration of an independent Palestinian state in September ignores the stark realities on the ground and the warnings of critical commentators. Depicting such a declaration as a “breakthrough”, and a “challenge” to the defunct “peace process” and the right-wing government of Israel, serves to obscure Israel’s continued denial of Palestinian rights while reinforcing the international community’s implicit endorsement of an apartheid state in the Middle East.

The drive for recognition is led by Salam Fayyad, the appointed Prime Minister of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA). It is based on the decision made during the 1970s by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to adopt the more flexible program of a “two-state solution”. This program maintains that the Palestinian question, the essence of the Arab-Israeli conflict, can be resolved with the establishment of an “independent state” in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. In this program Palestinian refugees would return to the state of “Palestine” but not to their homes in Israel, which defines itself as “the state of Jews”. Yet “independence” does not deal with this issue, nor does it heed calls made by the 1.2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel to transform the struggle into an anti-apartheid movement, since they are treated as third-class citizens.

All this is supposed to be implemented after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank and Gaza. Or will it merely be a redeployment of forces as witnessed during the Oslo period? Yet proponents of this strategy claim that independence guarantees that Israel will deal with the Palestinians of Gaza and the West Bank as one people, and that the Palestinian question can be resolved according to international law, thus satisfying the minimum political and national rights of the Palestinian people.

Forget about the fact that Israel has as many as 573 permanent barriers and checkpoints around the occupied West Bank, as well as an additional 69 “flying” checkpoints; and you might also want to ignore the fact that the existing “Jewish-only” colonies have annexed more than 54 per cent of the West Bank.

At the 1991 Madrid Conference, then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s “hawkish” government did not even accept the Palestinian “right” to administrative autonomy. However, with the coming of the “dovish” Meretz/Labor government, led by Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, the PLO leadership escaped into behind-curtains negotiations in Norway. By signing the Oslo Accords, Israel was released of the heavy burden of administering Gaza and the seven crowded cities of the West Bank. The first intifada was ended by an official – and secret – PLO decision without achieving its interim national goals, namely “freedom and independence”, and without the consent of the people the organisation purported to represent.

This same idea of “independence” was once rejected by the PLO, because it did not address the “minimum legitimate rights” of Palestinians and because it is the antithesis of the Palestinian struggle for liberation. What is proposed in place of these rights is a state in name only. In other words, the Palestinians must accept full autonomy on a fraction of their land, and never think of sovereignty or control of borders, water reserves, and most importantly, the return of the refugees. That was the Oslo agreement and it is also the intended “Declaration of Independence”. No wonder, then, that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu makes it clear that he “might agree to a Palestinian state through negotiations”.

Nor does this declaration promise to be in accordance with the 1947 UN partition plan, which granted the Palestinians only 47 per cent of historic Palestine even though they comprised over two-thirds of the population. Once declared, the future “independent” Palestinian state will occupy less than 20 per cent of historic Palestine. By creating a Bantustan and calling it a “viable state”, Israel will get rid of the burden of 3.5 million Palestinians. The PA will rule over the maximum number of Palestinians on the minimum number of fragments of land – fragments that we can call “The State of Palestine”. This “state” will be recognised by tens of countries – South Africa’s infamous Bantustan tribal chiefs must be very envious!

One can only assume that the much talked-about and celebrated “independence” will simply reinforce the same role that the PA played under Oslo. Namely providing policing and security measures designed to disarm the Palestinian resistance groups. These were the first demands made of the Palestinians at Oslo in 1993, Camp David in 2000, Annapolis in 2007 and Washington last year. Meanwhile, within this framework of negotiations and demands, no commitments or obligations are imposed on Israel.

Just as the Oslo Accords signified the end of popular non-violent resistance of the first intifada, this declaration of independence has a similar goal, namely ending the growing international support for the Palestinian cause since Israel’s 2008-2009 winter onslaught on Gaza and its attack on the Freedom Flotilla last May.Yet it falls short of providing Palestinians with the minimal protection and security from any future Israeli attacks and atrocities. The invasion and siege of Gaza was a product of Oslo. Before the Oslo Accords were signed Israel never used its full arsenal of F-16s, phosphorous bombs, and DIME weapons to attack refugee camps in the Gaza and the West Bank. Over 1,200 Palestinians were killed from 1987-1993 during the first intifada. Israel eclipsed that number during its three-week invasion in 2009; it managed to brutally kill more than 1,443 in Gaza alone. This does not include the victims of Israel’s siege in place since 2006, which has been marked by closures and repeated Israeli attacks before the invasion of Gaza and since.

Ultimately, what this intended “declaration of independence” offers the Palestinian people is a mirage, an “independent homeland” that is a Bantustan-in-disguise. Although it is recognised by so many friendly countries, it stops short of providing Palestinians freedom and liberation. Critical debate – as opposed to one that is biased and demagogic – requires scrutiny of the distortions of history through ideological misrepresentations. What needs to be addressed is an historical human vision of the Palestinian and Jewish questions, a vision that never denies the rights of a people, that guarantees complete equality, and abolishes apartheid – instead of recognising a new Bantustan 17 years after the fall of apartheid in South Africa.

Haidar Eid is an associate professor at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza.

Al-Jazeera

A Palestinian blogger and writer from the Gaza Strip has been awarded the Honorary Anna Lindh Mediterranean Journalist Award for 2011, a statement from the Anna Lindh foundation said on Friday.

Asma al-Ghoul was awarded the prize for her “commitment to freedom of expression and her courage in facing repression,” a statement said.

Al-Ghoul’s blog, AsmaGaza, tackles political and social life in Palestine and the Middle East.

She was one of six journalists to receive a prize for reporting across cultures, and one of only two people to receive an honorary award.

Mohamed al-Dahshan, the Egyptian writer who was at the forefront of the Egyptian revolution, was also awarded an honorary prize for writing on social change in Egypt.

Maan

A top Palestinian official reiterated Sunday calls to replace Tony Blair as the Quartet’s Mideast envoy, despite a recent announcement by the Palestinian Authority, according to which the Palestinians were willing to work with Blair despite criticism of his alleged impartiality.

Palestinian concerns regarding Blair’s alleged lack of impartiality in his duty as Mideast envoy first surfaced earlier this month, as Nabil Shaath, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the former British premier and was “useless.”
Tony Blair and Salam Fayyad – AP

Tony Blair, Middle East Quartet Representative, left, and Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority Salam Fayyad in Brussels, April 13, 2011.
Photo by: AP

“Lately, [Blair] talks like an Israeli diplomat, selling their policies,” Shaath told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “Therefore, he is useless to us.”

Just days following Shaath’s remarks, Mohammed Ishtayeh, a member of the Central Committee of the dominant Fatah movement and a confidant of Abbas, told Voice of Palestine radio that Blair was no longer trusted to be an impartial mediator.

Following that wave of criticism, Abbas’s spokesman indicated last week that the Palestinians would continue to work with Blair, saying: “The Palestinian presidency will continue to work with the envoy of the international Quartet Committee Tony Blair in his capacity as the choice of the Quartet.”

However, speaking with Al-Jazeera in an interview released on Sunday, Ishtayeh reiterated his demand to replace Blair as Mideast envoy, saying that discontent of the Quartet envoy’s conduct was pervasive throughout PA leadership.

“The Palestinian leadership has raised this issue very seriously. The general consensus among the Palestinian leadership is that he is not anymore an honest broker,” Ishtayeh told Al-Jazeera, adding that “the expected thing for him to do is to say ‘I’m sorry, goodbye.’”

“The biggest problem that he did actually for us is that all of a sudden he started speaking against our steps going toward the United Nations,” the top PA official said, adding: “You cannot be a mediator for the Quartet in which 50% of the Quartet supports our step.”

According to the Al-Jazeera, a PA spokesman indicated that the Palestinians would not openly criticize the Quartet envoy.

Ishtayeh also referred to recent reports in British media, accusing the former U.K. premier of an inappropriate coming together of his role as peace broker and his private business ventures.

“We’ve seen reports by the British media which actually show explicitly that Mr. Tony Blair has very serious conflicts of interest in which he is doing business during the term of his official duties, and I think that’s not a very healthy situation,” the top official said. “It erodes his credibility as an envoy for the Quartet.”

In response to Ishtayeh’s claims, a Blair spokesperson told Haaretz that the former U.K. PM “had never spoken against the Palestinian intention to approach the UN, arguing that it was a matter for the Palestinians to decide.”

“Our focus is on activating the Quartet statement’s call for a return to direct talks between the parties. It is the job of the Quartet Representative to interact with both sides, not least so that we can continue to deliver change on the ground for Palestinians to improve their quality of life.”

In reference to claims of Blair’s alleged conflicts of interest, the spokesperson for the former British premier said that “Tony Blair has advocated for the both the Wataniya project and the Gaza gas development at the direct request of the Palestinians.”

“It is his responsibility as Quartet Representative to work to build the Palestinian economy and the Wataniya project represented the single largest foreign direct investment there has been into the Palestinian Authority,” the statement added, saying: “That is good news for the Palestinians.”

“The fact that we have been doing so is hardly a revelation: it is listed on our website. Both were long-standing demands of the international community. In neither case was Mr. Blair even aware JPMorgan had a connection with the company. He never discussed it with them. They never raised it with him,” the statement added.

Haaretz

The Palestinian Authority will be able to export agricultural and fisheries products directly to the European Union from next year, under a trade deal approved by MEPs.

Until now, Palestinian exports have been controlled by Israeli customs authorities. But the European Parliament voted today to give Gaza and the West Bank duty-free and mostly quota-free access to EU farm and fishery markets. It also opens up Palestinian markets for some European goods.

Describing the agreement, which will enter into force next year, as a “first step towards the development of a nation,” Socialist and Democrat group MEP Maria Eleni Koppi said the Palestinian economy would benefit fully from the expansion in trade.

The deal received a caution welcome from the European United Left/Nordic Green Left group in parliament. Paul Murphy MEP said that, “if implemented, it could provide a level of assistance to the Palestinian people” – but added that its effects would be limited.

“While the EU can abolish tariffs on goods coming from the occupied territories, the difficulty is getting the goods out in the first place”. He denounced Israel’s blockade on Gaza as a “disastrous humanitarian catastrophe” leading to the “deliberate destruction of their economy”.

He said 500 checkpoints delaying and obstructing exports would also limit the benefits of the deal on the West Bank. “If the EU is serious about assisting the Palestinian people, gestures like this are simply not enough. It must end its complicity with the Israeli occupation,” he said.

In 2009 trade between the EU and Palestine totalled €56.6m, of which €50.5m were EU exports. Of the €6.1m Palestinian products, more than 70 per cent were agricultural. The new deal can be extended after 10 years.

The Palestinian Authority is in the process of seeking United Nations Security Council recognition as a state, after presenting its case at the general assembly last week. But the United States has said it will veto the proposal, while EU countries have been divided on the issue.

PublicServiceEurope.com