palestine

20 Palestinians remain in Isolation despite Israeli agreement
Ahmad Sa'adat to be isolated for at least one more year.

October 27, 2011

Only one week after promising Palestinian political prisoners that isolation would end and that all prisoners in isolation would be returned to the general population, in order to convince those prisoners to end their hunger strike, Israeli authorities have announced their intention to continue the isolation of

As reported by the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, an Israeli court in Bir Saba issued a ruling on October 27, 2011 to extend the isolation of Ahmad Sa'adat for an additional year. Ahmad Sa'adat has already been held in isolation for over two and one-half years. His release from isolation was a key demand of Palestinian prisoners' recent hunger strike - and was promised to them one week ago.

The ruling, which was based on secret evidence like all such rulings, dates back to August 8 but was not released until today; Ahmad Sa'adat was not accompanied by lawyers in the hearing.

The prison administration had promised to end isolation following Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike.  <http://freeahmadsaadat.org/oct18hospital.html> This decision is tantamount to torture - and a direct violation of the agreement with Palestinian prisoners to end their hunger strike, which had drawn the eyes of the world to their struggle.

20 Palestinian prisoners remain in isolation, despite the strike's suspension on October 17. Israel had promised that they would be released from isolation immediately following the release of 477 prisoners in a prisoner exchange agreement - however, Israel's prison administration has acted in complete violation of its word.

On October 18, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez called in the UN General Assembly for all use of isolation longer than 15 days to be banned, saying that isolation can cause "severe mental pain or suffering" and "can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment when used as a punishment, during pre-trial detention, indefinitely or for a prolonged period...Segregation, isolation, separation, cellular, lockdown, supermax, the hole, secure housing unit... whatever the name, solitary confinement should be banned by states as a punishment or extortion technique."

The punishment, isolation and extortion of Ahmad Sa'adat for his ongoing courage and commitment as a leader of Palestinian prisoners and the Palestinian people must end. International action and solidarity is necessary!

The Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat reprints the following call received from activists in Palestine:

A Call from Occupied Palestine to the Occupy Movement - From occupied Palestine, from our occupied lands, from our camps of refuge, from the prisons of torture and the prisoners of freedom, from our stolen lands, our chained borders, our demolished homes and our revolution, our commitment, our struggle for freedom:

For us, the word occupation has always stood for colonialism, land theft, genocide, dispossession, and death. It is a word and a concept we have fought to bring to an end for over sixty years. Yet the Occupy movement that has arisen in public squares, in cities and towns around the world, from the centre of imperialism in the US, Wall Street itself, is an occupation that can serve as a source of hope for liberation, for decolonization, for an end to the racist occupation of our homeland.

Seeing the youth of the West in the streets rejecting the brutal consequences of the system of imperialism and capitalism once more, we salute you, we stand with you, and we call: "Occupy Wall Street, Liberate Palestine!"

Our political prisoners stood steadfast through three weeks of hunger strike and have today been confronted by yet one more lie, another broken promise on the heap of lies and broken promises of the occupier - rather than our prisoners being freed from isolation, they are remaining in isolation. Ahmad Sa'adat, Palestinian national leader, having already spent two and a half years in solitary confinement, is slapped with yet one more year.

We call upon you to make it clear that despite solitary confinement, Ahmad Sa'adat and the Palestinian prisoners are not isolated, and are part of a global movement and global solidarity. We call upon you to raise the voices, the pictures, and the stories of Palestinian political prisoners at Occupy Wall Street and all Occupy movement events. We, the Palestinian people are also the 99%, those victimized by war profiteers, by racism, by imperialism, by displacement and genocide. Our thousands of prisoners remain in the prisons of the illegal, illegitimate occupier.

Raise their voices among yours, and stand together for the liberation of Wall Street, Palestine, and all of our oppressed and stolen land and people!

Take Action!

1. Picket, protest or call the Israeli embassy or consulate in your location <http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Diplomatic+missions/Web+Sites+of+Israeli+Missions+Abroad.htm>  and demand the immediate freedom of Ahmad Sa'adat and all Palestinian political prisoners. Make it clear that you expect the demands of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike to be immediately implemented, including an immediate end to the isolation of Ahmad Sa'adat!  Send us reports of your protests at Israeli embassies and consulates.

2. Bring the struggle of Palestinian prisoners to Occupy protests, as will happen in New York City on Friday, October 28 (Existence is Resistance Kuffeya Day <http://www.existenceisresistance.org/archives/1176> ) and has happened in New York, Chicago and San Francisco <http://freeahmadsaadat.org/ijan107.html> . Download and distribute theflyer <http://freeahmadsaadat.org/flyer-as.pdf> , hold a rally or teach-in and express solidarity.

3. Distribute the free downloadable Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat flyer  <http://freeahmadsaadat.org/flyer-as.pdf> in your community at local events.

4. Write to the International Committee of the Red Cross and other human rights organizations to exercise their responsibilities and act swiftly to demand that the prisoners' demands are implemented. Email the ICRC, whose humanitarian mission includes monitoring the conditions of prisoners, at JER_jerusalem@icrc.org <mailto:JER_jerusalem@icrc.org> , and inform them about the urgent situation of Ahmad Sa'adat. Make it clear that isolation is a human rights violation, a form of torture, and that Palestinian prisoners were coerced into stopping their hunger strike with false promises of the recognition of their rights, and that the ICRC must stand up and play its role to defend prisoners' rights.

UK COMMUNICATIONS ON pALESTINIAN sTATE

Senior members of the UK ruling Conservative party have warned the Whitehall against playing double standards as far as the issue of an independent Palestinian state is concerned.

The Conservative Middle East council warned the coalition government of severe consequences in the Middle East if it goes on with its decision to abstain in a UN Security Council vote on the question of recognizing the Palestinian territories as an independent state, the Guardian newspaper reported. The council said it could be a clear example of double standards if the government denied the right to self-determination to the Palestinians, while at the same time supporting that very right for other Arab nations in the Middle East, the report said. The warning came as foreign secretary William Hague was preparing to announce the Whitehall decision at the House of Commons, based on which the UK will abstain in New York if the Palestinians press for a vote on statehood.

"The consequences of an abstention would be severe," the council said in a statement. "We believe that Britain should vote in favour of Palestinian statehood at the UN security council on 11 November”, the statement added. The statement was signed by Nicholas Soames, the Tory MP and former defence minister who is the grandson of Winston Churchill, and by Lady Morris of Bolton. Soames is the council's president and Morris, its chairman. "Public opinion is strongly on the side of the Palestinians, as shown by opinion polls showing 71 percent support for the Palestinian bid to be an independent state. Parliament should make its voice heard rather than standing on the sidelines as a passive spectator", the statement said.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/209270.html

Palestinians Gain International Recognition
By John Burl Smith

When the gavel sounded recognizing the admission of Palestine as a full member of UNESCO, most in the international community hoped it represented more than a symbolic victory. Winning entry into the educational, scientific and cultural body, Palestinians hoped that the vote of the 107 countries will lead to full and official recognition as a state. The thunderous applause drowned out the14 nay voters led by the Unites States and 52 abstentions led by Great Britain. If not sounding the death knell for Israel's domination, oppression and occupation of the Palestinian people, the vote has at least reordered the decades old one-sided power relationship. Speaking at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Monday (10/31/11), Riyad al-Malki, Palestinian foreign minister, hailed the vote as "a historic moment that gives Palestine back some of its rights."

Examining the fallout, it is clear this vote is more than a prelude for those nations that feel they are hostage to the UN Security Council System, which is dominated by the five permanent members --US, Great Britain, France, Russia and China. Having won entry to UNESCO, the Palestinians have renewed prospects for countries without powerful friends on the Security Council and are poised to apply for access to 16 other UN committees. Considered an "end run" around the so-called "road map" or peace negotiations controlled by Israel, Palestinians have raised the level of frustration for "hawks" in and outside Israel. Nimrod Barkan, Israel’s ambassador, described UNESCO's action as the "adoption of a science fiction version of reality by admitting a non-existent state. This is a unilateral Palestinian maneuver which will bring no change on the ground but further removes the possibility for a peace agreement."

Moving from observer status to full member in UNESCO, Palestine overcame an intense effort by Israel and the US to prevent such recognition. Palestine's resilience has exposed a lack of "good faith" at the peace table on the part of Israel. Obviously, Israel has never intended granting "true statehood" to Palestinians and peace negotiations have been unmasked as merely a ploy or delaying tactic that bought time to steal more land from an occupied people. The coup de grace in this strategy has been the US masquerading as an "honest broker," while facilitating Israel's "divide and conquer" maneuvers.

On cue, before the cheers following the vote died, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the move was "premature and undermines the international community's shared goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East." He followed this assessment with the threat to cut the $70 million the US promised UNESCO. This ham-handed action, which was preceded by months of browbeating on the part of the US, may prove to be a "paper tiger," if according to Russian diplomats, Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, will make up funds withdrawn by the US. Ironically, even though the US is refusing to contribute promised funds to UNESCO, it will not give up its seat at the table.

Not only did Arab, African, Latin American and Asian nations, including China and India, line up on the other side but stalwart ally France abandoned Mr. Obama. The US's bunker mentality or circling the wagon around Israel is reminiscent of the US' "lost cause" support of Apartheid in South Africa. Staunchly defending Pretoria, as it is now doing with Israel, the US gave aid and comfort to that racist regime which enabled it to continue spewing hate and mercilessly murdering South Africans long after the rest of the world turned its back on their genocide.
thedish@thedish.org

Israeli NGO: Elad group has 'veto' power over Jerusalem's City of David

• Published 01:12 24.10.11
• Latest update 01:12 24.10.11

Ir Amim, a nonprofit that seeks to make life in Jerusalem more equitable for Arab and Jewish residents, claims agreement is illegal and ostensibly privatizes one of Israel's most important resources.

The Elad association has far-reaching administrative powers in Jerusalem's City of David national park, according to an agreement, publicized here for the first time, between that organization and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

The agreement is at the center of a petition submitted to the High Court of Justice by the Ir Amim association against Elad and the INPA. Ir Amim, a nonprofit that seeks to make life in Jerusalem more equitable for Arab and Jewish residents, claims that the agreement is illegal and ostensibly privatizes one of Israel's most important tourism and archaeological sites.

With the petition scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, Knesset members are continuing efforts to enact a law that would "bypass" the High Court and allow the INPA to privatize national parks.

The City of David park, located in the village of Silwan in East Jerusalem, is one of the country's most popular tourism sites, attracting some 450,000 visitors a year. Since the late 1990s, in keeping with an agreement with the INPA, the site has been administered by Elad, a right-wing association involved in the acqusition of properties and settlement of Jews in the area. By law, the INPA can transfer management of national parks to private entities provided that ultimate administrative powers remain in the hands of the state.

According to the petitioners - Ir Amim, academics and public figures - the INPA has passed on those administrative powers to Elad, in contravention of the law. The petitioners also charge that the park's management by Elad could lead to a conflict of interest due to the association's other activities and political ideology.

Elad and the INPA will argue in their response to the High Court that the association is not administering the site, but is merely in charge of its day-to-day operations. The agreement between them that has come to light, however, shows that Elad has sweeping powers vis-a-vis the administration of the site.

For example, the agreement provides for the establishment of a steering group that includes representatives from Elad, the Jerusalem Municipality and the INPA. This team deals with long-term plans for the site, budgets and other issues that must be approved unanimously. This, the petitioners argue, essentially provides Elad with veto power over all decisions related to the management of the City of David.

In addition, the agreement also gives Elad sweeping powers with regard to guiding in the City of David: Elad is authorized to set up instruction centers and to train tour guides to work at the site. The agreement also allows Elad to close off extensive parts of the park on the Sabbath, which is not allowed at other national parks around the country.

"The agreement gives Elad veto power over everything in the City of David," said a source from the Ir Amim association. "If the parks authority wants to decide on an archaelogical dig or the establishment of a venue for events, it has to request approval from Elad. Under the law, these are powers that are supposed to be exclusively in the hands of the INPA."

Ahead of the High Court debate, the petitioners have been somewhat encouraged by the state's response to the petition via the Environmental Protection Ministry. According to the ministry, the agreement is indeed legal and the petition should be rejected - but there are certain stipulations that must be amended.

"There is a need to ensure that the presence of an INPA representative on the steering team is not an effort to detract from the authority's status as the public entity responsible for the overal administration of the national park," says the ministry's response to the High Court.

The ministry also expresses its dissatsifaction with the clauses of the agreement pertaining to instruction and tour-guiding services at the site. Elad, the ministry says, must ensure that the instruction is conducted "without political bias that does not suit the national character of the park."

In its response to the petition, Elad, represented by former Justice Minister Prof. David Libai, argues that the areas of responsibility the association received from the INPA are "technical and logistical" only. Elad and the INPA also note a clause in the agreement that explicitly states that management of the site "will be conducted by the [parks] authority only."

Elad says that the steering group does not administer the park per se, but serves only to resolve matters under dispute, and asserts that the City of David has not been privatized. The organization claims that it owns a significant portion of the land in the area of the park, has invested vast sums of money in its development, and thus cannot be ignored.

If required to do so, Elad adds, it will find a way to operate the park on the Sabbath too.

In its response to the High Court, the INPA also claims that the agreement is legal and places only technical matters concerning the site in the hands of Elad.

 “Olive Trees”

A Bullet in the “Israeli’s” Weapon

Translated by: Adib S. Kawar