He who is brave is free

Why I have two brothers called Omar

Yousef M. Aljamal — Thu, 30 May 2013 13:28:54 +0000

Yousef M. Aljamal The Electronic Intifada Nuseirat refugee camp 30 May 2013

When Israel kills a Palestinian, it not only abruptly ends his or her life, it leaves deep wounds with the family that time cannot heal. And it pushes the family to threaten Israel demographically by having one more child — perhaps even more.

The years of the first and second Palestinian intifadas — not to mention the preceding years of Naksa (setback) in 1967 andNakba (catastrophe) in 1948 — witnessed the birth of thousands of children who were named after Palestinians shot dead by Israel.

Aljamal was killed by Israeli forces in 2004.

Israel’s attempts to reduce Palestinians’ numbers have never proven successful. The possibility that the “demographic time- bomb” will explode only becomes increasingly likely as Israel kills more Palestinians.

Palestinian women, such as my mother who gave birth to 13 children (excluding two who died before birth), have kept on delivering more children and naming them after those who died. My brother Omar is no exception.

The year 1986 saw the birth of my eldest brother, Omar M. Aljamal. It was a year before the outbreak of the first intifada. Omar grew up under occupation in an area called Block A, also known as al-Kalaboush, (Arabic slang for “chains” or “shackles”) in Gaza’s crowdedNuseirat refugee camp.

The Block A area, where my family still lives, was used by the British Mandate as a prison. The gate of the prison is the only exit that the neighborhood has today.

One day, during the years of the first intifada, a group of Israeli soldiers stormed Omar’s room, looking for stone-throwers under his bed. This incident stayed in Omar’s memory for years.

When he was 17, my brother joined the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. He joined because of the killings and the home demolitions he had seen growing up.

Before then, he had — like many of his peers — thrown stones at the Israeli army. On one occasion — when he was 15 or 16 — he was shot in the leg with a rubber-coated steel bullet. Omar did not tell our parents about his injury; they learned about it from a relative who was shot the same day and saw Omar at the hospital.

Potatoes with sugar

On 6 March 2004, I prepared some potatoes to kill my hunger. Omar rushed to the house and asked me to give him some of my delicious fried slices of potatoes. I refused.

He persisted, reminding me of the old days when he shared many dishes with me. Under pressure from my mother who almost made me feel guilty, I accepted.

That day, Omar put sugar instead of salt on the potatoes. We tried to cover up the taste of the sugar with extra salt but it was pointless. We ate the fried potatoes together.

I didn’t know that this dinner would be Omar’s last.

Shot “in front of my eyes”

The next day dozens of Israeli military vehicles invaded al-Nuseirat, which Ariel Sharon, Israel’s prime minister at the time, called the “den of wasps” for the leading role its residents had played in the first and second intifadas. Omar was shot. Six bullets hit the front right side of his body.

Saber, one of his friends who witnessed the shooting, described it later with tears: “Omar, Khaled and I entered the orange orchard to the east of the refugee camp. We wanted to make it to al-Bureij refugee camp as some people reported the presence of Israeli military vehicles there. As we walked in the orchard, snipers who were hiding in a building that was under construction in the middle of the orchard started shooting at us. Omar fell first, grabbing his AK-17.”

Saber, a father of three, still visits the shared grave of Omar and Khaled.

“Khaled tried to comfort Omar by placing his head on his grenade pouch. He was shot next to him in front of my eyes,” Saber told us on several occasions.

“Surrounded by snipers”

“I tried to grovel to get medics to evacuate them,” Saber told us. “I was shot at, but I managed to leave the orchard eventually. I begged medics to get in to rescue them, but none of them was willing to do so. The area was surrounded by snipers and tanks.”

The news of “two young men” being shot to death spread like wildfire in the alleys of the refugee camp. Saber, feeling helpless, decided to go to the orchard to get them out. He knew what the consequences could be, but he feared nothing as the image of his two close friends bleeding next to a tank stationed beside a house with snipers inside kept jumping in front of his eyes.

“As I tried to move towards them, I was shot at. I got closer to them, but I was shot near them,” Saber recalled.

Medics finally managed to get the three of them out of the orchard. Omar and Khaled were dead, Saber critically injured. The resilient refugee camp, once a home for Omar and Khaled, received the news of their death with shock.

That day witnessed the killings of 14 Palestinians from the adjacent Nuseirat and al-Bureijcamps.

The way my parents were told of Omar’s death was no different to the way the families of all 14 victims were told.

One of Omar’s friends told my father that Omar had been wounded in the leg but was in the hospital and doing OK.

My father did not speak a word. We drove to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. As we entered the main gate, we were received by some relatives and friends. They hugged my dad, with tears falling from their eyes. My father was regarded as the “father of a martyr.”

Saber later recalled: “When I woke up two weeks later at the hospital, I asked about Omar and Khaled. I was told that they are ok, recovering from injuries, the same as me. But when I left the hospital, I was told the shocking truth.”

How will we explain?

This is not the end of the story.

Two years later, my mother delivered another boy and, as expected, named him after my eldest brother. So I ended up with two brothers named Omar. One is dead, the other is not.

One is my eldest brother; the other is my youngest brother. One used to take care of me when I was younger; the other one is being looked after by me now.

I am officially the eldest brother now. But I am not really. Omar, my youngest brother, regards me as his eldest brother. I regard the “real” Omar as my eldest brother.

“My friends are going to visit us,” Omar, the youngest in our family says, when he learns that some of my elder brother’s friends are going to visit. The younger Omar.

Had he lived, my elder brother Omar would have turned 27 this week. His birthday is 30 May.

At some point in his life, my younger brother will start asking questions: Why was I named after my brother? Why do both of us have the same name? Why did I think for a long time that his friends were mine? Why did Israel invade the “den of wasps” and kill 14 Palestinians, including Omar, in March 2004?

How will we answer these questions?

Images courtesy of the author.

Yousef M. Aljamal is a Gaza-based blogger and co-translator of The Prisoner Diaries. His website is www.yeljamal.wordpress.com and he can be followed on Twitter:@YousefAljamal.

Malaysia: KLPFF kicks off with remarkable Palestinian participation

Yousef M. Aljamal — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:00:30 +0000

Malaysia: KLPFF kicks off with remarkable Palestinian participation

Norma Hashim sits next to Imad Burnat in KLPFF

The Kuala Lumpur Palestine Film Festival (KLPFF), organized by Viva Palestina-Malaysia, in collaboration with the Malaysian Information, Communication and Culture Ministry and the Malaysian National Film Development Corporation kicked off on Friday 18 May, 2013 with remarkable Palestinian participation.

5 Broken Cameras, By Imad Burnat, nominated for a Best Documentary at this year’s Academy Awards, leads the films for this year. It tells the story of building the Israeli separation wall on Palestinian lands, which was faced by villagers’ opposition.

The festival runs from 18-19 May. All films will be screened at Golden Screen Cinemas in Pavilion, KL

In a press release published in the wake of launching the festival, VMP explained that “the films screened at Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur highlighted many of the humanitarian issues besetting Palestine and the persecution of the Palestinian people under Zionist occupation of their lands.”

Other films to be screened include Man Without A Cellphone, directed by Sameh Zoabi, about a Palestinian slacker looking for a girlfriend and at the same time drawn into joining the fight against the Israeli occupation; and Gilad And All That Jazz, about famous saxophonist Gilad Atzmon, who was born into a pro-Zionist family but later declared himself an enemy of the Israeli state.

CPDS’s Director Dr. Mahmoud Alhirthani attended last year’s festival.

“KLPFF, held in Malaysia for the second time in two years, significantly promotes the Palestine Cause among people around the world using a tool not all activists pay attention to. It is remarkably distinctive for it helps portray what is going on in Palestine in a way the world can relate to,” said Alhirthani.

Norma Hashim, the Treasurer VPM who edited CPDS’s latest book “The Prisoners’ Diaries” is attending the festival too. “The aim of KLPFF is to raise awareness of the suffering and discrimination endured by the Palestinians under the Zionist occupation. Showing movies about Palestine is a powerful way of getting that message to the public , and hopefully an informed public will be able to influence their government’s policies towards Israel,” explained Hashim.

Palestinians Mark 65th Nakba Anniversary, Old, Young Cling to Return

Yousef M. Aljamal — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:54:32 +0000

Palestinians Mark 65^th Nakba Anniversary, Old, Young Cling to Return

Yousef M. Aljamal, CPDS

Palestinians in Palestine and in the Diaspora mark the annual anniversary of the Catastrophe, also known as the Nakba, on May 15^th every year as a result of the massive ethnic cleansing carried out by Zionists gangs in 1947-1948 which resulted in the displacement of almost 750,000 Palestinians from their villages and cities[1].

The plans of the Zionist leaders would not have been successful without the implementation of Plan Dalet (also referred to as Plan D) whose goal was the mass expulsion of Palestinians from wide areas of the historic British Mandate. The Plan was designed in the fall of 1947 and implemented in April 1948, however it was meant to be implemented after the withdrawal of the British forces from Palestine on May 15, 1948. It aimed at destroying and occupying Palestinian villages located along the highway connecting Jerusalem with Tel Alrabee (today’s Tel Aviv).

The plan included many military operations such as Nachshon, Harel, Bi’ur Hametz, Yevusi, Hametz, Yiftach, Matateh, Maccabi, Gideon, Barak, Ben’Ami, Kilshon and Shfifon.

”Languages haven’t come up with a term that can precisely describe it. What happened to a whole nation because of Zionist planning and the dirty trick of Israel enhanced with the weakness and cold blood of Arabs is a shame on humanity. The demons of the world never understand. No one understands it except for those who experienced its bitterness. If you wish to have a clue, spend a couple of hours with one of them,” explained Wafaa Abu Rahma, a refugee living in the Gaza Strip.

According to Benny Morris, a Zionist historian, the Plan’s execution lasted about eight weeks, beginning on April 2, 1948. During these weeks, the Yishuv’s position (the term used to describe armed Jewish migrants in Palestine before 1948) changed dramatically. Many Arab leaders left the country and local leadership collapsed. Zionist attacks and offensives precipitated a mass exodus of 250,000–300,000 people. According to Benny Morris this “massive demographic upheaval … propelled the Arab states closer to an invasion about which they were largely unenthusiastic”.

Many Israeli historians share the same point of view, including military historian David Tal who writes, “The plan did provide the conditions for the destruction of Palestinian villages and the deportation of the dwellers.”

”Return is the dream of generations. It’s my dream, the dream of my family, people and country. We must be united to make it true,” said Dalia Abu Aker, a 16-year old descendant of a refugee from Ras Abu Amar village, to the west of Jerusalem, who resides with her family in the West Bank refugee camp of Aldihishi.

”The refugee camp reminds me everyday that I am a refugee and I will not stay here forever,” she added.

Time never succeeded in making Palestinian refugees and their descendants give up their right of return to their homeland. David Ben Gurion was wrong. The old might die, but the young will never forget.

”That’s my dream,” said Abbas Alshaer, a refugee from the ethnically cleansed village of Aqer when asked about return. Alshaer was 12 years old when he was expelled along with his family from their village.

The case is no different for Um Shafiq Taha from the village of Raya. “What shall I tell you about Palestine? It’s the best thing. Our blood, soul and land are for Palestine.”

The glimpse of hope that the old and the young generations alike still have for return is solid evidence that injustice will not last long and return will become a reality someday.

[1] Institute for Middle East Understanding (Available at http://imeu.net/news/article001237.shtml)

Your Day of Independence is our Day of Catastrophe יום העצמאות שלכם הוא יום האסון שלנו

Yousef M. Aljamal — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:51:17 +0000

Your Day of Independence is our Day of Catastrophe

יום העצמאות שלכם הוא יום האסון שלנו

Nakba remembered, 65 years on

Yousef M. Aljamal, CPDS

The year 1948 witnessed a massive expulsion of the indigenous people of Palestine carried out by Zionist gangs, which resulted in displacing almost 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland. The number of cities, towns and villages which were completely destroyed and ethnically cleansed that spring is estimated at 531[1]. The crime of the century is still affecting Palestinians’ lives with absolute silence from the international community and the UN bodies. The huge amount of violations of human rights leave one bewildered about the role these bodies should play in the time of injustice, especially when it lasts too long, as in the case of Palestine.

No return from The Right of Return

The UNGA’s Resolution 194 resolves that “the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date . . .”

Today, 65 years later, refugees are still not allowed to return to their homeland, some are still refugees in their own homeland. Everyday there is a new refugee, deportee, prisoner, and victim of Israel’s policies of ethnic cleansing which still continues. .

In 1948, 85% of Palestinians were forced to leave their homes and properties and relocate to the West Bank and Gaza, and to the contiguous countries of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Them and their descendents are assisted today by UNWRA in 58 registered camps; 10 of which were established in the aftermath of the Six Day War in 1967 to cope with new Palestinian refugees.

David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister and one of its founders was quoted as saying: “The old will die and the young will forget,” yet time has proven him wrong. The young generation of the descendants of Palestinian refugees is still clinging to the glimpse of hope of return. One can notice this by asking one of the many kids playing in the alleys of Palestine’s many refugee camps about his/her original village. They will respond with the names of villages and cities from which their parents and grandparents were expelled. “Yibna, Qastina, Breer, Aqer, Yaffa, Joura, Majdal, Swafeer, Barwqa, Zarnouqa, Beer Alsaba, and Lod,” they would respond.

Day of Independence?

Israel marks the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948 as its “Day of Independence”. This contradicts the basic historical facts about what happened and is still happening in Palestine. Ethnically cleansing 531 Palestinian villages, towns and cities is never “independence”. It is a crime on a great scale that was committed against the real owners of the land, Palestinians, in a time of weakness.

Any negotiated settlement that does not guarantee the right of return will not last long. No force can prevent a refugee from returning home. Home is where the heart is.

[1] The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Available at http://palestine-studies.org/enakba/exodus/Pappe,%20The%20Ethnic%20Cleansing%20of%20Palestine.pdf)

Palestine Refugee Camps: Linguistic Perspective

Yousef M. Aljamal — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:45:52 +0000

Palestine Refugee Camps: Linguistic Perspective

Palestinian kids in their refugee camp

By Yousef Aljamal, CPDS

1948 witnessed the mass expulsion of the indigenous people of Palestine as a result of the massacres and the systemic ethnic cleansing operations carried out by Zionist gangs, which resulted in wiping 531 Palestinian villages and cities off the map. Some 750,000 Palestinians ended up in refugee camps inside and outside historical Palestine. There are 60 refugee camps scattered in the Gaza Strip (8), the West Bank (20), Jordan (10), Lebanon (12), Syria (10), Egypt and Iraq (communities which are not registered as refugee camps). Their number is estimated around 6.5 million refugees who belong to villages, towns and cities all over Palestine.

When refugee camps are mentioned, the scenes of misery and deprivation jump to mind. Alleys, sewage, tin houses, kids in the streets, some bare footed, women chatting, others cooking, jobless men taking positions next to their houses, and above all, the dream of return hanging on the camp’s rusty walls and sandy streets, all are scenes associated to displacement. They are a direct consequence of the occupation, but that’s not the entire story.

Palestinian refugees belong to 531 villages and towns which spoke distinctive Arabic accents. These villages are scattered geographically from Ras Alnagoura (today’s Rosh HaNikra) on the Palestine-Lebanon borders to Um Alrashrash (today’s Eilat) on the Red Sea. Today, they live in refugee camps of people coming from all these places with various cultural backgrounds and accents, not greatly different from each other.

To further illustrate, refugees in Gaza were expelled from 247 villages in historical Palestine. Let’s take Alnuseirat refugee camp as an example. The 85,000 refugees living here today are the descendants of refugees who were kicked out from dozens of villages surrounding what is known as the Gaza Strip including Majdal, Ber Sabaa, Yibna, Bit Daras, Barqa, Aqer, Mghar, Hirbyia, Breer, Lod, Iraq Swidan villages and the list goes on. Their accent is diverse. Refugees live in almost the same conditions, yet they are still identifiable by their town of origin’s accent. Linguistically speaking, the refugee camp is a small community of people who speak accents one could find all over historical Palestine.

In Alnuseirat refugee camp, the Arabic word “GAL” for “said” is pronounced in four different ways by three different refugee neighbors. It’s “Gal” for many refugees, basically for those who belong to villages; it’s “Gul” for people who belong to Bir Alsabaa and the Negev Desert Area; it’s “Aal” for those who used to reside in cities such as Jaffa and Lod; and it’s “Kal” for refugees from Almajdal.

Occupation has affected the Palestinian society linguistically. This is not limited to the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The same is applicable to Palestinians who live in other countries. Many Palestinians living in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq ended up with new accents, adjusting to their new country of residence.

A Political-Linguistic reality has emerged as a result of the Israeli occupation. The future Palestinian society will be distinctive linguistically. Let’s imagine how a society which lived for decades in other countries will look like, linguistically and culturally. This man-made linguistic reality deserves more research in the context of displacement and occupation.

Study: Israel’s Secret Prisons: Terrorism at Large

Yousef M. Aljamal — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:22:59 +0000

Study: Israel’s Secret Prisons: Terrorism at Large

Translated by Yousef M. Aljamal, CPDS

The successive Israeli occupation governments adopted arbitrary policies after the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967. Prisons and detention centers are used to crush Palestinians spiritually and psychologically. Those prisons were crowded with tens of thousands of Palestinians including children, elders and women. Some estimate the number of Palestinians arrested by Israel since 1967 is around 750,000, including 12,000 women and tens of thousands of children.

Prisons, built first by the British Mandate of Palestine, are used by Israel to crush Palestinians. Moshe Dayan, Israel’s former Minister of Defense wanted to use these prisons to destroy Palestinians and separate them from the rest of the world. Detention centers were equipped with all needed equipments and facilities to achieve this inhumane goal.

Transferring detained people from the occupied territory to the land of the occupying power is illegal under international law. The Israeli occupation is accused of running secret prisons away from the eyes of the world in which certain people are held. The occupation is also accused of conducting medical tests on prisoners.

The execution or the suicide of Ben Zygier, also know as Prisoner X, raised the issue of Arab and Palestinian prisoners in Israel’s secret prisons. For decades, Palestinians and human rights organizations have been talking about Israel’s secret prisons. Some of these prisons belonged to the British Mandate of Palestine and others were later built.

Secret prisoners are considered a violation of international law which asks for certain standards to be met in regard to prisons’ conditions. This requires exposing these prisons and making them face worldwide public opinion, so the international community can understand why they are considered war crimes.

Israel‘s secret prisons

Israel built 28 detention and interrogation centers. In addition, it built secret prisons to serve as “graveyards for the livings” in which all international norms and rules are broken, and all forms of torture are practiced with no attempt whatsoever to follow international law.

Prisoners held in these secret prisons are called “Prisoner X”. Prisoner X is defined as the person who was kidnapped or disappeared from his/her residency area without informing his/her families or human rights organizations of the places they are being held or the charges that they are facing.

Some prisoners released from these secret prisons spoke of brutality and torture. They were held in 2-square-meter cells run by 504 Unit, which is assigned to practice all forms of torture. Israel’s Supreme Court’s decision declined the closure of the 1391 secret prison.

Missing prisoners

“May God let me see my son Majed soon,” these were the words of Ahmed Alzuboun, moments before his death. Ahmed Alzuboun is the father of Majed Alzuboun, who has been missing for 21 years now after he tried to cross the Jordan-Palestine borders. It’s not known whether he is alive or dead.

The death of the Alzuboun, the father, re-opened the cases of the 20 missing Jordanians, whose names are recorded in the National Jordanian Committee to support prisoners and the missing in the occupation jails.

Hundreds of Arab prisoners went missing. They are either imprisoned in Israel’s secret prisons or were shot dead, then buried in Israel’s “Numbers Graveyards”.

Israeli and international media sources revealed four numbers graveyards:

1- Banat Jacob (daughters of Jacob) graveyard next to the Israel-Lebanon-Syria borders. Some estimate the number of people buried there around is 500. Most of them were killed in the 1982 war and afterward.

2- The numbers graveyard which is located in the military zone between Jericho and Damiah bridge. It’s surrounded by a wall that has an iron gate with a banner which reads “Graveyard for the Enemies’ Victims”. 100 graveyards are there which carry numbers from 5003-5107.

3- Refeem Graveyard in the JordanValley.

4- Shiheta Graveyard next to the Sea of Galilee. The people buried there were killed between 1965 and 1975. What is most provocative is that these graves are not dug deeply enough to protect the bodies of the dead from animals looking for something to eat.

According to the above mentioned facts, there is a relation between numbers graveyards and missing prisoners. They might have been killed and their organs have been stolen.

No one can tell the number of these secret prisons. A number of people were kidnapped and Israel claimed it killed them without handing their bodies to their families or providing an evidence of their death. Examples of these are Adel and Imad awadallah (Palestine), Mohammed Atiah, Majed Alzuboun, and Laith Alkilani (Jordan) and Yehia Skaf (Lebanon).

Some freed prisoners mentioned names of these secret prisons such as “Barack”, “Sarafand”, “1901″ and “Itileet”.

Jonthan Cook of the Counterpunch says “Facility 1391, close to the Green Line, the pre-1967 border between Israel and the West Bank, is different. It is not marked on maps, it has been erased from aerial photographs and recently its numbered signpost was removed. Censors have excised all mention of its location from the Israeli media, with the government saying that secrecy is essential to “prevent harm to the country’s security”. According to lawyers, foreign journalists divulging information risk being expelled from Israel. But, despite government attempts to impose a news blackout, information about more than a decade of horrific events at Facility 1391 are beginning to leak out. As a newspaper described it, Facility 1391 is “Israel’s Guantanamo”.

In 2003 interview, Ariel Sharon, Israel’s former Prime Minister said “Israel is committed to release all Jewish captives. I have been handling this profile for the last 50 years. When I was in the paratrooper units, we used to kidnap Jordanian soldiers for future swap deals”. It’s known that Jordan never reached a prisoners swap deal with Israel. The question is, where are these Jordanian prisoners?

In the same year, the debate about the killing of Nachshon Waxman, an Israeli soldier killed as IOF tried to release him from his Hamas captors who wanted to exchange him for Palestinian prisoners. An Israeli officer said in an interview “My unit was assigned to release Waxman. We would have managed to get him the same as we did with Imad and Adel Awadallah”. This means Imad and Adel Awadallah were not killed as Israel claimed.

Torture in secret prisons

Torture varies in Israel’s secret prisons from psychological and physical torture, chaining prisoners and banning them from going to the rest room and tying them to chairs for a long time. Banning prisoners from sleeping and pouring cold water on them, threatening them of rape, stripping them kicking them, and asking them to stand for a long time. Prisoners are told that they are held “on the moon” so that they have no option but to confess.

Military courts

X prisoners are put to trail in military courts where the whereabouts of their trials are kept secret. They are brought to the house of the judge when possible; otherwise, the judge comes to the court himself. The proceedings and hearings are kept secret. An officer writes them down on a laptop that is connected to the court’s network.

1391 secret prison

According to prisoners released from this prison, the 1391 secret prison was built during the British Mandate of Palestine in the center of Palestine. It was used later by Israel as a secret prison. Conditions in this prison are not like any other prison. Prisoners are kept individually in very small cells. The prison is surrounded by watch towers, wires and trees.

The international community needs to take action, otherwise those forgotten prisoners will die and be given new numbers in Israel’s notorious numbers graveyards.

The study was originally published in Arabic by Alzaytouna Center for Studies and Consultations, Lebanon

Prisoners’ Day: Palestine Remembers Loved Ones in Israeli Gulag

Yousef M. Aljamal — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:08:54 +0000

Prisoners’ Day: Palestine Remembers Loved Ones in Israeli Gulag

Translated by Yousef M. Aljamal

The Palestinian people mark Prisoners’ Day on April 17 every year, expressing the continuity of struggle to liberate detainees in the occupation jails. It’s a day of freedom. A day of refusing injustice, chains, and the dominance of occupiers over their life and dignity.

Prisoners’ Day marks the release of Mahmoud Baker, the first Palestinian prisoner held by Israel after 1967, on April 17, 1974 in a swap deal. According to the statistics published by the director of Statistics Department at the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees and former prisoner Abdulnasser Frawna:

1- 4750 Palestinians are detained in the Israeli jails including children, women, sick, handicapped, elders, MPs and former ministers etc. They are held under very tough conditions where they are deprived of their basic rights and they are exposed to various forms of torture and treated inhumanely, all of which constitutes a grievous violation of international conventions and norms.

2- The majority, 83.5%, are residents of the West Bank, 9.2% are residents of the Gaza Strip, the rest are from 1948 Palestine and Jerusalem. They are scattered into 17 jails and detention centers, most importantly Negev, Nafha, Rimon, Jablou, Shatta, Ofer, Askalan, Hadarim, Ishel, Ahli Kidar, Hasharon, Ramla and Majido prisons.

3- 14 Palestinian MPs, two former ministers, dozens of teachers, journalists, political leaders and academics are arrested.

4- 168 Palestinians are held under administrative detention orders without charge or trial.

5- 14 female prisoners are held in the Israeli jails, the oldest is Linah Aljarboni from 1948 lands, who has been detained since 2002 and sentenced to 17 years.

6- The number of child prisoners hit 235, 35 of them are under 16 years old and child arrest has escalated recently.

7- 533 prisoners are sentenced to life once or several times.

8- 1200 prisoners are sick and they suffer various diseases. 170 of them need urgent surgeries. 85 of them suffer various forms of disabilities (physical, psychological, mental and sensory) and 25 prisoners have cancer, one of them, Maysraa Abu Hamdia, passed away on April 2nd 2013 of throat cancer. The remaining prisoners live under the constant fear of dying. This increases their suffering and their health is jeopardised due to the medical negligence of their captors.

9- To date, the number of elderly prisoners who were arrested before singing the Oslo Accords in 1994 is 105. Everyone of them has a story to tell. 77 of them has been in prison for more than 20 years. The 25 prisoners are called “Deans of Prisoners” or “Generals of Patience”. This is a term Palestinians use to describe those who spent more than quarter century in the Israeli jails. Karim Younis from the 1948 lands town of Arara is considered the Dean of Prisoners. He spent more than 30 years in Israeli jails so far.

10- The number of the martyrs of the prisoners’ movement hit 204 after the killing of Arafat Jradat who was tortured in Israel’s jails and the death of Maysraa Abu Hamdia as a result of medical negligence. Since 1967, 71 Palestinians prisoners died because of torture, while 52 others died because of medical negligence, 74 prisoners were intentionally killed directly after arrest, and seven prisoners were killed by Israeli bullets inside Israeli jails.

Israel’s Prison Service implements a policy which violates the rights of prisoners including arrests during night raids, medical negligence, banning family visits, solitary confinement and administrative detention, ignoring all international conventions and human rights.

Read Richard Falk’s article on the prisoners’ diaries which was translated by CPDS on Alahram Weekly here.

Veteran Palestinian Prisoner: Welcome to Death If It’s a Means to Freedom

Yousef M. Aljamal — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:23:55 +0000

Hassan Salama, sentenced to 47 life sentences in the Israeli jails

Translated by Yousef M. Aljamal

Welcome to Death If It’s a Means to Freedom

Death Warns Us: Welcome! What a beautiful freedom!

Brother Abu Tariq. We haven’t lived together. We have not met. But we were close because we share the same life as all prisoners do. A life I talked about when I was in solitary confinement along with a group of other inmates, in the other world that is closer to the world of the isthmus (the line between life and death). By Allah’s support and prisoners’ heroism we moved a little away from this world as prisoners got us out of those graves.

Days before your martyrdom, I found myself using available efforts and capabilities to stand in solidarity with you. That world does not support or remember us except when a soul leaves a prisoner’s body to its creator, so that that world and its people get prepared to receive a closed parcel from our world, in which the body of one of us is put. Pease, send him, put him in a coffin and find him a place to bury him in.

Tuesday, April 2^nd, our parcel contained your pure body. Excuse us my brother. We were unable to do anything for you. We, the same as you, wait eagerly to become parcels so that we might get our freedom. By this, we will relax and make others relax too! By this, we will save energies and efforts and money to liberate those who are going to free us!

On that day, Nafha Prison went on hunger strike in solidarity with you. We were allowed to go to Alfoura for only an hour. We were few in number. I was at one of the corners practicing sport. One of the voices called upon me from inside one of the cells saying:”We received the following news. Brother Abu Tariq, Maysraa AbuHamdia was martyred.” I expected that yet I stood still in surprise. One might say “I fear death”. Who among us does not fear death? I look for death! It’s a welcomed visitor to us, if through it we get our freedom. They said “Our dead O Hassan. What’s the difference? Which is better, the life of humiliation and degradation or death with some remaining dignity?”

We die every day 1000 times as we hear the screams of the sick prisoners and live their pain and suffering. One is suffering cancer, one has low blood sugar level, one is suffering renal failure, one is in need of oxygen and one broke the records on a prolonged hunger strike. These things didn’t push you (the people of the other world) to do anything but it hurt our hearts. We see prisoners screaming and tortured. How difficult to find yourself powerless in front of those (prisoners).

Death which you (the people of the other world) fear prisoners speak about in their world. It’s 1000 times more merciful to them than your silence, powerlessness, and ignorance and more merciful than the enemy’s gloating and mocking.

Abu Tariq felt the pain for months because of cancer. No one hears about him. No one mentions him. Not even a small piece of news or a sentence in a president’s or official’s speech. We live his suffering and feel his torment. As he dies, all compete to get closer to him and to talk about him! So, Abu Tariq gets 1000 friends and thousands of organizations …… I don’t want to harm anyone…. This is the benefit of death. You want us dead the same as the enemy wants us! Abu Tariq, enjoy a freedom you were granted by God. Welcome to death as a means and a way to freedom.

I wonder if a person or an organization come and claim that you are their martyr and consider your death one of their achievements. We will surely know about this when we stand before Allah who makes all feel satisfied.

May Allah bestow mercy upon you Abu Tariq and make the spacious Heaven your dwelling.

Yours,

Prisoners waiting their turn to join you

On their behalf, your brother prisoner Hassan Salama

The Prisoners Diaries

Yousef M. Aljamal — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:22:30 +0000

Compiled by Norma Hashim

Translated By Yousef M. Aljamal and Raed Qadoura

Edited by Joe Catron and Mark Gibson

The Center for Political and Development Studies

A link to the E-book

http://theprisonersdiaries.blogspot.com/

The book cover

This is a compilation of 22 Palestinian prisoners’ experiences in Israeli jails . 1,027 prisoners were released in 2011 as part of the exchange with Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and 22 of them were interviewed by journalists. These accounts were translated into English at the Centre for Political and Development Studies (CPDS) in Gaza, and edited. The diaries are now being finalised for publication.

Book reviews

” This book is so valuable as it combines the witnessing by prisoners with just enough information about the magnitude of the Israeli prison system to give readers a true understanding of this most agonizing dimension of the Palestinian ordeal.”

− Richard Falk, Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University and UN Special Rapporteur for occupied Palestinian Territories

“ I defy you to read these stories and not weep for Jews and Palestinians. Now dry your eyes and work for justice, peace and reconciliation.”

− Stephen Robert Sizer, Anglican vicar of Christ Church, Virginia Water, Surrey, England, writer, peace activist and freelance photographer

“ A humane, beautiful, valuable yet painful book. I ask all people of conscience to read it to learn more about the suffering of the Palestinian detainees in Israeli Occupation prisons.”

− Hana Shalabi, former hunger striker, Hasharon prison, Tel Aviv

Seeking Freedom: Youth Gather at PalMUN

Yousef M. Aljamal — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 23:11:25 +0000

Mohammed Qtifan, the head of PalMUN 2012 addressing the crowd (photo PalMUN 2012)

Hundreds of youngsters gathered today at Rashad Al-Shawa Hall in the center of Gaza city to take part in the Palestine Model United Nations 2012. The national anthem was played as guests stood up in respect; they included Rawya Al-Shawa, a PLC member and the head of the Gaza Association for Culture and Science Development, alongside representatives of various UN agencies in Palestine.

“Gaza wants life. Siege and occupation must come to an end. I hope you benefit from this conference. The Palestinian people are eager for freedom. The Palestinian youth can play an important role in decision-making,” said Rawya Al-Shawa.

“On behalf of myself and the association, I hope this conference will be a message to the UN and International Community that the Palestinian people are looking to the day on which they will live free of occupation. We hope the UN plays its historical role in putting an end to this conflict,” she concluded.

MUN Background

The notion of the conference was first adopted by the Migrating Letters Initiative and the Gaza Association for Culture and Development in an attempt to raise youth voices in Palestine and convey their message to the world. UNDP supported the initiative and hundreds of youths volunteered and worked day and night to make it a reality.

International Presence

Mr. Frode Mauring, Special Representative for the Administrator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory gave a speech in which he stressed the importance of the role of the youth in Palestinian society. “This conference will help us understand the principles of international legitimacy and we will have a better understanding of the challenges and difficulties that UN faces,” he asserted. “UNDP contributes to this by facilitating access to information and empowering marginalized sectors,” he concluded.

“You will be the leaders of your communities in all fields. We need your help to work together to achieve development. The world has to take youth aspirations into consideration. The youth makes us feel proud under such tough conditions of siege,” he added.

PalMUN is headed by Mohammed Qtifan, a Palestinian youth and one of the founders of the ‘Migrating Letters Initiative’. In his speech he thanked all supporters of the conference and asserted the occupation’s culpability in silencing youth voices.

“This conference teaches us that which we refused before based on emotions is refused by us today based on reason. PalMUN tries to win back what brothers, occupations and walls have separated.”

Raise Your Voices!

Qtifan, who wore a black suit and a blue tie, asked youths to raise their voices and articulate their message clearly. “The occupation is trying to silence us. Palestinians are sick of waiting. People want to live in dignity and freedom. People want Jerusalem as a capital of Palestine,” he continued.

250 youths will represent various UN bodies. The vast majority of organizers and participants are also youth. “Despite uncertainty, the youth are capable of taking responsibility.”

“It’s true that we called for unity and got division, called for development, got famine, asked for freedom and got chains, yet you [the youth] will sing freedom songs. The youth of Palestine: raise your hands and never bow down before your occupiers, and those who steal your bread and give you pieces then ask you to thank them,” he said.

No More Gambling

As the Palestinian political arena is busy with statements from all factions, Qtifan addressed the crowd saying, “No more gambling. No more initiatives. Next Sunday, all recommendations and decisions will be between your hands.”

The conference is the first of its kind held in Palestine. As UN agencies hold their annual sessions, the youth in Gaza will discuss and learn more about the world’s countries’ positions towards Palestine. The conference is expected to be tremendously successful.

First appeared on PalestineChronicle.com.