Two Palestinian prisoners being held in administrative
detention (without charges or trial), are nearing death after 63 days of a
hunger strike protesting Israel’s practice of arresting and holding prisoners
without charging them with a crime. Neither they nor their lawyers are
permitted to see the charges or evidence against them, so they cannot answer
the charges and defend themselves.
Bilal Diab was
arrested on 17 August 2011, when Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) came to his
home in the village of Kufr Ra’i, near Jenin, at 12:30 am. The family and a
large group of friends and neighbors were sitting in the front yard, spending
time together late into the night for Ramadan, when approximately 40 masked
men, wearing civilian clothes, surrounded the house and entered the yard by
climbing the walls of the neighbors’ houses. Bilal, along with four others,
were sitting on the roof. After about 10 minutes, Israeli military jeeps
arrived, accompanied by an intelligence officer.
The IOF began to throw sound bombs and shoot teargas into
the yard, and then forced everyone to stand against the wall. Some of Bilal’s
family members and friends were taken to a nearby store, where they were held
until the arrest process was over. The rest of the group was kept in the front
yard. Bilal’s brother, Issam, was thrown violently to the ground. His hands
were shackled behind his back and then two soldiers stepped on his head.
Bilal and four of his friends were questioned for about 15
minutes. His four friends were then released, but Bilal was shackled,
blindfolded and thrown to the ground. He was then dragged across the ground for
250 meters until reaching the military jeep. Bilal was taken to Megiddo prison,
and then transferred to Salem Detention Center for interrogation.
ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION AND HUNGER STRIKE
Bilal was issued an administrative detention order for 6
months on 25 August 2011. As with all other administrative detainees, Bilal’s
detention is based on secret information collected by Israeli authorities and
available to the military judge but not to Bilal or his lawyer. This practice
violates international humanitarian law, which permits some limited use of
administrative detention in emergency situations, but requires that the
authorities follow basic rules for detention, including a fair hearing at which
the detainee can challenge the reasons for his or her detention. These minimum
rules of due process have been clearly violated in Bilal’s case, leaving him
without any legitimate means to defend himself.
Read more….
Thaer Halahleh
was arrested on 26 June 2010 when Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) raided his
home in Kharas village, near Hebron. Approximately 50 Israeli soldiers arrived
to Thaer’s house at 12:30 am. They knocked on the door, but before giving the
family enough time to open it, they broke down the door and went inside. The
soldiers then made all the women and children step outside the house and
searched the house with two dogs. After about 40 minutes, the IOF told Thaer’s
father that they had an order to arrest his son. When his father asked for the
reason, the officer only told him that Thaer was a “threat to the public”. This
vague phrase is frequently used by the Israeli security service when putting a
Palestinian in administrative detention. Thaer was subsequently transferred to
Etzion detention center.
PREVIOUS ARRESTS
Thaer has been consistently targeted for arrest and
administrative detention by Israeli authorities. He has been arrested eight
times and spent six and a half years in administrative detention total. He was
first held in administrative detention in 2000. After many other arrests, he
was arrested again in 2008 and spent one year in administrative detention, only
to be re-arrested the following year and placed back in administrative
detention.
THAER’S FAMILY
Thaer and his wife, Shireen, have a one-year-old daughter,
who was born while he was in prison. His wife was seven months pregnant when he
was arrested. His daughter, Lamar, has only seen her father in visits to
prison, and has been forced to get to know him through photographs.
Thaer’s mother, wife and daughter are the only family
members who have previously had permission to visit him. His father and five
brothers have never received permission. Since the beginning of his hunger
strike, he has received one visit from his mother, wife and daughter and was
then subsequently denied all family visits.
Thaer’s father and brothers have all also been arrested. His
brother Shaher was arrested in 2002 and is currently in Rimon prison, serving a
17-year sentence.
Read
more….
Here is how you can help Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh:
Write to the Israeli government, military and legal
authorities and demand that Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh be released
immediately and that their administrative detentions not be renewed.
Email Brigadier General Danny Efroni Military Judge Advocate
General 6 David Elazar Street Harkiya, Tel Aviv Fax: +972 3 608 0366; +972 3
569 4526
June 11 marks two years since Ziad Jilani was killed by
Israeli border-policeman Maxim Vinogradov in Wadi Joz, Occupied East Jerusalem.
Driving home from Friday prayers as Al Aqsa mosque, Ziad’d windshield was
struck by a rock and he swerved, causing a small accident. Border police shot
at him, chased and killed him after he had already been shot in the back and was
wounded, lying on the ground. He was unarmed. The case against Maxim Vinogradov
and his commander Shadi Heir Al Din was closed for lack of evidence despite an
abundance of irrefutable evidence that Ziad was executed while he was wounded
unarmed and posing no threat to anyone. 
