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HANAA SHALABI, now on hunger strike in an Israeli prison
HANAA SHALABI, now on hunger strike in an Israeli prison
This Palestinian writer, along with his 20 year-old twin sons Bilal and Hilal, decided to quit smoking today. This will continue as long as Palestinian prisoner Hanaa Shalabi is on hunger strike in an Israeli prison.
We also plan to use the money that we would have otherwise spent on cigarettes ($15 a day) to help defray Hanaa’s legal expenses. Hanaa is the same age as my 28-year-old daughter, Nadia, who incidently bears the same name as my wife.
From the village of Burgin near Jenin, Palestinian Hanaa Shalabi is a political prisoner who was kidnapped from her home on Feb. 16, 2012 by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). This occurred in the middle of the night. Hanaa was blindfolded and handcuffed while her family was ordered outside the house. All cell phones and computers in the house were confiscated. A wall photograph of Hanaa’s brother was ripped from the wall and trampled upon by one of the IOF soldiers. This was a acred memento, for Hanaa’s brother had been killed by the IOF in 20005.
During her ordeal at the hands of the IOF, Hanaa was not only beaten but sexually harassed.
Her attorney stated, “Hanaa is demanding the end of administrative detention and that the soldiers who beat her up and undressed her to carry out a body search be put on trial.”
Administrative detention is a procedure that allows the Israeli military to hold prisoners indefinitely on secret evidence without charging them or allowing them to stand trial.
Hanaa was ordered to serve administrative detention for six months in the HaSharon prison. As of this writing, Hanaa has entered her 13th day of an open-ended hunger strike. She is currently being held in solitary confinement. The latest reports indicate that Israeli prison officials have moved her to different prison to deny her contact with the outside world.
Ironically, this young lady has already been in administrative detention in the past. Starting in March, 2009, she served 6 consecutive terms totaling two and a half years. Hanaa was among the freed Palestinian prisoners who were released in October 2011 under the prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. However, this time Israel has reneged on its agreement and rearrested Hanaa her, as it has done in other previous cases involving in prisoner exchange deals. In November 1983, for example, Palestinian prisoner Ziad Abu Ain was supposed to be part of a prisoner release deal: but she was taken off the bus containing those about to be released.
I will never never forgive Israel nor forget that prisoners exchange deal of Thanksgiving Day, 1983. My younger brother Samih, after spending 18 months in an Israeli concentration camp in south Lebanon, was among a group of freed prisoners.
Not for long did he remain free.
While visiting our family with his German wife and 5 year-old daughter, Carmen, Samih was kidnapped by the IOF.
Throughout his captivity, none of our family was allowed to visit him, even though he was being held a mere 20 miles away.
While we were lobbying in the US to secure my brother’s release, Israeli officials first denied holding him. Later they admitted he was in Ansar prison camp, held on terrorism charges. When I refuted their false allegation, I was told Samih had committed a crime in Germany. German officials, however, rejected this false claim. Israel’s Attorney General then arrogantly stated, on public record, that Israel had a right under Israeli law to prosecute people for crimes committed in other countries. This is a flagrant violation of international law. It also shows contempt for German sovereignty.
According to Aldemeer, there are 25 members of the Palestine National Council ,including the Speaker of the Parliament, who are among 5,000 Palestinians held captive in Israeli dungeons.
This includes 6 women, 166 children, and 320 “administrative detainees.” According to Palestinian prisoner solidarity sites, over 20,000 administrative detention orders were issued since 2000 by the Israeli occupation authority. On February 24, 2012, the 320 Palestinian administrative detainees held captive without charge or trial declared a boycott of Israeli military courts. This boycott is to start on March 1 in protest of these sham courts that are used by the Israeli occupation army and Israeli intelligence as a cover for illegal detention based on “secret” files and lack of indictment.
One week after Hanaa’s kidnapping, her 67 year-old parents started an open-ended hunger strike in a tent set up in front of the family home in support of their daughter’s struggle for freedom and in protest of her illegal detention. Her father, Yahya Shalabi, promised that they would continue the hunger-strike until the release of their daughter and the abolishment of administrative detention.
Hanaa Shalabi and her parents have pitted themselves against overwhelming odds. They have had the courage to challenge Israel’s flagrant injustice. This is a dignified family with deep moral convictions. They intend to stand firm and tall, beyond anyone’s expectation.
I know from experience that Israel does respond when its image and reputation is on the line. I therefore urge every one who reads this article to help in anyway they can to expose Israeli injustice: if not by deeds, then by praying in your heart for Hanaa Shalabi’s release from prison.
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Hanaa Shalabi’s father on hunger strike… on behalf of his daughter who is also on hunger strike in an Israeli jail
Hanaa Shalabi’s father on hunger strike… on behalf of his daughter who is also on hunger strike in an Israeli jail
There must be an end to Administrative Detention — and the kidnapping and false imprisonment of Palestinians who have committed no crimes.
_______________________________________________________________
Bad news for the supporters of Hanaa Shalabi. The genuine Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, has decided to turned against supporters for the last two decades – Syria and Iran for $250 million bribe from US-Israeli puppet, Emir of Qatar. Hamas has decided to base their head office in Qatar, Egypt or Jordan – all USraeli colonies.
However, Nature has its own ways to spin the wheel. Richard Foyer, a former diehard supporter of Israel – has lately turned against the Zionist regime.
http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/richard-foyer-israel-firster-to-anti-zionist-regime/
genuine … in itself a tricky word.
hamas is no longer genuine anything but a kabbalistic spintop
(is it called dreadle? my kid used to get it in grade school all the time and i would throw it out as soon as he wasn’t paying attention).
maybe they never were all that genuine anyway, except genuine turncoats.
what i think happens is that on occasion, even a creature of zion may accidentally grow a soul, is it a genuine conscience or fear of some karmic settling of accounts, i don’t know but it may have happened to ben gurion, menachem rabin, ariel sharon (believe it or not) and that one-eye general whatever his name.
i think brimstone has a smell that is hard to forget.
in the final reckoning, shalabi family are the lucky ones, stay the righteous course, it is its own reward.
“Genuine” is not “tricky” itself. Like “terrorism” – it all depends who defines it. As far “kabbalistic spintop” term is concerned – everyone whom Zionist Jews don’t like – is either becomes an ‘anti-semite’ or “kabalist”. Iranian President Ahmadinejad and myself have received those medals.
Hamas’ weak point is some of its leaders are linked with Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, which has made peace with the “western values”. They have been fooled once again by the emerging anti-Iran western poodles in the Muslim world. They are trying to bring Nasser’s “Arab Nationalism” back, which in the past, had pushed Palestinian cause out of Muslim Ummah’s causes. However, the majority of ordinary Palestinians know who their friends are.
“Hamas can’t be beaten. Obviously President Obama shouldn’t join it, but he may have no choice to work with it…. President Obama can’t beat Hamas , but if he doesn’t act proactively, it can beat him,” – James Gundun in his research article,”If You Can’t Beat Hamas”, posted at The Trench on September 30, 2009.
http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/can-hamas-be-beaten/
no argument here, rehmat.
just one small pedantic quibble: kabbala is the pseudo-mystical interpretation of talmud, all black witchcraft and numerology and its practitioners form its own secretive can of worms.
thus kabbalists.
you and i are not among them, whether we like it or not, not that i am sending in my application either.
i think that freemasons are a noahide offshoot, the kabbalists in short pants.
Last December, my friend Sam Bahour wrote a heart wrenching piece titled, ” where is my friend?” It is about a Palestinina young man, named Walid Abu Rass, who was also like Hanaa Shalabi is being held for 6 month under Admminstative Detention. Here is what Sam wrote inpart:
I did contact the office of the Israeli Prime Minister via email calling upon him to release Walid Abu Rass immediately. I did get a generic response, in which the office only acknowledge recieving my email.
I thought these Israeli officials need to hear from you too. Please take action. Hanaa Shalabi, her parents and many other Palestinian prisoners are sending this message to Israel and the rest of the world: our deginity is more precious than food. Now it is your turn to speak out against injustice.
Deputy Prime Minister &
Minister of Defence
Ehud Barak
Ministry of Defence
37 Kaplan Street
Hakirya, Tel Aviv 61909
Israel
Fax: +972.3.691.6940
Email: [email protected]
Judea and Samaria Region
Office of the Legal Advisor
P.O. Box
5 Beit El, 90631
via Israel
Tel: +972-2-997-7071
Fax:+972-2-997-7326
Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Defence Ehud Barak
Ministry of Defence
37 Kaplan Street
Hakirya, Tel Aviv 61909 Israel
Fax: +972.3.691.6940
Email: [email protected]
For more information on Administrative Detention see ADDAMEER (Arabic
for conscience) Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association at
http://www.addameer.org.
Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American business consultant from
Youngstown living in the Palestinian city of Al-Bireh in the West
Bank. He is co-author of “Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and
Palestinians” (1994) and may be reached via http://www.ePalestine.ps.
http://epalestine.blogspot.com/2011/12/walid-abu-rass-wheres-my-friend> -by-sam.html
Good comment, Mahmoud.
But please note that if your comment goes for “monitoring” in future, this has nothing to do with me. This is an automatic feature of the website.
Just remember this: If you post NO LINKS or ONE LINK, your comment is always posted right away. But if you post TWO LINKS or more, your comment will be held up automatically for monitoring. You can get round this by posting your links in SEPARATE posts so that there’s a maximum of ONE link per post.
Rehmat,
Have you stopped posting at the Occidental Observer?
More update about Hanaa Shalabi hunger strike.
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestinian-territories/israelis-deny-winter-clothing-for-palestinian-on-hunger-strike-1.990654
Today marks the 19th consecutive day for Hanaa Shalabi open-ended hunger strike.
For this courageous Palestinian woman, her dignity is more precious than food.
Have you quit smoking for 19 days?
Berenice, not quite. Hanaa started her hunger strike on Febuary 16th- on the day she was kidnapped, 20 days ago. I joined her in solidarity on the 28 of Feb- the day I wrote the article. Which makes it 8 days ago. The article you have read here was published first on February 28th by The Ugly Truth and Palestine Chronicle.
I have to note here that all these people who were attending the conference of traitors last weekend in Washing ton, D.C., and who were selling their country out and cramming their faces with fancy hors d’oeuvres while Hana Shalabi is starving–literally–for basic human rights & dignities that most of us take for granted. And of course she is ignored by lamestream media.
Giving up smoking for Hanaa Shalabi’s freedom on my part was genuine and not a publicity stunt.
I wonder if Ruth Bernstien were among the people attending AIPAC annual conference.
Berenice, Check this one out!
Hana Shalabi: Day 19 and counting by Stephen Lendman.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/3/Hana-Shalabi-Day-19-and-C-by-Stephen-Lendman-120306-714.html
Here is the latest update on Hanaa Shalabi open-ended hunger strike.
Hanaa rejected an Israeli deal for her freedom in return to agree that she will be expelled to GAZA.
Hanaa is now being hospitalized and her health is deteriorating by the hour.
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/03/hana-shalabi-now-hospitalized-our-freedom-is-even-more-precious-and-more-powerful-than-their-cells.html
Newflash: Bitter Sweet Victory For Hanaa Shalabi.
Deal reached. Hanaa Ends her hunger strike.
She will be free in few days and will be banished to Gaza, away from her home and family.
Friday, March 30 2012|Haggai Matar
Mixed reactions in Palestine over deal to release, deport Shalabi
Shalabi ended her hunger strike and is supposed to be freed from prison within days – but banished to Gaza. While pleased with the release, many criticize the deportation, and some accuse Israel of foul play. A second hunger striker administrative detainee was released without conditions. Two more detainees have been hospitalized, having entered their second month of hunger strike.
After 43 days of hunger strike, and while at imminent risk of death, administrative detainee Hana Shalabi started eating yesterday (Thursday) night in a deal has been struck for her release. Shalabi has reportedly agreed to be deported to the Gaza Strip and banned from her home in the West Bank village of Burqin for three years, committing not to be involved in terrorist activities – according to the IDF spokesperson. Israeli media was the first to air the news, followed shortly by Palestinian media, which had Shalabi’s lawyer Jawwad Boulous and former PA Minister of Prisoners Affairs Qadoura Fares confirming the existence of a deal.
Hana Shalabi reunites with her father after her October 2011 release from prison (photo: Oren Ziv / activestills.org)
While Fares, PA officials and human rights groups commended Shalabi’s release, they also protested her forced transfer to Gaza. The PA’s current Minister of Prisoner Affairs, Issa Qaraqe, who announced last week that the government in Ramallah refused a similar deal, told Ma’an news agency yesterday that he considers the deportation a war crime. In a joint statement by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and Palestinian human rights group Addameer, concerns were raised that the deal was struck under duress. The two NGOs have been following Shalabi’s condition closely, with PHR doctors checking up on the hospitalized detainee almost daily, and in the past week both published warnings that her body is nearing the point of no return in its deterioration. The groups’ statement from last night reads as follows:
Addameer’s lawyers were deliberately denied access to Ms. Shalabi today and PHR-Israel’s doctor has been denied access to her tomorrow. Her family has also been denied permission to visit her.
Addameer and PHR-Israel are first and foremost concerned about Ms. Shalabi’s health. Addameer and PHR-Israel are further concerned that her medical condition and the high danger on her life were used in order to threaten her to take the sole option of being deported.
Addameer and PHR-Israel are against this form of forcible deportation, which is not only illegal under international law, as clearly stated in the Fourth Geneva Convention, but is also part of an Israeli policy that is not new; Israel has systematically made agreements in which Palestinians are deported from their homes and separated from their loved ones.
In his statement to Ma’an, Fares concluded by saying, “We reject deportation, but this is her decision and her own life.”
Shalabi, 29, was formally held for 25 months in administrative detention, was released last October in the Schalit prisoner swap, and re-arrested within four months of her release. Since her second arrest, Shalabi refused to eat in protest of her continued detention without charges or trial. The IDF claims it has intelligence indicating Shalabi might endanger regional security – however, nothing substantial enough to bring forward as evidence in a criminal court. Appeals filed to the military court and then to the military court of appeals against her detention were rejected, while a petition filed to the High Court of Justice was not yet even heard.
Widening criticism on administrative detention
Shalabi’s hunger strike and deteriorating health, which followed that of Khader Adnan, drew growing attention to the issue of administrative detention. In recent weeks, Shalabi was joined by more than 20 out of 309 administrative detainees, who also started a hunger strike, including one 72 year old. Two of the detainees, Bilal Diab and Tha’ir Khlekhle, were hospitalized this week in the Prison Service hospital-detention unit, entering their fifth week without food. A female detainee, who refused food since her arrest ten days ago, was released last night in a checkpoint remote from her home. She was met by family members and Israeli activists, who helped her get home.
The detainee’s hunger strike led Amnesty International and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel to release statements against Israel’s widespread practice of administrative detention. It also led to protests throughout the West Bank and to demonstrations in university campuses in Israel and abroad. A quiet protest in Tel Aviv University, comprised of students sitting on the grass with their hands tied behind their backs and their eyes covered, was met with a counter demonstration by right wing group Im Tirtzu. Members of group posed for pictures as “triumphant” soldiers near the Palestinian detainees – perhaps unconsciously imitating the famous Eden Abergil.
The growing discourse on these detentions without trials, and the growing use of hunger strikes as a tool in the hands of the detainees themselves – who have already compared themselves to the IRA members who went on strike in the 80s – is likely to cause Israel a serious headache, which in the long run might have to be solved by more than just individual deals struck with various inmates.
Im Tirzu activist inserts himself into a student protest in TAU for the release of Hana Shalabi (Oren Ziv / Activestills)
Read more Hana Shalabi and administrative detention:
Human rights NGO: Hana Shalabi in danger of imminent death
PA refuses Israeli offer to deport hunger striker to Gaza
Palestinian detainee’s health in danger; hunger strike spreads
International Women’s Day: Hana Shalabi’s hunger strike enters 4th week
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TAGSadministrative detention, Bilal Diab, hana shalabi, palestinian prisoners, Tha’ir KhlekhleFILE UNDERNEWS Why we refuse to believe…Arab citizens excluded from
Poem: “Cultivate Hope” For Hanaa Al-Shalabi
http://smpalestine.com/tag/rafeef-ziadah/
Rafeef Ziadah – Sixteen Minutes to Palestine
smpalestine.com
Rafeef Ziadah, a Canadian-Palestinian spoken word artist who received wide acclaimed for her piece “We teach life, sir“, is out with a new piece in honor of Hana Al-Shalabi’s heroic sacrifice.
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