Hisham Abu Hawash at 133 days of hunger strike as of December 27th 2021.
Palestinian prisoner Hisham Abu Hawash has vowed to remain on a hunger strike until he is released or told what charges Israel has against him. He has reached 140 days and is very ill. Please join over 13,000 justice-seekers around the world: sign and share this urgent petition before he dies.
Hisham Abu Hawash is the last prisoner on hunger strike of the group that began in the summer of 2021. On December 26th he was transferred to an Israeli hospital after a severe deterioration in his health. He has severe mineral deficiencies and is no longer able to talk or move unassisted.
Abu Hawash has one demand: since Israel has not given him his day in court – or even announced charges against him – he wants to be freed. He will accept nothing less. International law is on his side.
Israel’s internal security, Shin Bet, claims he is an Islamic Jihad activist, and a danger to regional security. To date, Shin Bet has provided no explicit evidence. Abu Hawash has denied suspicions against him.
Go here to sign the Change.org petition
Palestinian prisoners stage hunger strikes in protest of their administrative detention – imprisonment without charges or a trial.
By signing this petition, you are part of a worldwide movement to free all hunger strikers, release all administrative detainees and end the misuse of administrative detention by the Israeli occupation.
We, the undersigned:
- Demand the immediate release of all Palestinian administrative detainees on hunger strike to avoid serious long-term health complications for detainees or loss of life: Kayed Fasfous, Miqdad Qawasmeh, Alaa Al Raj, Hisham Abu Hawash, Shadi Abu Aker and Ayyad Hraimi
- Demand the subsequent immediate release of all Palestinians administrative detainees held in occupation prisons, or at the very latest the date of their case review
- Demand that Israel ceases the use of administrative detention to arbitrarily imprison Palestinians within the oPt (West Bank) and East Jerusalem
- Demand that any future arrest of Palestinians (in the oPT or within Israel) follow the protocols of International Humanitarian Law that guarantee individuals know why they are being arrested and are granted proper judicial process (formal charges and trails) where individuals are able to examine the evidence presented against them and prove their innocence
Prisoners staging hunger strikes are at risk of serious long-term health effects, as well as sudden death due to dehydration and lack of essential nutrients. Why would they risk their health this way? The answer is clear – according to B’tselem in Israel, “the detainees have no real opportunity to mount a reasonable defense against the allegations” and have little recourse other that striking to gain their freedom under a policy the gives impunity to the Israeli occupation to imprison them indefinitely.”
In Israeli occupation military prisons there are a total of 540+ Palestinians who are being held under the pretense of administrative detention. There are many who have been held for years without ever having the opportunity to prove their innocence or view the supposed evidence being used to justify their imprisonment.
These prisoners are often:
- denied access to their lawyers
- denied access to regular family visits
- placed in solitary confinement as punishment for hunger striking
We want to bring them all home!!
Go here to sign the Change.org petition
ESSENTIAL READING:
Why were these Palestinian prisoners willing to die of starvation?
A chronicle of Israeli actions against Palestinians in 2021
B’Tselem: Administrative Detention
Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Ass’n: Administrative Detention
Jane Large started this petition to Supreme Court of Israel, Military Court of Appeal of Israel, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz
