Samer Issawi

By Anton

Palestinian Samer Issawi has been in hunger strike for over 210 days. He is protesting his imprisonment as he has been detained without being charged. Issawi had been released from Israeli prison in October 2011 as a part of a prisoner swap in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. But Issawi was detained again on July 7, 2012. He has been refusing food since August 2012 to protest his detention. He is now in critical condition- he is losing his vision, vomiting blood, and lapsing in and out of consciousness.
Demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners have been held across the West Bank, and during one such protest near Ramallah, clashes erupted between protesters and Israeli soldiers firing tear gas and rubber bullets.

Issawi plus three other prisoners held in administrative detention–Ayman Sharawna, Jafar Izzedin and Tareq Qadan–have been the focus of the recent protests.

Currently, Israel holds more than 4,500 Palestinians in its jails, with nearly 10 percent of them serving life sentences. This figure includes many high-profile leaders and elected officials, including 47 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council who belong to Hamas, the party that governs Gaza and won a majority in elections for the council in 2006.

Samer Issawi and his fellow comrades of the PFLP are fighting to end the oppression of Palestine and it’s people by the Zionist butchers. The fact many Palestinians have been held without charges shows the utter barbarity of Israel. A photo was placed on Instagram of crosshairs aiming at the back of a young boys head, and peaceful protests has been met with tear gas, rubber bullets and violence. As long as this imperialist state continues to exist, the palestinians will continue to have their land occupied, their culture destroyed, their lives cut short by the bullets of Israeli Occupation Forces.

Free Samer Issawi and all political prisoners!