Palestinian Collective Struggle on the Rise Inside Occupation Prisons

Palestinian prisoners announced that they will pursue steps of collective struggle inside occupation prisons beginning on Monday, 22 August. These collective struggle steps were suspended in March 2022 after an agreement was purportedly reached to improve conditions for Palestinian detainees whose rights are systematically violated by occupation forces, from denial of family visits to constant transfers from prison to prison every six months to aggressive raids and invasions.

Prisoners’ institutions announced that detainees in occupation prisons will refuse to leave their rooms for the daily routine security checks and will return their meals provided by the prison administration on 22 August and 24 August. These checks, which take place daily, require the prisoners to leave their rooms as the floors, windows and bathrooms are inspected while guards, accompanied by sniffer dogs and carrying weapons, knock on the doors and windows in a manner meant to provoke and irritate the prisoners. All of these repressive mechanisms were massively increased after six Palestinians liberated themselves from Gilboa prison in the Freedom Tunnel operation, exposing the failure of the “security” apparatus.

Rather than implement the measures they agreed to in March, the occupation prison administration has continued to implement these repressive practices, and the prisoners’ movement will escalate their protest actions if their demands ae not met. They are demanding an end to the constant transfer of prisoners every six months — especially for prisoners with lengthy sentences, including life sentences — and the use of administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial. Three Palestinian administrative detainees are on hunger strike against their detention; Khalil Awawdeh, on strike for 173 days, and Ahmad and Adel Musa, on strike for 16 days.

In advance of the announced protest steps, repressive forces stormed one of the rooms in Hadarim prison on Sunday, 21 August, ransacking the rooms and disrupting the prisoners. The prisoners’ movement declared that such actions will not dissuade the detainees from defending themselves and each other. The prisoners’ movement has announced the collective commitment to launch an open hunger strike if these escalating steps of struggle are not met with the implementation of their demands.

This call follows the collective statement from administrative detainees calling for action to free Awawdeh and end administrative detention.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all supporters of justice and liberation in Palestine to prepare to act to support the prisoners in their collective struggle and resistance behind Zionist bars. The prisoners’ struggle is not only to improve the conditions of detention but for liberation, for all of the prisoners and for Palestine and its people, from the river to the sea.

Download these distributable flyers and posters to highlight the case of Khalil Awawdeh and the struggle to free Palestinian prisoners:

1. Mobilize actions, demonstrations and creative interventions – Take to the streets to defend the Palestinian people and their resistance! As was made clear during the Unity Intifada/Seif al-Quds in May 2021, there is a vast depth of support for the Palestinian people everywhere around the world, including inside the imperialist powers. It is our responsibility to act and make it impossible to continue their support for the crimes against the Palestinian people.

2. Build the boycott of Israel – This is a critical moment to escalate the campaign to isolate the Israeli regime at all levels, including through boycott campaigns that target the occupation’s economic exploitation of the Palestinian land, people and resources as well as those international corporations, like HP and G4S, that profit from the ongoing colonization of Palestine.

3. Support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people – This aggression was an extension of the siege on Gaza that has been imposed on the resisting and steadfast Strip for over 15 years. The Palestinian people need economic, political and all forms of support to help sustain their steadfastness. To contribute to Samidoun’s drive in support of children’s health care in Gaza, make a donation at https://samidoun.net/gaza

(Samidoun)