16 nov 2018
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The Palestinian prisoner Nael al-Barghouti has spent 39 years in Israeli jails to be the longest-serving political detainee in history.
A living Palestinian hero who conquers the Israeli arrogance, al-Barghouti has spent the larger part of his life in Israeli jails dreaming of freedom for himself and for his country. He is 61 years old, yet he only spent 22 years outside Israeli jails. Al-Barghouti was born on 24 October 1957 in Kobar village in Ramallah. He was arrested for the first time in April 1978 when he was a high school student. About 12 days later, the Israeli occupation authorities arrested his older brother Omar and his cousin Fakhri, and sentenced the three of them to life imprisonment for allegedly killing an Israeli soldier in Ramallah, burning |
an oil factory in the 1948 occupied territories, and blowing up a café in Occupied Jerusalem.
Al-Barghouti spent 33 consecutive years in Israeli jails, during which both his father and mother died, before he was released on 18 October 2011 in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner swap deal. He was among 1047 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Before he could enjoy his freedom, al-Barghouti was re-arrested on 18 August 2014 to serve the same sentence he received in the past.
During the short period he had outside Israeli jails, despite the restrictions imposed on him as he was unable to leave the Ramallah area, al-Barghouti got married and joined university to study History.
Al-Barghouti, based on Guinness World Records, is the longest-serving political prisoner ever. He is known as a wise and intellectual man who is able to invent smart jokes even during the darkest of times.
Al-Barghouti spent 33 consecutive years in Israeli jails, during which both his father and mother died, before he was released on 18 October 2011 in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner swap deal. He was among 1047 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Before he could enjoy his freedom, al-Barghouti was re-arrested on 18 August 2014 to serve the same sentence he received in the past.
During the short period he had outside Israeli jails, despite the restrictions imposed on him as he was unable to leave the Ramallah area, al-Barghouti got married and joined university to study History.
Al-Barghouti, based on Guinness World Records, is the longest-serving political prisoner ever. He is known as a wise and intellectual man who is able to invent smart jokes even during the darkest of times.
30 oct 2018
Palestinian prisoner Yaacoob Kilani was released on Monday from Israeli occupation jails, where he had been locked up for a total of 16 years.
Kilani was released four years after he was re-arrested by the Israeli occupation forces. He was warmly welcomed by his family and friends.
For the first time in four years, Kilani has been able to hold his child in his arms. The latter was just four-months-old when his father was re-arrested.
Kilani was kidnapped by the occupation forces in October 2014, along with dozens of ex-prisoners who had been released in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner swap deal.
The occupation authorities sentenced Kilani to 18 years in jail over his involvement with al-Qassam resistance brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. He had served 12 years in prison, before he was released as part of the swap deal. He was re-arrested in 2014 and incarcerated for another four years.
Kilani was released four years after he was re-arrested by the Israeli occupation forces. He was warmly welcomed by his family and friends.
For the first time in four years, Kilani has been able to hold his child in his arms. The latter was just four-months-old when his father was re-arrested.
Kilani was kidnapped by the occupation forces in October 2014, along with dozens of ex-prisoners who had been released in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner swap deal.
The occupation authorities sentenced Kilani to 18 years in jail over his involvement with al-Qassam resistance brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. He had served 12 years in prison, before he was released as part of the swap deal. He was re-arrested in 2014 and incarcerated for another four years.
17 oct 2018
A social media campaign titled 'brother we didn’t forget you,' marks four years to Israeli citizen Avera Mengistu's disappearance; 'Behave like a human being and release my brother,' says Ilan Mengistu to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
A social media campaign titled "brother we didn’t forget you," which marks 1,500 days since Israeli citizen Avera Mengistu willingly entered Gaza and since then believed to be held captive by Hamas was launched Tuesday, accompanied by a support rally in Jerusalem.
“1,500 days, who would have thought it would come to this?” Mengistu’s brother Ilan wrote in a letter to Ynet.
“What did you do in the past 1,500 days? Did you start high school? Finish your exams? Enlist in the IDF? Traveled the world? Met someone, got married and sent your child to kindergarten for the first time? Did you graduate from university? There is so much that you can do in 1,500 days,” Ilan bemoaned.
“1,500 since my brother went missing—a young citizen, who despite his mental illness, still has his whole life ahead of him,” he exclaimed.
Ilan urged the government and the international community to intervene in the situation and rescue his brother.
“My brother has been held captive by Hamas for the past 1,500 days, without a sign of life, without treatment, without hope for our family. With a broken heart, we are demanding that the government and the international community do everything in their power to bring Avera back home so that the tragic count of missing days can come to an end,” he stressed.
Last month, the family members of Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed—the second Israeli citizen held in captivity in Gaza--called on Hamas to release their loved ones, insisting that they suffer from mental health problems.
Muslims and Jews of Ethiopian descent held a joint prayer service calling for the release of the their two community members in Amharic, Arabic and Hebrew.
The families have launched an international campaign demanding that the treatment of prisoners with special needs not be affected by political considerations. Relatives of the captive citizens delivered a speech, with large posters bearing the captives' faces, along with the caption "#SpecialNeedsCaptives."
During the joint prayer service, Ilan recalled horrors his family has experienced over the past four years since his younger brother crossed the border.
"He went through a difficult mental crisis after the premature death of our brother, Michael. He went through psychiatric evaluation and spent time in psychiatric hospitals,” Ilan told the crowd.
“Unfortunately, he was discharged before receiving appropriate medical care. Avera crossed the border into Gaza as a helpless and mentally ill man,” he added.
“Hamas, instead of immediately releasing him as is required by the international law, is holding onto him as a political card for political negotiations with Israel,” he asserted, reiterating that “a man with special needs is being held in captivity. How cruel.”
Ilan then addressed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. “Behave like a human being and take into consideration my brother's state of mind of and the suffering of my family. Release Avera and Hisham today,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, no progress has been made in bringing Mengistu and al-Sayed back home.
Furthermore, no signs of breakthrough are noted regarding the retrieval of the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul also held captive by Hamas.
In recent weeks, the situation in Gaza have only worsend, and in the last couple of days, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman repeatedly threatened Hamas. "We have reached a point where we have to strike 'the biggest blow' on Hamas", he said.
Last year, Mengistu's family addressed the UN at its headquarters in New York, calling for international pressure to be exerted on the terror group to release Avera.
According to the family, the government did not do enough to bring Avera back, and talks with the coordinator for Israeli MIAs and POWs, Yaron Bloom, have produced nothing. Bloom did not respond to these claims at the time.
A social media campaign titled "brother we didn’t forget you," which marks 1,500 days since Israeli citizen Avera Mengistu willingly entered Gaza and since then believed to be held captive by Hamas was launched Tuesday, accompanied by a support rally in Jerusalem.
“1,500 days, who would have thought it would come to this?” Mengistu’s brother Ilan wrote in a letter to Ynet.
“What did you do in the past 1,500 days? Did you start high school? Finish your exams? Enlist in the IDF? Traveled the world? Met someone, got married and sent your child to kindergarten for the first time? Did you graduate from university? There is so much that you can do in 1,500 days,” Ilan bemoaned.
“1,500 since my brother went missing—a young citizen, who despite his mental illness, still has his whole life ahead of him,” he exclaimed.
Ilan urged the government and the international community to intervene in the situation and rescue his brother.
“My brother has been held captive by Hamas for the past 1,500 days, without a sign of life, without treatment, without hope for our family. With a broken heart, we are demanding that the government and the international community do everything in their power to bring Avera back home so that the tragic count of missing days can come to an end,” he stressed.
Last month, the family members of Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed—the second Israeli citizen held in captivity in Gaza--called on Hamas to release their loved ones, insisting that they suffer from mental health problems.
Muslims and Jews of Ethiopian descent held a joint prayer service calling for the release of the their two community members in Amharic, Arabic and Hebrew.
The families have launched an international campaign demanding that the treatment of prisoners with special needs not be affected by political considerations. Relatives of the captive citizens delivered a speech, with large posters bearing the captives' faces, along with the caption "#SpecialNeedsCaptives."
During the joint prayer service, Ilan recalled horrors his family has experienced over the past four years since his younger brother crossed the border.
"He went through a difficult mental crisis after the premature death of our brother, Michael. He went through psychiatric evaluation and spent time in psychiatric hospitals,” Ilan told the crowd.
“Unfortunately, he was discharged before receiving appropriate medical care. Avera crossed the border into Gaza as a helpless and mentally ill man,” he added.
“Hamas, instead of immediately releasing him as is required by the international law, is holding onto him as a political card for political negotiations with Israel,” he asserted, reiterating that “a man with special needs is being held in captivity. How cruel.”
Ilan then addressed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. “Behave like a human being and take into consideration my brother's state of mind of and the suffering of my family. Release Avera and Hisham today,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, no progress has been made in bringing Mengistu and al-Sayed back home.
Furthermore, no signs of breakthrough are noted regarding the retrieval of the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul also held captive by Hamas.
In recent weeks, the situation in Gaza have only worsend, and in the last couple of days, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman repeatedly threatened Hamas. "We have reached a point where we have to strike 'the biggest blow' on Hamas", he said.
Last year, Mengistu's family addressed the UN at its headquarters in New York, calling for international pressure to be exerted on the terror group to release Avera.
According to the family, the government did not do enough to bring Avera back, and talks with the coordinator for Israeli MIAs and POWs, Yaron Bloom, have produced nothing. Bloom did not respond to these claims at the time.
Israeli soldiers abducted, Wednesday, a Palestinian former political prisoner from the town of al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.
Ahmad Salah, the coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Annexation Wall and Colonies in al-Khader, said the soldiers abducted Rezeq Ali Khader Salah, 54, while working on his land, west of the town.
He added that Salah is a former political prisoner, who was held by Israeli for 21 years, and was released under the Shalit Swap Deal, in 2012.
Ahmad Salah, the coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Annexation Wall and Colonies in al-Khader, said the soldiers abducted Rezeq Ali Khader Salah, 54, while working on his land, west of the town.
He added that Salah is a former political prisoner, who was held by Israeli for 21 years, and was released under the Shalit Swap Deal, in 2012.
5 oct 2018
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that Germany is "making efforts" to advance an Israel-Gaza deal, though she said she did not wish to elaborate on those efforts.
According to Haaretz newspaper, Merkel, who is on a snap visit to Israel, spoke shortly after visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum on Thursday.
Later on the same day, Merkel received an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa at a special ceremony at the Israel Museum, where she met with students.
After a student asked Merkel if Germany would support a settlement between Israel and Hamas which would include the Israeli captives in Gaza, she replied: "When [Gilad] Shalit was imprisoned we made many efforts. Now we are making efforts but I would rather not elaborate."
Merkel in Israel to promote tight ties, as differences loom
According to Haaretz newspaper, Merkel, who is on a snap visit to Israel, spoke shortly after visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum on Thursday.
Later on the same day, Merkel received an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa at a special ceremony at the Israel Museum, where she met with students.
After a student asked Merkel if Germany would support a settlement between Israel and Hamas which would include the Israeli captives in Gaza, she replied: "When [Gilad] Shalit was imprisoned we made many efforts. Now we are making efforts but I would rather not elaborate."
Merkel in Israel to promote tight ties, as differences loom
1 oct 2018
Hamas-affiliated Lebanese newspaper says Norway is mediating a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel that may see the return of remains of IDF soldiers Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul and Israeli citizens Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed in exchange for release of Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.
Norway is taking part in promoting the prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel that may see the return of IDF soldiers Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, who were killed during Operation Protective Edge, and Israeli citizens Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel, a Hamas-affiliated Lebanese newspaper reported on Saturday.
It was also said a Norwegian envoy had visited the Gaza Strip last month and that Hamas welcomes Norway's involvement in the deal.
Meanwhile, a delegation of senior Hamas officials from the Gaza Strip and from abroad arrived in Cairo to hold discussions with the Egyptian intelligence head, as part of Egypt's efforts to salvage the intra-Palestinian reconciliation talks as well as promote the ceasefire negotiations with Israel.
The Gaza delegation was headed by Hamas leader deputies Khalil al-Hayya and Saleh al-Arouri. Most recent meeting between Hamas and the Egyptian intelligence was held a week ago in Gaza with the attendance of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Western sources privy to the details of the discussions held between the Egyptian intelligence officials and Hamas told Ynet that Cairo has acceded to the request of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to freeze the reconciliation talks that almost led to an intra-Palestinian agreement at the end of August.
Abbas warned at the time that any agreement signed without his consent would lead to the deepening of sanctions on the Gaza Strip and would include the Palestinian Authority halting its monthly aid package of $100 million to the strip.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat), Major General Kamil Abu Rokon, met Saturday with UN Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ursula Mueller, in New York.
The meeting dealt with assistance to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and the problem of Israeli POWs and MIAs. Abu Rokon later met with another senior official to discuss projects related to the civilian population in Gaza.
Mueller said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will base its reports on facts and while operating out of a positive and productive approach in order to assist the civilian population in Gaza.
Abu Rokon stressed that retrieving the remains of the IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens held captive by Hamas is a moral imperative.
Three months ago, The Al-Hayat London-based newspaper reported that Germany is mediating indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to promote the long-awaited prisoner exchange deal.
According to the report, German envoys made several secret visits to the Gaza Strip and met with Hamas officials to discuss the possibility of implementing the prisoner exchange deal.
A German diplomatic delegation was in contact with and Israel and the Palestinian Authority. In addition, a new German mediator was appointed for the task and was operating to promote the deal from Berlin.
Norway is taking part in promoting the prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel that may see the return of IDF soldiers Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, who were killed during Operation Protective Edge, and Israeli citizens Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel, a Hamas-affiliated Lebanese newspaper reported on Saturday.
It was also said a Norwegian envoy had visited the Gaza Strip last month and that Hamas welcomes Norway's involvement in the deal.
Meanwhile, a delegation of senior Hamas officials from the Gaza Strip and from abroad arrived in Cairo to hold discussions with the Egyptian intelligence head, as part of Egypt's efforts to salvage the intra-Palestinian reconciliation talks as well as promote the ceasefire negotiations with Israel.
The Gaza delegation was headed by Hamas leader deputies Khalil al-Hayya and Saleh al-Arouri. Most recent meeting between Hamas and the Egyptian intelligence was held a week ago in Gaza with the attendance of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Western sources privy to the details of the discussions held between the Egyptian intelligence officials and Hamas told Ynet that Cairo has acceded to the request of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to freeze the reconciliation talks that almost led to an intra-Palestinian agreement at the end of August.
Abbas warned at the time that any agreement signed without his consent would lead to the deepening of sanctions on the Gaza Strip and would include the Palestinian Authority halting its monthly aid package of $100 million to the strip.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat), Major General Kamil Abu Rokon, met Saturday with UN Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ursula Mueller, in New York.
The meeting dealt with assistance to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and the problem of Israeli POWs and MIAs. Abu Rokon later met with another senior official to discuss projects related to the civilian population in Gaza.
Mueller said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will base its reports on facts and while operating out of a positive and productive approach in order to assist the civilian population in Gaza.
Abu Rokon stressed that retrieving the remains of the IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens held captive by Hamas is a moral imperative.
Three months ago, The Al-Hayat London-based newspaper reported that Germany is mediating indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to promote the long-awaited prisoner exchange deal.
According to the report, German envoys made several secret visits to the Gaza Strip and met with Hamas officials to discuss the possibility of implementing the prisoner exchange deal.
A German diplomatic delegation was in contact with and Israel and the Palestinian Authority. In addition, a new German mediator was appointed for the task and was operating to promote the deal from Berlin.
29 aug 2018
Mohammed Zayed. Via Quds News
Palestinian former prisoners continue to face harsh persecution, as former prisoner Mohammed Zayed, released in the 2011 Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange agreement (the so-called “Shalit deal”), became the latest person to have his former sentence reimposed, seven years after his liberation.
Zayed, 58, is a leader of the Abnaa el-Balad movement in occupied Palestine ’48. While he is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, his treatment makes clear the status of Palestinians in ’48 – colonized, occupied and subjected to a racist system.
When Zayed was released in 2011, he had already spent 19 years of his 35-year sentence in Israeli jails. Like his fellow released prisoners, he was forced to sign terms of release.
On Monday, 27 August, he was ordered to spend the remaining 16 years of his sentence behind bars. Louay Khatib, an Abnaa el-Balad representative, told Quds News that Zayed was arrested a short time ago on an unrelated matter not considered a “security” or political issue. He was sentenced to eight months in prison for this unrelated case, not referred to in the conditions of his release.
Khatib said that because he was sentenced to more than six months in prison, the Israeli military system re-imposed his former sentence, saying that the court’s decision in the other case “did not specify the nature of the matter.” Khatib also said that Zayed is appealing his case to the Central Military Court and the Supreme Court, despite the fact that his lawyer requires a fee of 100,000 NIS ($27,537 USD) to proceed.
He denounced this latest reimposed sentence against a Palestinian prisoner, demanding that “the Egyptian guarantor of the agreement must stand up to its responsibilities in this case. It is not reasonable that any conviction requires the reimposition of the former sentence.” Khatib also said that Zayed was told that he would not be housed with his fellow Palestinian prisoners but with criminal prisoners. Zayed, from the occupied city of Lyd in Palestine ’48, has a number of chronic diseases including diabetes and dyskinesia as well as suffering from a “difficult” psychological and social situation, according to Quds News.
Allam Kaabi, a former prisoner released in the Wafa al-Ahrar exchange and a leader of the prisoners’ committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, told Hadf News that “once again, occupation courts prove that they are criminal tools of repression of the Palestinian people.” He noted that around 55 freed prisoners had been re-arrested and their former sentences imposed as a form of pressure against the Palestinian resistance in any forthcoming prisoner exchange agreement. Kaabi also noted that more such arrests may be forthcoming in an attempt to escalate that pressure.
Palestinian resistance organizations have emphasized that the re-arrested prisoners of the Wafa al-Ahrar exchange must be released unconditionally before a prisoner exchange. Kaabi said that it is essential to ensure that these freed prisoners are not once again subject to re-arrest.
Via the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
Palestinian former prisoners continue to face harsh persecution, as former prisoner Mohammed Zayed, released in the 2011 Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange agreement (the so-called “Shalit deal”), became the latest person to have his former sentence reimposed, seven years after his liberation.
Zayed, 58, is a leader of the Abnaa el-Balad movement in occupied Palestine ’48. While he is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, his treatment makes clear the status of Palestinians in ’48 – colonized, occupied and subjected to a racist system.
When Zayed was released in 2011, he had already spent 19 years of his 35-year sentence in Israeli jails. Like his fellow released prisoners, he was forced to sign terms of release.
On Monday, 27 August, he was ordered to spend the remaining 16 years of his sentence behind bars. Louay Khatib, an Abnaa el-Balad representative, told Quds News that Zayed was arrested a short time ago on an unrelated matter not considered a “security” or political issue. He was sentenced to eight months in prison for this unrelated case, not referred to in the conditions of his release.
Khatib said that because he was sentenced to more than six months in prison, the Israeli military system re-imposed his former sentence, saying that the court’s decision in the other case “did not specify the nature of the matter.” Khatib also said that Zayed is appealing his case to the Central Military Court and the Supreme Court, despite the fact that his lawyer requires a fee of 100,000 NIS ($27,537 USD) to proceed.
He denounced this latest reimposed sentence against a Palestinian prisoner, demanding that “the Egyptian guarantor of the agreement must stand up to its responsibilities in this case. It is not reasonable that any conviction requires the reimposition of the former sentence.” Khatib also said that Zayed was told that he would not be housed with his fellow Palestinian prisoners but with criminal prisoners. Zayed, from the occupied city of Lyd in Palestine ’48, has a number of chronic diseases including diabetes and dyskinesia as well as suffering from a “difficult” psychological and social situation, according to Quds News.
Allam Kaabi, a former prisoner released in the Wafa al-Ahrar exchange and a leader of the prisoners’ committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, told Hadf News that “once again, occupation courts prove that they are criminal tools of repression of the Palestinian people.” He noted that around 55 freed prisoners had been re-arrested and their former sentences imposed as a form of pressure against the Palestinian resistance in any forthcoming prisoner exchange agreement. Kaabi also noted that more such arrests may be forthcoming in an attempt to escalate that pressure.
Palestinian resistance organizations have emphasized that the re-arrested prisoners of the Wafa al-Ahrar exchange must be released unconditionally before a prisoner exchange. Kaabi said that it is essential to ensure that these freed prisoners are not once again subject to re-arrest.
Via the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
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