Take Action Now to Help Save the Lives of 2,000 Hunger Strikers in Israeli Prisons!

posted on: May 10, 2012

As we approach the 64th anniversary of the Nakba — the catastrophe in which more than more than 750,000 Palestinians lost their homes and lands, and thousands of others their lives during the ethnic cleansing that accompanied Israel’s creation — between 1,600 and 2,000 Palestinian prisoners have joined one of the largest hunger strikes in history.

Two strikers — Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Diab — have refused food for 73 days. Ten have refused food for more than 50 days and are now hospitalized. The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that Halahleh, Diab, and four others are in “imminent danger of dying.” As the prisoners’ health deteriorates, the State Department has been silent.

Help us get 10,000 signatures before Monday when, with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, we’ll deliver our concerns to the State Department!

The hunger strikers are protesting “administrative detention” — a widely-used Israeli practice of detaining Palestinians without charge — as well as solitary confinement, denial of family visits, and inadequate health treatment. About 300 Palestinians are currently in administrative detention, a policy which clearly violates Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.”

The State Department claims to support the universality of human rights, yet it has publicly ignored the hunger strike. This silence speaks volumes to Israel, sending a condoning message, rather than one of commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Pressure from the State Department on Israel, on the other hand, could save the lives of the hunger strikers.

<a href=”http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?key=-1&url_num=5&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsalsa.democracyinaction.org%2Fo%2F641%2Fp%2Fdia%2Faction%2Fpublic%2F%3Faction_KEY%3D10451″>Take action now and tell the State Department to publicly demand that Israel end its unjust policies!</a>