‘ISRAEL cannot silence us, nor isolate us, nor break us, our chains will be broken before we are,’ Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi has said in a statement issued by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.
The leader of 1,600 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons who have today been on hunger strike for 18 days, declared: ‘This hunger strike aims to confront the ongoing and escalating unjust Israeli occupation policies against prisoners and their loved ones. We stress our determination to undertake this struggle whatever the cost.’
The statement was issued by the PLO as thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah gathered in Nelson Mandela Square, waving Palestinian flags and posters of Barghouthi, bearing his quote ‘Our chains will be broken before we are.’
Barghouthi, in prison since 2002, has been in solitary confinement since the initiation of the hunger strike. The strikers are calling for immediate improvements in jail conditions, including longer family visits, proper medical attention, phone access, and an end to solitary confinement and administrative detention.
At Wednesday’s rally, Barghouthi’s wife, Fadwa, called for ‘the largest campaign of civil disobedience’ against Israel, saying the hunger strike is part of the Palestinians’ battle against ‘the occupation and for independence and dignity’.
Yesterday evening, seven British citizens began a hunger strike outside parliament at 7pm, joining Aysar Shamallakh who is now on the fourth day of hunger strike in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners.
Aysar, who was joined by supporters in Parliament Square at the end of his second day, told News Line: ‘I feel strong and have had lots of support for the Palestinian struggle during the day.’
Fida Yassine, who along with Aysar and others formed the ‘April 17 Group’ named after Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, told News Line: ‘We are in solidarity with our brothers on hunger strike in prison. ‘The only thing they have is their will which is free even behind bars. We will do whatever it takes so that the prisoners have their rights according to the Geneva Conventions. They need visiting rights, TV access, some of them have been in solitary confinement for up to four months.’
Soraya Boyd, a founder of Facilitate Global, an NGO to promote human rights, said: ‘I support the rights of Palestinian detainees and hunger strikers and want them to know people in London and all over the world are with them.
‘The brutal military occupation under which Palestinians live daily is demonstrative of Israel’s belligerent and discriminatory policies which deprives prisoners of their rights and due process and is a blight on the conscience of the so-called international community. International law is clear but Israel breaches it time and time again.’
Students at Manchester and Edinburgh universities have also launched solidarity hunger strikes in support of the Palestinian prisoners in a campaign which is spreading across Europe, with strikes also in Madrid, Turin and Brussels.
