NOVANEWS
Palestinian political prisoners © google images
They meet behind Zionist bars; fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, teachers and students, friends, neighbours, townspeople, relatives, comrades. They unite in their defiance of injustice; men, women, children, elderly…. none of them a stranger to the other, none of them a stranger to us, none of them a stranger to Palestine. They are held captive in dungeons, denied the air of Palestine, denied the sunrise and the sunset, denied the laughter of a family member, denied the tear over a martyred comrade. They sacrificed their freedom willingly, so the children of Palestine may enjoy a life free of occupation and oppression.
They are buried alive in grave-like cells, so the future generations of Palestine may enjoy the sunrise over the mountains of Jerusalem and Safad, the fresh breeze over the meadows of Jenin and Bisan, the wind playing with the waters of Gaza and Acca. But, it is not they who are captive, for they have chosen to fight for freedom… it is us, who walk this land shackled by a brutal occupation. It is not they who are the living dead, for they live in dignity that defies the jailor… it is us, who walk in life content with less than full liberation and justice. It is not they who lost years in vain behind bars, for they teach generation to come the meaning of sacrifice and steadfastness… it is us, who waste our lives in pursuit of a false freedom and a false statehood. It is not they who are deprived of Palestine, for they have chosen to be one with Palestine… it is us, who betray Palestine when we go on with our lives while 6500 Palestinians are held captive. It is not they who are unknown, for Palestine knows her devoted children, every town, village and refugee camp in Palestine knows them, every house in Palestine knows them, every child in Palestine knows them…. It is us, who have yet to earn the honour to have our names recorded with those of the heroes of Palestine.
They are the lovers of freedom, the defeaters of oppression, the heroes of Palestine. They struggle every minute, every hour, every day. They are steadfast in the face of Zionist inhumanity and world betrayal. They fight for our freedom every day, and in return we remember them only on the 17th of April. Palestinians Prisoners’ Day should be every day. They should be remembered every minute of the day, for they fight for us every minute of the day… their families suffer every minute of the day… they suffer for us every minute of the day. We will only be free when ALL Palestinian political prisoners are free… for they have chosen Palestine and they have chosen to sacrifice their freedom for the freedom of all of us.
Palestinian political prisoners © google images
According to various statistics and report, since 1967, the Zionist entity held 850,000 Palestinians captive, including 15,000 women and tens of thousands of children. Since 2000, more than 85,000 Palestinians were held captive by the Zionist entity, including more than 10,000 children and 1200 women, 65 MPs and former PA ministers and 24,000 administrative detainees. Administrative detention is detention without charge or trial, issued by Israeli occupation commanders, and is usually between one and six months, often renewed for several times, in many cases for more than 10 times. The Palestinian Detainees Committee reports that there are currently 6500 Palestinians held captive in 22 Israeli jails, detention and interrogation centres, including 25 women (among them 4 minors), 205 children, 480 administrative detainees, 20 journalists, 13 MPs and 1 former minister. Imprisoned MPs are: Ahmad Saadat, Khaleda Jarrar, Marwan Barghouthi, Abdel Jabar Fuqha, Hasan Yousif, Mohammad Natsheh, Mohammad Bader, Aziz Dweik, Azzam Salhab, Nayef Rjoub, Husni Bourini, Mohammad Abu Ter, Riyad Haddad. Among the prisoners, 480 are sentenced to at least one life term, the highest being that of Abdallah Barghouthi with 67 life sentences and 5200 years. The Committee reported a noted increase in the abduction of Palestinian children in the last four years, whereby 3755 children were kidnapped by Israeli occupation forces (IOF), including 1266 kidnapped in 2014. During the first quarter of 2015, 1059 Palestinians were kidnapped by Israeli occupation forces: 397 from Jerusalem, 304 from Hebron, 195 from Ramallah, 130 from Nablus, 91 from Jenin, 81 from Bethlehem, 43 from Qalqilya, 38 from Tulkarim, 12 from Salfit, 6 from Jericho, 3 from Tubas and 54 from the Gaza Strip. Additionally, more than 200 children were kidnapped by the IOF. It is worth mentioning that 85 Palestinians freed in the prisoner swap deal between Hamas and the Zionist entity in 2011, were kidnapped again, 63 of whom are still detained, and Israeli occupation military courts returned the sentences for 38 of them:
– Jerusalem: Ala’ Bazian, Naser Abed Rabbo, Rajab Tahhan, Ibrahim Mish’al, Jamal Abu Saleh, Adnan Maraghah, Ismail Hijazi, Salman Abu Eid from Biddo.
– Ramallah: Nidal Zalloum, Bushra Tawel, Ibrahim Shalash, Rabee’ Barghouthi from Kobar, Khalid Gethan, Ibrahim Masri from Shuqba.
– Nablus: Hamzah Abu Arqoub, Taha Shakhsher, Ahmad Hamad from tel, Zahir Khatatbah, Nidal Abdel Haq.
– Hebron: Mahmoud Sweiti, Ismail Masalmeh, Abbas Shabaneh, Ma’ath Rmouz, Hamid Awawdeh.
– Jenin: Waheeb Abu Ar-Rub and Mohammad Haj Salah from Qabatya, Imad Musa, Samir Mahroum, Mu’ammar Ghawadrah, Abdel Rahman Salah.
– Tulkarim: Ashraf Wawi, Mo’ayyad Jallad, Abdel Min’im Tu’mah, Majdi Ajouli, Ayed Khalil from Qiffen, Mohammad Barakat from Anabta, Amer Miqbil.
– Imad Abdel Rahim from Salfit.
Palestinian prisoners are subjected to torture, abuse and medical negligence in Israeli jails. Statistics show that 100% of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees were subjected to at least one form of torture, mainly physical, abuse, humiliation and denial of their basic rights. 95% of Palestinian children held captive by the Zionist entity said they were subjected to torture, abuse and mistreatment. Since 1967, 206 Palestinian political prisoners were killed by the IOF, including 71 due to torture, 54 due to medical negligence, 74 executed by IOF after arrest, 7 shot dead by IOF and Israeli prison guards. Additionally, tens of Palestinians died shortly after their release of severe ailments they suffered during their captivity, including 22 year-old martyr Ja’far ‘Awad, who died on 10.04.2015. Palestinian prisoner rights organizations and sites report that more than 1500 Palestinian prisoners suffer from various ailments and diseases, mostly due to torture, abuse, bad conditions within the over-crowded and damp cells, and are subjected to a systematic medical negligence by the Israeli Prison Authority. 160 of these prisoners suffer from chronic diseases, with 80 of them suffering from chronic diseases and currently being in a critical condition, 25 suffer from cancer, and tens are physically and psychological disabilities. Also, 17 Palestinian prisoners are semi-permanently held captive in the so-called “Ramleh Prison Clinic”: 1) Shadi Daraghmeh, 2) Iyad Ridwan, 3) Mansour Muqadeh, 46 years old, 4) Riyad Imour, 5) Mutaz Ibeido 34 years old, 6) Salah Titi, 23 years old, 7) Yousif Nawaj’ah, 48 years old, 8) Nahidh Alaqra’, 43 years old, 9) Daoud Abu Hayyeh, 10) Kifah Hattab, 11) Ashraf Abu Alhuda, 35 years old, 12) Amir Ash-Shammas, 13) Fouad Shobaki, 14) Tha’er Halahleh, 15) Ami As’ad, 16) Mo’tasim Raddad 32 years old, 17) Khalid Shawish, 40 years old.
Palestinian political prisoners © google images
Among the over 6500 Palestinian prisoners/detainees, there is a group, which grows with every passing month, of very courageous and patient prisoners. These prisoners, called the “Deans of Prisoners”, have been locked up inside Zionist dungeons for over 20 years! These prisoners continue to be held captive despite signed agreements with the Zionist entity to release them. According to “Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum” signed on 04.09.1999, all Palestinian prisoners/detainees arrested by Israel prior to 04.05.1994 should be released. Nevertheless, again confirming the futility of negotiations with the Zionist entity, Israel refused to abide with the agreement, and postponed their release time after time, then released a number in three groups, to gain more concessions from the PA. 30 prisoners detained prior to 1994 still remain captive in Zionist jails, including 14 from Palestinian areas occupied in 1948, 9 from West Bank, 5 from Jerusalem (4 carry West Bank IDs), 2 from the Gaza Strip.
Among the 30 prisoners, 16 have spent over 25 years in Israeli captivity. These are truly the “Generals of Patience” and they endure this long and harsh captivity because the love of Palestine is strong in their heart and because the belief in the justice of their cause is as strong as the first day of imprisonment. The Zionist torture couldn’t break them and the Zionist dungeons couldn’t break them. I collected as much information as I could find on every prisoner. It is disappointing that there is very little information on some of the prisoners. Note: According to Palestinian prisoner sites, and unless otherwise indicated, a life sentence = 99 years.
1. Karim Yousif Fadel Younis, 56 years old, from ‘Ara/’Ar’ara. Held captive in Zionist dungeons since 06.01.1983 (32 years, 3 months, 11 days – total days: 11,789)
Palestinian political prisoner Karim Younis © google images
Karim was born on 24.12.1958 in ‘Ara/’Ar’ara and has 3 brothers and 2 sisters. He finished high school, and enrolled in Bir As-Sabi’ university at the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. During his 3rd year at the university, Karim was kidnapped to an interrogation cell, and was accused of resisting the Israeli occupation. After 27 court sessions, he was charged with membership in Fateh, possession of weapons and killing a Zionist occupation soldier, and sentenced by the Lyd occupation military court to be hanged. This verdict was later reduced to one life sentence. During his imprisonment, Karim enrolled in the Open University at the Dept. of Political Science and International Relations.
He also wrote an article in the 1990s on the Oslo Accords, refusing this agreement and stating that it will lead to nothing. At the time, some of his comrades in jail disagreed with him and he decided not to publish the article. Additionally, he published a book titled “The Other Reality of Israeli Parties” in which he exposed all Israeli political parties. Currently, Karim is considered the longest serving political prisoner in the world. He is also considered amongst the prominent leaders of the prisoner movement and its symbols, as he fought a battle with the Israeli prison administration against separating Palestinian political prisoners from Palestinian areas occupied in 1948 from those from areas occupied in 1967. Karim represented the prisoners many times and participated in all prisoner protest actions and hunger strikes, and was several times punished with solitary confinement.
Karim lost his father two years ago, and the Israeli prison administration denied him the chance to say farewell to him. His mother Subhiyeh Younis participated in all prisoner-related activity until she became too ill and too weak to participate. In an interview she talked about her relationship with her son: “…A relationship of never ending longing and nostalgia for a meeting I hope will happen soon.” On his detention she recalls: “On the night of 05.01.1983, after 2 am, we heard violent knocking on the door. My husband opened the door and I was standing behind it; soldiers pushed me inside and asked for Karim. We said he is at the university in Bir As-Sabi’.
After searching the house, they didn’t find him and left. That very same night they kidnapped Sami, and the next day they kidnapped Karim from the university, and kidnapped Maher and accused the three of killing an Israeli soldier …. We found a lawyer who asked for very high expenses, and after 27 court sessions over a year, Karim and Maher were sentenced to be hanged. This verdict was meant to destroy us emotionally and psychologically, and when they brought them for us to see them, they were dressed in red clothes and their hands and legs cuffed. We hired another layer and the ruling was changed to life sentence. Subhiyeh considers herself imprisoned like her son, and says that the worst thing for parents is seeing their children behind glass and not being able to touch them. She used to visit him every two weeks, and had to travel from 4 am to see him, and endured the suffering and degradation from the Israeli occupation soldiers and jailors as long as she gets to him. She remembers how during these visits, when her eyes would tear, he would get annoyed and threaten to cut the visit, and would ask:
“Did I annoy you? Don’t you consider me a hero? Aren’t you supposed to be proud of me instead of crying for me? Aren’t you the one who believes that prison is for men, did you change your mind now?” She recalls how much he loves Maqloubeh and Mlukhiyyeh dishes and that whenever the family is gathered, they are always sad because he is missing. She adds that the conditions of Palestinian prisoners get worse by the day, for example, family members aren’t allowed anymore to bring their children certain food items during visits such as olive oil, olives, rice, clothes of all types, tea, coffee and stuffed vine leaves. So the prisoners are forced to buy their own food and water and other necessities, such as soap and cigarettes, for extremely high prices from the prison canteen (a sort of prison shop) which means a canteen allowance for every prisoner of at least 1300 Shekels every month.
Subhiyeh says that even the chair she sits in is bored with waiting for Karim; “I miss my son in a way I cannot describe, I long to hold him and hug him, and I fear most to collapse the minute I meet him, and that my legs will not hold me and I lose my balance and faint.” She never stops hoping that he will return home: “I imagine that he will be released, and I am sitting in this very chair, and the door opens without anyone knocking, Karim enters opening the door widely to hurry and hug me, I scream out of happiness until I almost faint.” She recalls: “Often I asked him: do you remember the way to our house? He would laugh and say: how could I miss the house, and it is very easy? It’s on the main road, opposite the bus station.”
2. Maher Abdel Latif Abdel Qadir Younis, 57 years old, from ‘Ara/’Ar’ara. Held captive in Zionist dungeons since 18.01.1983 (32 years, 2 months, 30 days – total days: 11,777)
Palestinian political prisoner Maher Younis © google images
Maher was born on 09.01.1958 in ‘Ara/’Ar’ara, and has 1 brother and 6 sisters. After finishing primary school, Maher attended the agricultural school in Khadera. He was kidnapped by Israeli occupation soldiers and was accused of membership in Fateh, possession of weapons and killing an Israeli occupation soldier. After 27 court sessions, the Lyd occupation military court sentenced him to be hanged, but the verdict was reduced to a life sentence. During his captivity, he enrolled in the Open University to study linguistics, but was unable to get a degree, as he missed the last four courses because the Israeli prison administration refused to let him continue his education.
Maher’s mother is active in activities in solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners, and she represents the parents of political prisoners from Palestinian areas occupied in 1948, and is their spokesperson. Maher wasn’t allowed to see his father for 6 months, and when his father was on his deathbed, Maher applied to the Israeli prison authority for a special permit to visit him, but it was refused and his father died without Maher having the chance to say goodbye. This had great effect on Maher, and during the following Ramadan he asked his mother for money so he can make dinner for the prisoners in his father’s memory.
3. Mohammad Ahmad Abdel Hamid Al-Tous, 60 years old (1955), from Hebron. Held captive in Zionist dungeons since 06.10.1985 (29 years, 6 months, 11 days – total days: 10,785)
Palestinian political prisoner Ahmad At-Tous © google images
Mohammad was born in 1955 in Hebron, and is father to 3 children. Israeli occupation forces kidnapped him on 06.10.1985 and he was tortured and isolated several times. He was member of a Palestinian resistance group that worked in occupied Palestine. In 1985, Israeli warplanes bombed several group members while on their way to Syria. Only Mohammad survived and another two members, Ziad and Mustafa Ighnemat, who stayed behind in Sourif, were detained.
The three received life sentences. When Mohammad was kidnapped, his son Shadi was 3 years old, his daughter Fida’ was two years, and his wife was pregnant with his son Thaer. Mohammad’s wife Amnah, who used to participate in all solidarity activities with Palestinian political prisoners, died on 02.01.2015, after being in a coma for one and half years. She had suffered a stroke and fell in come after being told that Israel refused to include her husband in the list of those to be released within the prisoner exchange deal. His son Shadi says: “We await and prepare ourselves to welcome father who has been away from us for so long, and left us young to come back now and see us and see our children.” Mohammad’s children grew up and got married while he was locked up in a zionist dungeon. He now has 6 grandchildren whom he only saw in pictures.
4. Ibrahim Nayef Hamdan Abu Mukh, 54 years old, from Baqa Al-Gharbiyyeh. Held captive in Zionist dungeons since 24.03.1986 (29 years, 24 days – total days: 10,616)
Palestinian political prisoner Ibrahim Abu Mukh © google images
Ibrahim was born on 26.02.1960 in Baqa Al-Gharbiyyeh, has one sister and lost both his parents when he and his sister were children. They lived a life of poverty and deprivation, but Ibrahim had a strong character and will to face life. He concluded the primary school, but poverty prevented him from finishing his school education, and was forced to join the labor market in order to try and make money to finish his secondary and university education. Ibrahim loved reading and was known to always carry a book.
He was well educated politically and believed in armed resistance as the road to defeat occupation. On 24.03.1986, he was kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces, and after interrogation, he was charged with membership in the PFLP, the possession of weapons and explosives and carrying out resistance actions in Palestinian areas occupied in 1948. The Lyd occupation military court sentenced him to life imprisonment, and since then he has been transferred from one Israeli occupation jail to another. During his captivity, Ibrahim enrolled in the Open University at the Dept. of Political and Social Science. It is worth mentioning that before his captivity, Ibrahim was engaged, but after he was sentenced, he broke the engagement in order not to be unfair to his fiancée who will have otherwise to wait long for him. Despite being in jail, Ibrahim dreams of the day he is free, and with the help of his friends, his sister and her family, he is building a house for himself near his parents’ house.
5. Rushdi Hamdan Mohammad Abu Mukh, 54 years old, from Baqa Al-Ghabriyyeh. Held captive in Zionist dungeons since 24.03.1986 (29 years, 24 days – total days: 10,616)
Palestinian political prisoner Rushdi Abu Mukh © google images
Rushdi was born on 20.04.1960 in Baqa Al-Gharbiyyeh, and has 4 brothers and 3 sisters. He concluded his school education, after which he worked in a workshop owned by his brothers in manufacturing iron doors and windows. He was kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces on 24.03.1986 and charged with membership in the PFLP, possession of weapons and explosives and conducting resistance actions in Palestinian areas occupied in 1948. The Lyd occupation military court sentenced him to life imprisonment. Before his captivity, Rushdi was engaged, but after he was sentenced, he broke the engagement in order not to be unfair to his fiancée who will have otherwise to wait long for him. He has been since transferred to several occupation jails, and he suffers from diabetes.
6. Walid Nimer As’ad Duqqa, 54 years old, from Baqa Al-Ghabriyyeh. Held captive in Zionist dungeons since 25.03.1986 (29 years, 23 days – total days: 10,615)
Palestinian political prisoner Walid Duqqa © google images
Walid was born on 01.01.1961 in Baqa Al-Gharbiyyeh, and has 6 brothers and 3 sisters. He concluded his school education, and worked in a petrol station until he was kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces. The Lyd occupation military court charged Walid with membership in the PFLP, possession of weapons and explosives and conducting actions in Palestinian areas occupied in 1948, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. During his captivity, Walid enrolled in Open University at the Dept. of Political Science and received his first and second university degrees. His mother hangs his degrees on wall in her sitting room. Walid lost his father while in captivity, and the Israeli prison authority refused to let him say farewell to him. Before his captivity,
Walid was engaged, but after he was sentenced, he broke the engagement in order not to be unfair to his fiancée who will have otherwise to wait long for him. During imprisonment, Sana’ Salameh, an activist for prisoner rights from At-Tireh, proposed to Walid and he accepted. He is considered as one the first to initiate the concept of resistance within prisons to gain prisoner rights. This is to be achieved through continuous protests and struggle within the prisons, combined with the support of people outside the prisons, raising awareness on prisoner issues to international public, and keeping it a case of struggle so as to win rights for prisoners, such as being treated as prisoners of war, with all the rights connected to it, including a determined sentence.
Walid, a courageous and tireless fighter for the rights of political prisoners, wrote to his mother on the day he entered his 20th year in captivity: “I admit now, and in my 20th year in jail, that I still don’t feel the hate or roughness or crudeness that life in jail imposes… I admit that I still get happy like a child for the simplest things, and I am filled with happiness when I hear a word of encouragement or a word of flattery or a kind word… I admit that my heart beats for a flower I see on the TV screen or a natural scene or the scene of the sea… I admit that I am happy despite everything and miss nothing of life’s pleasures except two scenes: children and work.”
7. Ibrahim Abdel Raziq Ahmad Bayadsa, 54 years old, from Baqa Al-Gharbiyyeh. Held captive in Zionist dungeons since 26.03.1986 (29 years, 22 days – total days: 10,614)
Palestinian political prisoner Ibrahim Bayadsa © google images
Ibrahim was born on 07.03.1960 in Baqa Al-Gharbiyyeh, and has 6 siblings. Due to financial difficulties, he was not able to finish his university education, so he worked in a factory in an effort to save money to go back to university. He was kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces on 26.03.1986 and was charged with membership in the PFLP, possession of weapons and explosives and carrying out resistance actions in Palestinian areas occupied in 1948, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
During his captivity, Ibrahim was transferred to several jails, as he actively participates in protest actions. He taught a number of detainees Arabic and Hebrew, and enrolled in the Open University at the Law Dept. His mother Hajja Aisha, who is over 80 years old, is active in the solidarity movement for political prisoners and participates in most activities in support of Palestinian political prisoners. She is considered a mother for all Palestinian political prisoners and they all know her and wait for her visit. Additionally, his brother Abu Walid is member of the support group for political prisoners and their families. On the day he entered his 25th year in captivity, his mother said. “I cannot describe how I feel on this day after I saw all this gathering that still bears on its shoulders the issue of the prisoners from the Palestinian areas occupied in 1948, and make it a global issue to be remembered and passed on by generations…
There is no place for sadness and sorrow in me now, because I know that Ibrahim is not alone in his cell, and I am well aware that he traveled all over the world with his and his brothers’ just cause.” She continued: “When I last visited him, he was in good health and had high spirits, was proud and standing tall because his cause is a just cause and a national cause that everyone is proud of… What pains me most is that I can never shake his hand or kiss him… the Israel prison authority tightened the noose on the Palestinian political prisoners and prevents them from meeting their families except from behind a glass window and to talk with them through a speakerphone.” She also recalled how Ibrahim always told her to bring Palestinian dishes on her visits, such as Khubezeh and spinach, as these remind him of the taste of freedom, but the Israeli jailors killed his joy the day they prohibited the delivery of any home-made food to the prisoners.
8. Ahmad Ali Hussein Abu Jaber, 56 years old, from Kufr Qasem. Held captive in Zionist dungeons since 08.07.1986 (28 years, 9 months, 9 days – total days: 10,510)
Palestinian political prisoner Ahmad Abu Jaber © google images
Ahmad was born on 01.01.1059 in Bir As-Sabi’. His father died before his birth, and when he was young, he moved with his family to Kufr Qasem. Ahmad finished the primary school and worked in manufacturing aluminum doors and windows. He was kidnapped on 08.07.1986, and on 22.07.1096 charged by the Nablus Israeli military court with membership in Fateh, and killi
