Israel Agrees to Free Khadar Adnan

Thanks for your support!

It appears that the Israelis have agreed to release Khadar Adnan and that he will end his hunger strike (although ending the hunger strike has not been officially confirmed at this time). Israeli human right organization Addameer has been supporting his case and reports: http://www.addameer.org/etemplate.php?id=444 Because of the settlement, the hearing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon was cancelled (Israel is 9 hours ahead of us in Denver, so as I write, it is 8 pm there.)

Thanks to Carol LaHurd for these updates---

From Haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinian-prisoner-ends-66-day-hunger-strike-after-israel-guarantees-his-release-1.413978

On BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17112804

From the Electronic Intifada: http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/deal-reached-end-khader-adnans-detention-17-april-no-confirmation-hunger-strike?utm_source=EI+readers&utm_campaign=d368898057-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

Addameer posted the following message, in Arabic, on its Facebook page today, 21 February just after 11AM local time in Palestine. It has been translated by The Electronic Intifada:

A lawyer from Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association was able to visit the prisoner Sheikh Khader Adnan (34 years old) and on hunger strike for 66 days in Ziv Hospital in the Upper Galilee city of Safad, on Monday 20 February 2012, to review the latest developments regarding his health status. The lawyer conveyed from Sheikh Khader his intention to proceed with his hunger strike and that he is in high spirits, and that he will not back down until freedom.

The lawyer said that that the prisoner’s health condition has entered a critical stage, especially after medical tests were carried out on him, and that his hemoglobin level declined from 10.9 to 9.9 in a short period.

Today at 3pm the Israeli High Court will hear the petition against the administrative detention order for Sheikh Khader, despite the fact that Khader was prevented from attending the court. A lawyer from Addameer will be present at the court to bring you the latest developments about the hearing and his medical situation.

The prisoner Khader sent his greetings and thanks to all parties, institutions and individuals who have supported his cause and his hunger strike and all who are working toward his victory.

Is not this the fast that I choose: to let the oppressed go free....

Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the third month of a hunger strike by Khader Adnan, who was awakened in the middle of the night by Israeli soldiers, forced out of his home and arrested on December 17. When he was not charged with a crime, Khader Adnan began a hunger strike, protesting Israel's illegal detention of 301 Palestinian prisoners without charges.

Photo shows Randa Jihad Adnan, Khadar's wife, holding a photo of her husband.

I have always seen the Muslim veiling as a sign of the inequality of women in some Muslim communities, that the veil, the hijab, the burqa, are all signs of women's subordinate role. That women deserve more respect and should not be forced to veil themselves, when the men dress as they please.

Looking at this photograph, I am forced to reconsider. Her veil forces me to look into her eyes, to see her passion for justice, her grief for her husband, her dedication to the struggle for hunan rights for her people. Without her veil, I would not have seen into her soul.

Yesterday Randa Jihad Adnan visited her husband in the military hospital, with her two young daughters and her father-in-law, and then she spoke with reporters. They found him "weak and extremely thin, his beard unkempt and his fingernails long. He was shackled by two legs and one arm to his bed, and was connected to a heart monitor. Though mentally alert, he could speak only with difficulty. 'I was shocked,' she said yesterday. 'I couldn't speak for about three minutes, and it was the same for my daughters.'"

Today's story in The Independent (UK) concludes, "Randa Adnan recalled that her husband told one of his lawyers: 'I do not want to go to oblivion or death. But I am a man who defends his freedom. If I die it will be my fate.'"

Read the rest of the story in The Independent (UK)....

Lenten Meditations

Follow my posts through Lent on my blog: A Lenten Geography. I write meditations based on the three lessons for the following Sunday, remembering the people I have met in Israel and Palestine--peacemakers who are working for freedom, justice and a better life for their people.

Ash Wednesday's (February 22) post is already online because it is written about Khadar Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner being held in Israeli prison without charges since December 17. He will likely not be alive on Ash Wednesday.

Bedouin Relocations in the West Bank

B'tSelem, Israeli Human Rights Organization, reports that Israel's Civil Administration is planning to relocate some 27,000 Bedouins living in Area C in the West Bank. At first, some 2,300 people will be expelled from their homes near the Ma'ale Adummim settlement and relocated to a site next to the Abu Dis garbage dump, east of Jerusalem. Members of the Khan al-Ahmar community explain how the move will affect them.

Take three minutes to watch the video

This is a map of the area - it is all in the West Bank - blue areas are Israeli settlements. Brown/tan areas are Palestinian villages and towns. More Swiss cheese, created by the Oslo Accords.

If you have been on a Holy Land Tour, you probably rode the bus down the highway to Jericho and saw the Bedouin camps along the highway. This is the area where they are being forced to move. Israel is doing this to protects the settlements they build on West Bank land, where the Bedouin have been living. Makes me CRAZY!!!