Palestinian Operation Freedom Tunnel prisoner Mahmoud Al-Aridah sends a letter through Al Mayadeen to mark the second anniversary of the heroic operation.
The parties to the disputes in occupied Palestine must stay on heightened alert and be wary of the Israeli enemy’s schemes, Operation Freedom Tunnel hero, prisoner Mahmoud Al-Aridah said in a letter he sent to Al Mayadeen that was released on Wednesday.
The Palestinian prisoner said he “saluted our great people and our valiant resistance in Palestine, its victorious brigades, and the Axis of Resistance from Tehran to Baghdad, passing through the Levant (al-Sham) and the great city of Beirut.”
The letter was written on the occasion of the second anniversary of Operation Freedom Tunnel, which saw six Palestinian prisoners liberating themselves from behind Israeli bars.
Al-Aridah held the Palestinian factions responsible before history to avert another Nakba afflicting the Palestinian people.
“The Israeli occupation continues its settlement project and the Judaization of Al-Quds in order to build its alleged temple,” the Palestinian prisoner added in his letter.
“The Israeli enemy believes that the Palestinian status quo, coupled with the absence of an Arab and Islamic role, allows it to achieve its goals, primarily through killing, demolishing, land confiscation, and violations against the captive movement through constant pressure,” he wrote.
The mastermind behind Operation Freedom Tunnel told the people of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 to be wary of the Israeli project that represents an existential threat to them, stressing that the occupation has the goal of forcefully and voluntarily displacing them, confiscating Palestinian territories, and putting restrictions on residential compounds so as to prevent them from expanding.
“The daily killings, which are seeing an uptick, are resulting in a victim in every home, and thus, the civil war becomes a matter of time, and it will only end after thousands of deaths, deportations, and displacement,” Al-Aridah underlined.
“In recent years, we have begun to witness internal migration to the refugee camps and cities of the West Bank. It is slow, but it will accelerate soon,” he explained.
“I tell the Palestinian youth: Wake up… stop the infighting. Reclaim your identity and memory. Turn to the churches and mosques. Break the barrier of fear of religiosity,” the Palestinian prisoner said.
Concluding his letter, the Operation Freedom Tunnel hero said: “Our message to our resistance in Gaza and Iraq (the descendants of Hussein): Our lives have dwindled away in prisons, but the enemy finds solace in us, gloating over our suffering, believing it has achieved its goals in the prisons.”
“We look to you to put an end to this humanitarian tragedy that has gone on far too long,” Al-Aridah added.
On the morning of September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners broke out of the high-security Israeli Gilboa prison through a tunnel they dug, which led them outside the prison walls before they were arrested.
The Freedom Tunnel prisoners are Mahmoud Al-Aridah, Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, Yaqoub Qadri, Mohammad Al-Aridah, Ayham Kamamji, and Munadel Nafi’at.
Mahmoud Al-Aridah and Yaqoub Qadri were re-arrested four days later, on September 10, 2021 in Al-Nasra. Zakaria Al-Zubaidi and Mohammad Al-Aridah were re-arrested the next day, and Ayham Kamamji and Mundadel Nafi’at on Sunday the 19th, after the house they had barricaded themselves in, east of Jenin, was surrounded.
On September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners managed to liberate themselves from Gilboa Prison – one of the most fortified Israeli prisons. With nothing but a metal spoon, the heroes dug their way to freedom. Their bold escape has become an inspiration to all the oppressed in this world. The freedom tunnel heroes are the embodiment of steadfastness, creativity, unbreakable determination, and resounding Israeli failure.
Palestinian Prisoner and Operation Freedom Tunnel hero Mohammad Qasim Al-Aridah speaks out on the second anniversary of the operation that saw six prisoners liberating themselves from the Israeli occupation’s maximum security Gilboa prison.
Palestinian prisoner and Operation Freedom Tunnel Hero Mohammad Al-Aridah sent out a letter to Al Mayadeen on the occasion of the operation’s second anniversary.
Palestinian Prisoner Mohammad Al-Aridah, one of the heroes of Operation Freedom Tunnel which saw six Palestinian prisoners reclaiming their freedom from the Israeli occupation’s prisons, has been suffering under severe measures as he has been placed in solitary confinement at the occupation’s “Ramon Prison.”
Following is the letter written by the Palestinian Freedom Tunnel hero:
Over a period of nine months, the Earth was dug by the hands of 11 prisoners from Jenin until September 6, when she gave birth anew from her womb to six twin brothers, who were brought together by the journey of labor.
She placed them on her chest to instill in them her affection, and to let them drink from her fertile earth and blessing. She smiled at them, and embraced them – her sun shone for them, the moon smiled at them, and her stars winked at them with brilliance, and she poured out from the hearts of her children a flowing tenderness that they had never seen before. The oppressed rejoiced, and the anger of the oppressors overflowed. This was the birth of hope, the birth of repressed wishes.
Why did they not cry like infants at birth? Perhaps these children need some patience following their long wait inside the prisons, so she bestowed upon them the sweetness of her patience to equip them for days that would be even harsher. Six brothers came out on September 6 [the ninth month], which was the number of months they had to labor for their goal. Each of them was born into this life once from the womb of a nation, and once from the womb of the earth their mother, the mother of every Palestinian, but this time, they were all born anew as twins.
How beautiful is the dirt as it covers all our bodies? We had not seen it, we had not touched it, we had not held it, we had not seen it for decades. Our bodies were covered with the blessed earth of our homeland.
When our heads emerged from the exit hole, we saw the radiance of the loved ones who welcomed us longingly. What a beautiful feeling! We did not have one father or one mother, or one brother or sister, or sons or daughters. We saw our entire people and our nation embracing us lovingly. God has given us more satisfaction than we merit. Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, for all the blessings, mercy, and generosity.
I ask Him Almighty for his satisfaction and acceptance, as well as for steadfastness in religion and righteousness.
As we ran, we looked back with pain for those we left behind, with whom we lived all the years of separation from our loved ones. We dreamt with them the melody of freedom, our hope. We prayed, we wished, but we did not stay for long before we returned, but not among them, nor with them.
We wish to follow the will of God and have faith in justice, faith in truth, and faith in freedom. The believer draws his strength God. The greatest blessing is to believe in the judgment of God and His decree, not to wait for it and say, “I am a believer.” The strong believer is better and more beloved by God than the weak believer.
Peace.
Your son, Mohammad Al-Aridah – Askalan solitary confinement
On September 6, 2021, Al-Aridah was one of six prisoners who broke out of Gilboa Prison in a heroic operation that shook the Israeli occupation’s trust in its security system to the core.
The Israeli occupation court in Al-Nasirah issued a sentence of 5 years and 8 months of imprisonment and a fine against five of the Freedom Tunnel prisoners, in addition to four years of imprisonment against the other prisoners who provided them with assistance.
The Freedom Tunnel prisoners are Mahmoud Al-Aridah, Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, Yaqoub Qadri, Mohammad Qasim Al-Aridah, Ayham Kamamji, and Munadel Nafi’at.
In light of the disfavorable power relations, disproportionate warfare arises as the primary means of achieving liberation, and this is echoed most iconically in the Gilboa prison break, where a pen and candlestick undermined a high-tech prison complex.
“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty” David said to Goliath on the battlefield before knocking a pebble into his slingshot and striking the heavily armored Giant dead.
Two years ago, on September 6, six Palestenian prisoners, Zakaria Zubeidi, Mahmoud Abdullah al-Arida, Mohamed Qassem al-Arida, Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri, Ayham Nayef Kamanji, and Munadil Yaqoub Nafiat, planned a state-of-the-art prison break operation: escaping the high-security Gilboa prison complex.
The six prisoners innovatively subdued the advanced security measures of Gilboa by digging a tunnel to liberty using a pen and candlestick they had acquired.
On September 10, Israeli occupation forces arrested the first two prisoners from Gilboa prison, Yaqoub Qadri and Mahmoud al-Arida. Then, on September 11, they arrested two others, Zakaria al-Zubaidi and Mohammad al-Arida. On 19 September, Ayham Kamamji and Munadel Nafiat, the two remaining prisoners, were arrested.
David v Goliath
A research paper for Mondoweiss titled “David vs. Goliath: The Epic Military Mismatch between Palestine and Israel”, details the sharp military asymmetry between the Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli Occupation Forces: highlighting asymmetric military power and consequent asymmetric losses.
The report quantitatively assesses the military might of the IOF in comparison to that of Hamas and the PIJ. According to the report, the IOF military (which was ranked 20th globally in the world by Global Firepower back in 2021) encompasses 1,650 tanks, including the advanced Merkava Mk II/III/IV, 7,500 armored vehicles, 650 self-propelled artillery guns, 300 towed artillery weapons, 600 aircraft, four corvettes, five submarines, and 48 patrol vessels, noting an estimated 80 to 400 nuclear warheads. The report also points out that back in 2020, “Israel” had the highest defense budget in the world (per capita) amounting to $22 billion.
The David vs. Goliath trope has been a recurring theme in the discourse on Palestinian liberation ever since the first Intifada, when the asymmetry of the struggle of the Palestinian people against the IOF was most stark, reverently representing the revolutionary determination of the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation despite disfavorable odds.
The David vs. Goliath dynamic, visualized in Gilboa iconically through a pen defying the high-tech Israeli security industry, is also echoed in other preceding picturesque events like the Palestinian child facing off against a Merkava tank with a stone in his hand, or the shirt-masked youth firing a slingshot amid rising tear gas fumes.
Beyond its strategic significance, the Gilboa prison break operation, through its picturesque symbolism, sheds light on a central aspect of the Palestinian struggle for liberation: Asymmetric warfare.
Asymmetric Warfare
In an interview back in 1985, George Habash, the late Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, attends to the dilemma of asymmetric warfare, arguing that in light of asymmetric power relations, irregular warfare arises as the central strategy for realizing liberation.
“The strategy of Palestinian action on the coming stage revolves around a central axis: the adoption of a policy of armed struggle and the escalation of that struggle against the Zionist enemy. We are still living in a stage characterized by a clear imbalance of power to the advantage of the enemy. Escalating armed struggle against the Zionist enemy is required until the enemy is forced to retreat as has happened in Lebanon. Armed struggle, as we understand it, and in accordance with our conception of a people’s war, is the most developed form of struggle waged by a revolutionary force.”
“As clarified by experience, armed struggle is closely linked with all other forms of struggle: Diplomatic, popular, intellectual, and political. It is the highest form of all, and the most effective against the enemy,” he adds.
Resistance despite disfavorable odds
Historically, all decolonization struggles were dictated by asymmetric power relations. In fact, the two are necessary corollaries of one another. Asymmetric power relations (caused by the disproportionate accumulation of wealth) create the conditions allowing for colonialism (or more generally imperialist subjugation), and thus the struggle for liberation becomes dictated by asymmetric power relations.
In light of the disfavorable power relations, irregular warfare arises as the primary means of achieving liberation. An important point that Habash gets at in the interview is that while other forms of struggle exist, (through art, diplomacy, academia, journalism, etc.) all those must recognize the centrality of resistance in the overall struggle for liberation. Artistic, diplomatic, and academic activism must all take armed resistance as the focal point around which they must revolve, especially in light of the asymmetric power relations dictating the struggle.
In the Palestinian case, irregular warfare manifests differently across different degrees of organization. This includes ranges from rocket salvos fired from Gaza toward settlements, to bands of youth in the West Bank resisting incursions to ramming operations in the occupied territories. Despite not being concerted, all of them must be understood as an accumulated effort in contending Zionism.
“These guerrilla operations must not be considered as an independent form of warfare. They are but one step in the total war, one aspect of the revolutionary struggle. They are the inevitable result of the clash between oppressor and oppressed when the latter reach the limits of their endurance,” Mao Zedong writes in his book on guerilla warfare.
Asymmetric power relations and asymmetric warfare entail asymmetric losses. This is alluded to in the article “David vs. Goliath: The Epic Military Mismatch between Palestine and Israel.” The writer highlights the disproportion of casualties which often goes unnoticed in the media.
The asymmetry in power relations between Palestine and “Israel” is evident not only in their “respective strengths” but also in the stark difference in losses. Battles against the IOF, the writer explains, inflict fewer casualties on “Israel” compared to those inflicted by the IOF on Palestinians. According to figures estimated by the writer, 92.39% of Palestinians (fighters and civilians) died or were wounded in battles against the occupation, corresponding to only 7.60% of Israelis (soldiers and settlers).
Despite the severe losses suffered by Palestinians throughout their battle for liberation, they have persevered. Ultimately, this is what matters in the general balance sheet, that the Palestinian people are capable of sustaining their struggle for liberation, turning it into a war of attrition for the occupation.
The purpose of resistance is not an absolute military defeat, but to undermine the raison d’etre of colonialism by making its costs greater than its benefits. As George Habash explains, military operations must be escalated so that life becomes exceedingly difficult for the Israelis and more costly than comfortable for their colonialist enterprise.
On September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners managed to liberate themselves from Gilboa Prison – one of the most fortified Israeli prisons. With nothing but a metal spoon, the heroes dug their way to freedom. Their bold escape has become an inspiration to all the oppressed in this world. The freedom tunnel heroes are the embodiment of steadfastness, creativity, unbreakable determination, and resounding Israeli failure.
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Posted on November 4, 2022 by uprootedpalestinians
03,11. 2022
Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:
Eleventh Palestinians, including 3 children and 2 paramedics, were wounded, and dozens of others suffocated in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacks in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Meanwhile, those injured were victims of excessive use of force that accompanied incursion into the Palestinian cities and villages, or suppression of peaceful protests organized by Palestinian civilians, and they were as follows:
On 28 October 2022, a 22-year-old Palestinian was hit with a stun grenade during IOF’s incursion into Kafr al-Labad village in Tulkarm. Also, a child was shot with a rubber bullet during clashes with IOF following the latter’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly protest in northern Qalqilya.
On 29 October 2022, a 19-year-old Palestinian was shot with a live bullet in his foot during clashes with IOF in al-Arroub refugee camp in Hebron. Also, a 22-year-old paramedic sustained live bullet shrapnel wound in his shoulder after IOF opened fire at an ambulance belonging to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) near “Givat Havot” settlement outpost in eastern Hebron after an injury was reported in the area to PRCS. It turned out later that a Palestinian was killed after carrying out a shooting that killed an Israeli settler and injured others.
On 30 October 2022, a 17-year-old child and a 18-year-old young man were shot with rubber bullets after IOF opened fire and fired teargas canisters at Palestinians gathered near the annexation wall, west of Tulkarm. Also, a Palestinian was injured with a live bullet in his thigh during clashes with IOF near military checkpoint (300), north of Bethlehem.
On 31 October 2022, a paramedic (33) sustained live bullet shrapnel wound after a PRCS ambulance driven by him was targeted during clashes and an exchange of fire between members of Palestinian armed groups and IOF following the latter’s incursion into Jenin and its refugee camp. Before their withdrawal, IOF arrested a Palestinian from Jenin refugee camp.
On the same day, a Palestinian was shot with a rubber bullet after IOF opened fire at him during his attempt along with a Palestinian woman to prevent IOF from arresting her daughter at a military checkpoint established at the entrance to the closed al-Shuhada Street in Central Hebron.
On 01 November 2022, a child was wounded with a live bullet in his foot and other Palestinians suffocated during clashes with IOF at the entrance to al-Arroub refugee camp in Hebron.
On 02 November 2022, a 39-year-old Palestinian was shot with 4 live bullets after IOF opened fire at his vehicle near Muthalath al-Kharsa intersection in Hebron. IOF claimed that he tried to carry out a vehicle-ramming attack.
In the Gaza Strip, 5 shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip, and 7 shootings were reported on fishing boats off the western Gaza shores, mostly in northern Gaza Strip.
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So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 158 Palestinians, including 106 civilians: 32 children, 8 women, 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers and the rest were activists; 17 of them were assassinated. Also, hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children, were wounded in IOF’s attacks in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Moreover, 5 Palestinian detainees, including a woman, died in the Israeli prisons.
Land razing, demolitions, and notices
IOF demolished 9 houses, rendering 31 Palestinians, including 8 women and 13 children, homeless. Also, IOF demolished a water well and seized 616 dunums in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:
On 27 October 2022, IOF handed 2 civilians 2 notices to cease construction works in their houses in Al-Mughayyir village, east of Ramallah, under the pretext of being in area classified as Area (C).
On 28 October 2022, implementing an Israeli municipal order, IOF forced a Palestinian to self-demolished his under-construction house in Al-Tur village in occupied East Jerusalem under the pretext of unlicensed construction. It should be noted that the house’s owner lives in a 50-sqaure-meter house along with his parents, wife and three children.
On 29 October 2022, implementing an Israeli municipal order, IOF forced 2 Palestinians to self-demolished their houses on Salah al-Deen Street and in Shu’fat neighborhood under the pretext of unlicensed construction, rendering two families of 12 persons, including 4 children and 3 women, homeless.
On 31 October 2022, IOF demolished an under-construction house comprised of 3 floors, a water well and a 100-meter-long concrete wall in al-Baq’a area in Hebron.
On 31 October 2022, IOF issued a military order to seize about 616 dunums from Qaryut, As-Sawiya and Al-Lubban_ash-Sharqiya villages in Nablus, in order to expand “Eli” settlement, which is established in on lands of these villages.
On 02 November 2022, IOF demolished four houses in Al-Walaja village, northwest of Bethlehem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction, rendering 2 families of 12 persons, including 6 children and 3 women, homeless.
On the same day, IOF demolished an uninhabited house comprised of two floors in Jalbun village in Jenin under the pretext of illegal construction in Area C, rendering a family of 5 persons, including 3 children, homeless.
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Since the beginning of 2022, Israeli occupation forces made 127 families homeless, a total of 748 persons, including 146 women and 339 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 139 houses and many residential and agricultural tents. IOF also demolished 93 other civilian economic objects, leveled vacant areas of land and delivered dozens of notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation.
Settler-attacks on Palestinian civilians and their properties:
On 27 October 2022, Israeli settlers threw stones and obstructed the movement of Palestinians’ vehicles near the western entrance to Haris village in Salfit and near the entrance to Kafr Laqif village in Qalqilya, causing material damage to a vehicle.
On 28 October 2022, an Israeli settler prevented Palestinian Kafl Haris village’s farmers from passing through the dirt street located near the electricity room established opposite to “Ariel” settlement in Salfit. Also, Israeli settlers threw stones and obstructed the movement of vehicles passing on the Bypass Road between Bruqin village and Kafr ad-Dik village in Salfit.
On 29 October 2022, Israeli settlers threw stones and obstructed the movement of Palestinian vehicles near the western entrance to Kafr ad-Dik village, west of Salfit. In the evening, Israeli settlers, from “Kiryat Arba” settlement in Hebron, threw stones and opened fire at Palestinian houses in al-Ras area and in al-Jaber neighborhood, east of the city in addition to breaking windows of several vehicles. This came following a shooting carried out by a Palestinian that led to killing the attacker and an Israeli settler as well as the injury of others in the nearby area. Israeli settlers’ attack recurred in the evening and was followed by IOF’s raid into a house and arrest of one of its residents.
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Since the beginning of the year, settlers conducted at least 224 attacks. In two of the attacks, 2 Palestinians were killed.
IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:
IOF carried out 184 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids and searches of civilian houses and facilities and establishment of checkpoints. During those incursions, 74 Palestinians were arrested, including 7 children and 4 women.
In the Gaza Strip, on 01 November 2022, Israeli naval forces arrested 4 fishermen while sailing off the Gaza shore and confiscated two fishing boats where the 4 fishermen were on board. (Details are available in this press release)
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So far in 2022, IOF conducted 7523 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 4250 Palestinians were arrested, including 421 children and 43 women. IOF also conducted 33 limited incursions into eastern Gaza Strip and arrested 95 Palestinians, including 58 fishermen, 32 infiltrators, and 5 travelers via Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing.
Israeli collective punishment and closure policy and restrictions on freedom of movement:
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation maintains its illegal and inhuman 15-year closure on the Gaza Strip. Details available in PCHR’s monthly-updatein the Gaza crossings.
In the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, IOF continue to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 108 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 99 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested 9 Palestinians at those checkpoints.
since 11 October 2022, IOF have imposed collective punishment measures on Nablus and its three camps: Balata, Ein Beit al-Maa’ and Askar, and its cities and villages, including closing entrances and checkpoints. These measures affected the daily life of tens of thousands of Palestinians.
On 29 October 2022, IOF closed the entrances leading to Qizoun area in eastern Hebron, where there is a house that IOF intend to demolish as part of the collective punishment policy. Also, IOF closed all the entrances leading to Hebron and connecting with the Bypass Road (60) and prevented Palestinian vehicles from entering or exiting until next day noon.
On the same day, IOF closed Road (60) in Bethlehem to vehicles’ movement and closed the two metal detector gates established at the entrances to Tekoa and Husan villages
On 01 November 2022, the Israeli authorities announced the closure of the Gaza Strip and West Bank’s crossings, except for urgent and exceptional humanitarian cases, upon the approval of the competent authorities under the pretext of the Israeli elections.
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So far in 2022, IOF established at least 3,866 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 177 Palestinians at those checkpoints
“Where will you be seven years from now?” a Shin Bet investigator asked Al-Arida. He answered, “I will be free.”
With such action, the colonizer utilizes incarceration, besides other tools such as monitoring, espionage, and killing, to give the impression that he is omnipotent and omniscient to the smallest details of the colonized’s life, thoughts, hopes, and dreams
According to an Israeli occupation prison authorities official, the Gilboa prison was “more secure than the Bank of Israel’s safes.” This was announced days before it opened in June 2004 during the Second Palestinian Intifada.
The Gilboa Prison, located in the north of occupied Palestine, where six Palestinian prisoners bravely escaped from custody on September 6, 2021, was formerly regarded as “Israel’s” most heavily guarded facility. No one could escape that fort, until the successful attempt on the dawn of that day.
The 2021 prison break was not the first one to be carried out by Palestinian prisoners, as 29 escape attempts did also occur during the history of this occupation. Some of these endeavors were successful while others did not have the same fortune. The first escape dates back to July 31, 1958, when 77 prisoners out of 190 succeeded in liberating themselves from the “Shatta” prison, though 11 of them were martyred during the courageous attempt. In 1987, six prisoners managed to cut the bars of the bathroom window in a prison in Gaza, which led them to their anticipated freedom. Also in 1996, an escape operation was conducted through an 11-meter tunnel by the two prisoners Ghassan Mahdawi and Tawfiq Al-Zaben.
British colonialism and the idea of subjugation
The story of the Palestinian struggle against prisons does not start with the Israeli occupation though; British colonialism or the so-called mandate of Palestine had a fair share of inflicting suffering on the Palestinian people along their struggle for freedom.
Palestinians opposed British colonialism and declared Zionist aspirations to annex Palestine, their homeland, and rename it a “Jewish state”. They protested in al-Quds, Haifa, Yafa, Safad, and many more of their cities. Following the uprising of the Palestinian people, hundreds were arrested by the British occupation, and 26 of these detainees had been sentenced to death by hanging. While most of the sentences were replaced by life imprisonment, 3 prisoners received the full sentence that was carried out in the Akka prison; their names were Fouad Hijazi, 26, Atta al-Zeer, 35, and Mohammed Khalil Jamjoum, 28.
In Palestine, the popular song “Min Sijin Akka,” which translates as “From Akka Prison,” is still sung in honor of the 3 Palestinian heroes. The poem’s author is unknown; however, some claim that a prisoner by the name of Awad, a revolutionary who was facing death at the hands of the British colonial overlords, wrote it on the walls of the Akka jail.
During the consequent Great Palestinian Revolution of 1936, the main British punitive strategy was collective punishment. Property destruction was the primary method of collective punishment used by the British Army. Sometimes entire villages are destroyed, as was the case with Mi’ar in October 1938.
The British occupation forces carried out punitive operations against cities in addition to villages. In August 1938, about 5,000 men were detained in Nablus for two days in a cage and questioned one by one. The city was searched while they were being held, and after their release, each detainee was given a rubber stamp.
The British occupation imposed the death penalty for the unlawful possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in June 1937, but because many Jewish European settlers had permission to carry firearms and store ammunition, this order was primarily targeted at Palestinian Arabs. 112 people were hanged in the Akka Prison for such accusations.
In one incident narrated by Harry Arrigonie, a policeman working for the British occupation, approximately 20 prisoners were loaded aboard a bus, and those who attempted to flee were shot. The bus’s driver was then forced to drive over a potent land mine that had been planted by the soldiers, which destroyed the vehicle and scattered the captives’ disfigured bodies throughout the area. The bodies were subsequently forced to be buried in a pit by the other Palestinian villagers.
To sum up, the zionist Jewish Agency, which primary goal was to colonize Palestine and ethnically cleanse it, was effective in conveying “the message that the Zionist movement and the British Empire were standing shoulder to shoulder against a mutual adversary, in a war in which they had common goals.”
To avoid mine and shooting operations, it was standard British occupation procedure to force Arab prisoners to travel with military convoys. Soldiers would tie the prisoners to the lorry bonnets or place them on little flatbeds on the front of trains. Any prisoners who attempted to flee would be shot, the army warned the captives. According to Arthur Lane, a Manchester Regiment private, some soldiers would casually drive over the prisoner after abruptly braking at the end of a voyage in the vehicles, killing or injuring him.
Israeli occupation: a ‘good’ student
The inhumane and monstrous acts of abuse of the British occupation were inherited by the successors of their colonial project and their good student, the Israeli occupation. The philosophy behind the incarceration of the colonized does not stop the mere fact of physically hindering his movement and limiting his freedom; it is an action directed at breaking his spirit, at making him understand that any act of rebellion against the unjust status quo, will only bring a bad outcome.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), a total of 222 Palestinians have been martyred in Israeli prisons since 1967, a year when the first Palestinians were martyred under custody. Nassar Taqatqa, Omar Younis, and Faris Baroud were not just numbers and names, they were humans made with flesh and blood, and full of sentiments and dreams. While The Israeli occupation constantly threatens the reimposition of the death penalty, it is putting it into practice in reality, with escalating extrajudicial executions – particularly against Palestinian youth, in prison or outside of the cells.
With such action, the colonizer utilizes incarceration, besides other tools such as monitoring, espionage, and killing, to give the impression that he is omnipotent and omniscient to the smallest details of the colonized’s life, thoughts, hopes, and dreams. On the opposite hand, the act of refusing such fake omnipotence and omniscience is reflected the most not only in the fact of resistance before incarceration, and not only in the actions that preserve the identity and ideas of the imprisoned, but also in the fact of refusing the unjust imprisonment as a whole, thus escaping, or in many cases attempting to escape and snatch one’s freedom from the jaws of the colonizer.
The Israelis have shown extreme sensitivity to such attempts, as they tried to portray themselves as invincible and all-knowing to hide their inherent weakness that lies in the solid fact that they are a foreign minority that does belong to this land. In the light of such analysis, descriptions such as “a major security and intelligence failure”, made by the occupation’s police apparatus, make more sense, as the successful prison break can acquire a greater meaning and send a message to the other oppressed that resistance is not futile.
The Path To Al-Quds
Mahmoud Al-Arida, the mastermind behind the Operation Freedom Tunnel, upon his recapture, told the Israeli occupation “The first [goal] was to see family and live in the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority’s protection, and the second was to prove to all Israeli security organizations and the Israeli government that they are a failure,” by proving that the prisoners “managed to dig a tunnel from ‘Israel’s’ most secure prison.”
In another context, Mahmoud Al-Arida said that they called the tunnel they dug The Path To Al-Quds, emphasizing that the success of their breakout “has told the whole world that we are advocates of freedom and the rightful owners in the face of a ruthless oppression, and thus the world should stand by us in order to liberate our land.”
The ‘liberation philosophy’ that we mentioned in the previous section of this article, is present in the words of Al-Arida, one of the heroes who managed to liberate themselves a year earlier. The prisoners not only shatter the colonizer’s omnipotence mirage, but they were well aware of the repercussions of their actions and the political meaning behind them. To Mahmoud Al-Arida, freedom tasted like would “figs, prickly pears, and pomegranates from all across Palestine,” as he said in a letter to his mother.
“Where will you be seven years from now?” a Shin Bet investigator asked al-Arida according to the occupation police, the ‘prisoner’ answered, “I will be free after I’m released in a deal with Hamas. I am sure I will be included in a deal and I’ll be free.”
The so-called “unbreakable safe” was shattered not by only the intelligence and spirit of the Palestinian detainees representing the undying resistance will of the colonized, but through the belief that their actions will bear fruits, as sweet as the ones Al-Arida tasted during the days he had freedom in his lungs.
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Did you know that in Gilboa Prison, “Israel’s” maximum-security prison, six Palestinian heroes, driven by their thirst for freedom, outlined one of the most epic stories?
The six Palestinian prisoners are incarcerated in deplorable conditions.
On Monday morning of September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners carried out a heroic operation to liberate themselves from the Israeli Gilboa prison, one of the most fortified Israeli prisons — nicknamed in “Israel” as the “iron safe”. with determination, they dug a tunnel that led them outside the prison walls. Despite the high-security facility, the six heroes were able to dig their way out of the prison through concrete and metal rebar floors.
Their will to live freely inspired millions around the world.
Know their names:
The six Palestinian heroes, who’ve carried out Operation Freedom Tunnel and showed the world the true meaning of resistance and resilience, are Mahmoud Al-Arida, Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, Yaqoub Qadri, Mohammad Al-Arida, Ayham Kamamji, and Munadel Nafi’at.
He was born in the town of Arraba, Jenin District. He was arrested for the first time in 1992 and released in 1996, then arrested again in the same year on September 21, 1996.
He was also sentenced to life in prison, in addition to 15 years, on charges of membership in the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement and participation in resistance operations.
During his lengthy detention, prisoner Al-Arida was subjected to punishment and restrictive measures, as he was isolated on June 19, 2011, for four months, after which an internal court convened and renewed his isolation for 60 additional days with no justification.
Furthermore, the occupation prisons authority re-isolated him on June 11, 2014, upon the discovery of a tunnel in Shatta prison through which he intended to escape.
In a heartfelt letter to his mother, in which he described his time outside the Gilboa prison before being recaptured, his words had a great impact: “I tried to go to you and embrace you dear mother before you leave this world, but God has decreed for us otherwise.”
Zakaria Al-Zubaidi (46 years old)
Born in the Jenin refugee camp, Al-Zubaidi is the former commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah movement. Al-Zubaidi was elected as a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council in 2006 and was arrested in the West Bank city of Ramallah on February 27, 2019.
Prior to the prison break, Al-Zubaidi was still detained and no verdict was issued against him after he was charged with being a member of the Al-Aqsa Brigades.
Mohammad Qassem Al-Arida (39 years old)
He was born in the town of Arraba, Jenin District. He was arrested in an Israeli ambush on January 7, 2002, then released in mid-March 2002.
On May 16, 2002, he was besieged and arrested in Ramallah and was sentenced to three life sentences and 20 years in prison.
Al-Arida said, “My five-day journey through the streets of my country will compensate all the years of detention.”
Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri (49 years old)
Qadri was born in the village of Bir Al-Basha, Jenin district. In 2000, he was chased by the occupation. He participated in the battle to defend Jenin camp in 2002 and was arrested on October 18, 2003. In 2004, Qadri was sentenced to two life sentences and 35 years in prison. In 2014, he planned an unsuccessful escape through a tunnel from Shatta prison with a group of prisoners. He said, “A five-day journey is great for a person who has been deprived of everything for 19 years.”
Ayham Kamamji (35 years old)
Born in the village of Kafr Dan, Jenin, the occupation began pursuing Kamamji in May 2003 and arrested him on July 4, 2006. He was sentenced to life in prison. Kamamji was the first to respond to the assassination of the martyrdom of the Al-Quds Brigades’ Muhammad Kamil, by carrying out a shooting on an Israeli bus in Ramallah.
Munadel Nafi’at (26 years old)
Nafi’at was born in the town of Ya`bad, Jenin district. He was arrested in 2006 and released in 2015. Then, he was re-arrested in 2016 and 2020 on charges of belonging to Saraya Al-Quds (Al-Quds Brigades) — the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement — and participating in resistance operations against the occupation forces.
It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation re-arrested Yaqoub Qadri and Mahmoud Al-Arida on September 10, 2021, in occupied Al-Nasira. On September 11, 2021, the occupation re-arrested Zakaria Al-Zubaidi and Mohammad Qassem Al Arida and re-arrested Ayham Kamamji and Munadel Nafi’at on September 19, 2021.
“Israel’s” crushed pride
“The first [goal] was to see my family and live in the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority’s protection, and the second was to prove to all Israeli security organizations and the Israeli government that they are a failure. We managed to dig a tunnel from Israel’s most secure prison,” Al Arida said as quoted by Israeli media during his investigation shortly after he was re-arrested after the operation.
Simultaneously, Israeli media reported the occupation’s Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked as saying that the Gilboa Prison escape is a serious failure that cannot be covered up, as it exposed a series of failures in the prison service.
According to Israeli Channel 12, Shaked said she believed that the PM’s decision to form an official inquiry on the Gilboa escape and the prison service’s failure was the right step to take.
She also added that the escape has revealed two things: the prison service’s many failures, and the living conditions of the “security prisoners”.
Israeli Minister of Public Security Omar Bar-Lev considered the operation an immense failure of the Israeli establishment.
In this context, Knesset Member Amichai Chekli told Channel 13 that “the Gilboa prison escape operation is one of the prison service’s most serious failures.”
It was also reported by a senior security official that the escape of prisoners from Gilboa reflects a “series of dangerous failures,” noting that estimates reveal that the digging of the tunnel took years, not months.
In an exclusive interview for Al Mayadeen English, the Representative of the Islamic Jihad movement in the Prisoners Committee of the National and Islamic Forces Yaser Mizher commented on the systemic failure of “Israel” by saying, “the six prisoners managed to dig the tunnel over a period of 9 months, demonstrating the fiascoes of the Israeli security establishment”.
“The six prisoners rubbed the occupation’s nose in the dirt”, he tersely explained.
“Despite daily security inspections, the Israeli occupation was unable to detect any signs before the operation and was not aware of the prison break until six hours,” he added.
After the operation, the Israeli enemy mobilized all of its military force to arrest the six heroes over a period of five days, he said.
“Israel’s” clampdown
In a blatant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, “Israel” unleashed a wave of torture and abuse against the six Palestinian heroes after their re-arrest, where they are imprisoned under inhumane conditions.
Mizher told Al Mayadeen English that the six prisoners were subjected to brutal beating which left obvious bruises on their bodies.
Mizher added that the Israeli occupation has also threatened and arrested the six prisoner’s family members, including the sister and brother of prisoner Mahmoud Al-Arida.
Following the heroic operation of the Freedom Tunnel, the occupation has ramped up its oppressive measures against #Palestinian prisoners, notably the heroes of the operation, in a desperate bid to deter them from snatching their rights and their freedom once again.#Palestinepic.twitter.com/mTODZgOjRI
The current Health conditions of the six prisoners
Kefah Al-Arida, a former Palestinian prisoner, and cousin of Mahmoud and Mohammad Al-Arida, revealed to Al Mayadeen English the current health situations of the six Palestinian prisoners.
Kefah divulged that Mohammad Al-Arida is suffering from severe back pain and was given painkillers only after his lawyer pressured the Israeli prison authorities.
Meanwhile, Zakaria Al-Zubaidi who was severely beaten alongside Mohammad Al-Arida is suffering from a dislocated jaw with no access to medical care, according to Kefah.
The ex-Palestinian prisoner told Al Mayadeen English that two prisoners, Yaqoub Qadri and Ayham Kamamji, are suffering from critical health issues.
Kefah revealed that Qadri’s health is further deteriorating since he suffers from a heart condition with no access to medical care, stressing that Qadri also needs surgery. In addition, Kefah also noted that Qadri suffers from dangerous head injuries, due to consistent beatings.
The ex-prisoner also told Al Mayadeen English that Ayham is suffering from a severe stomach disease with no access to medical care.
In violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and others, the Israeli occupation pursues a policy of medical neglect against Palestinian prisoners deliberately to aggravate their sufferings, Kefah concluded.
Solitary confinement
One of the harshest forms of torture in Israeli prisons is transferring prisoners to solitary confinement. After an unjust trial, the six Palestinian prisoners were charged with escaping in October by the Israeli Magistrate’s Court.
The penalty for fleeing prison, where prisoners are constantly subjected to abuse, mistreatment, and deprivation of their basic human rights, is an additional five years.
Simultaneously, the Israeli occupation authorities transferred the six Palestinian prisoners to solitary confinement in various prisons.
since a year ago, the heroes have been incarcerated in deplorable conditions and subjected to inhumane treatment, including arbitrary beatings and denial of family visits.
They are forcefully cramped in dark cells “unfit for the residing of humans,” subjected to illegal punitive measures, including being tied to their beds for hours or even days at a time, segregation from other prisoners, and subjection to unjustified, non-consensual strip searches. Prisoners prefer sleeping on the floor due to bed bugs festering the mattresses, while the walls are moldy and crumbling, in addition to mice and rats infesting the cells. As they suffer in abysmal conditions, strict routines govern every aspect of their lives.
Furthermore, Palestinian prisoners suffer from acute mental health problems due to overcrowding and lack of sunlight, especially in solitary confinement. They have little or no access to medical care.
Types of Solitary confinement in Israeli prisons:
First type of Solitary confinement
The first type of solitary confinement is not only the cruelest, most inhumane, and degrading form of punishment, but also a serious form of human rights violation.
The cell is 180 cm long and 80 cm wide. It has no windows and no toilet. The Israeli occupation usually keeps the prisoner locked inside for 21 days; yet, that period can be extended to 37 days, breaking their own laws.
The cell has one camera, and it is always directed at the prisoner, leaving no room for privacy whatsoever.
In this cell, a prisoner loses the track of time. The prisoner is kept alone in this cell for 24 hours a day. The six Palestinian prisons have been transferred to this type of solitary confinement before the Israeli court decision.
Ex-Palestinian prisoners described this type of solitary confinement as a grave.
“It doesn’t require much imagination to realize how horrid the situation is: there is no bathroom in solitary confinement, one could barely possess space to breathe, let alone the privilege to use a toilet more than the once-every-6-A.M. per day”, Kefah told Al Mayadeen English.
“If you are forced to use the cell as a toilet, then you have to stay awake till the next day until they give you little water to clean the cell by yourself, he continued, adding, “this adds up to the culmination of diseases and health issues that the prisoner is already suffering from in the prison”.
“This is part of a deliberate policy the Israelis use to create a ripple of intended effects on the psyche of the Palestinian prisoner, “he added.
Gilboa Prison Break: The masters of their own jail
Second type of Solitary confinement
The cell is 250 cm long and 200 cm wide. It has a small window and a toilet. The prisoner’s sentence in this type of solitary confinement is extended every 6 months. The six Israeli prisoners have been in this type of solitary confinement for almost a year now.
It is worth mentioning that there are two cameras in this cell — one directed toward the prisoners and the other directed toward the toilet. Two prisoners occupy this cell. A prisoner can spend at least 5 years in this type of confinement.
The prisoner is allowed to spend one hour a day outside the cell. He or she is handcuffed and taken to another room with half a meter concrete window.
The prisoners are not allowed to wear their own clothing. They are also deprived of family visits, books, and essential personal hygiene products.
Third type of Solitary confinement
The cell is 300 cm long and 250 cm wide. It has a small window and a toilet. The prisoner’s sentence in this type of solitary confinement is extended for years. The prisoner is allowed to spend only one hour a day outside the cell. Two prisoners occupy this cell.
"Palestine is ours, all of Palestine." The #Palestinian prisoner Yaqoub Qadri, one of the 6 prisoners who escaped from Gilboa Prison. pic.twitter.com/dXZ6zJg7xL
We have seen many examples of how the Israeli entity has been humiliated time and time again, not only by the Gilboa prison break but even by its own crumbling internal politics. Or did their own crumbling internal dilemmas pave the way for the Gilboa break? One thing is certain, “Israel’s” image, no matter how security-tight, will never be the same.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club warns against the health problems that hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners could face in light of the Israeli occupation’s policy of medical neglect.
Israeli occupation soldiers detaining a Palestinian man in the West Bank, occupied Palestine
Palestinian prisoners are hunger-striking to protest the Israeli occupation’s administrative detention, the longest of which being 111 days by prisoner Khalil Awawdeh and 76 days by Raed Rayan.
The prisoners are in critical health conditions while the Israeli occupation’s prisons authorities are refusing to respond to their demands for liberation.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club said Awawdeh’s case should clear up by June 26, which is the date his current administrative detention ends. However, it would not be out of the ordinary if the Israeli occupation chooses to arbitrarily extend his sentence.
The PPC later reported that prisoner Awawdeh suspended his hunger strike on the 111th day after the Israeli occupation pledged to end his arbitrary detention.
Prisoner Rayan, on the other hand, is still on hunger strike, starting his 76th day today. He is still detained in the Ramlah prison clinic after the occupation transferred him there from Ofer prison on May 23. Nothing is clear about his case so far.
The PPC underlined that the Israeli occupation was neglecting the prisoners’ demands on purpose in a bid to have them reach a highly critical health condition with grave repercussions in the long run.
The head of the Palestinian Prisoners and Ex-prisoners Affairs Commission, Qadri Abu Bakr, revealed on Wednesday that the Israeli occupation threatened prisoners to deny them any access to medical treatment if they do not end their open-ended hunger strike.
Palestinian prisoners Khalil Awawdeh, 40, from the town of Idna in Al-Khalil, and Raed Rayan, 27, from the village of Beit Duqu north of Al-Quds, have been hunger-striking for months, demanding their freedom robbed by the Israeli occupation.
Rayan has been suffering from headaches and joint, flank, and knee pain, as well as difficulty in walking. He has not been examined by a doctor and has not undergone any medical examinations since the beginning of his hunger strike, while Awawdeh is suffering from severe joint pain, headaches, vertigo, and blurred vision. He is also unable to move and is wheelchair-bound.
Palestinian prisoner Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, one of the prisoners behind Operation Freedom Tunnel, which saw six brave prisoners liberating themselves from the unjust prisons of the Israeli occupation, is on the 17th day of his hunger strike launched in solidarity with the hunger-striking prisoners.
This comes as 640 administrative detainees are still boycotting the Israeli occupation courts in protest of the policy of administrative detention.
There are 682 administrative detainees in the Israeli occupation’s prisons out of some 4,600 prisoners. Reports show that there have been more than 54,000 administrative detention orders since 1967.
Among the administrative detainees are two female prisoners and a child, most of whom are in the prisons of Ofer (233), Al-Naqab (259), and Megiddo (89).
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Muhjat Al-Quds foundation announces receiving a letter from Yaqoub Qadri who is on hunger strike for the 11th day, whereby he confirmed he was transferred to a dumpster-like cell infested with insects.
Isolated prisoner Yaqoub Qadri
The media department of Muhjat Al-Quds Foundation for Martyrs, Prisoners, and Wounded confirmed in a statement that the isolated prisoner Yaqoub Mahmoud Ahmed Qadri is on an open hunger strike for the 11th consecutive day to demand the restoration of all his rights he was coerced out of by the “Ohalei Keidar” prison administration.
Muhjat Al-Quds stated that the prisoner confirmed in a letter that he has been on an open-ended hunger strike since the beginning of June, in refusal of the prison administration’s decision to close his cantina account, claiming that he owed 7,500 shekels, which he has no clue where it came from.
The Foundation added that he was denied family visits for a period of two months and going out to the square for a period of two weeks, and he recieved a fine of 250 shekels. He stressed that he decided to go on an open hunger strike “in order to recover all the rights stolen from him by the prison administration.”
In his letter, Qadri indicated that his situation is very difficult as he faces daily inspections by the prison administration, adding that the prison administration has moved him to a new dumpster-like cell infested with cockroaches, mosquitoes, ants, and bedbugs that feed on his body day and night, all for the sake of breaking his will and forcing him to end his hunger strike without retrieving any of his stolen rights.
Muhjat Al-Quds called on international, human rights institutions, especially the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, to “carry out their legal and moral responsibilities of exposing the arbitrary practices and crimes of the Zionist occupation prisons against the isolated prisoners, specifically the prisoners of the Freedom Tunnel, and bringing the Zionist officials to justice by forcing them to stand before the International Criminal Court.”
It is worth noting that the prisoner Yaqoub Qadri from the village of Bir Al-Basha, in the Jenin governorate in the northern West Bank, was born in 1972 and is single. He was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces on October 18, 2003, and the Israeli court sentenced him to life imprisonment twice, plus 35 years. His charges were “belonging to and being a member of Saraya Al-Quds (Al-Quds Brigades) – the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, and participating in operations against the occupation forces.”
According to Israeli sources, the prisoners who managed to escape through a tunnel were Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, Munadel Yaqoub Nafi’at, Mohammad Qassem Al-Arida, Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri, Ayham Fouad Kamamji, Mahmoud Abdullah Al-Arida, knowing that the last five are members of the Islamic Jihad Movement.
The so-called “Nazareth Court” issued a sentence on May 22 against the Palestinian prisoners who broke out of Gilboa Prison on September 6, in what was later known as the Freedom Tunnel operation.
Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent said the occupation court sentenced five of the prisoners to five years and eight months in prison, adding that Zakaria Al-Zubaidi was not sentenced today because of his different circumstances.
The court also issued a four-year prison sentence and a fine of 2,000 shekels against the five prisoners who provided assistance to the Freedom Tunnel prisoners as per Israeli claims: Iyad Jaradat, Ali Abu Bakr, Muhammad Abu Bakr, Qusai Merhi and Mahmoud Abu Ashrin.
Israeli occupation court issues a sentence of 5 years and 8 months of imprisonment against the Freedom Tunnel prisoners, except for Zakaria Al-Zubaidi.
PPC lawyer Khaled Mahajna: These sentences are an example of “Israel’s” arbitrary practices against the Palestinian people
Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent said the occupation court sentenced five of the prisoners to five years and eight months in prison, adding that Zakaria Al-Zubaidi was not sentenced today because of his different circumstances.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club lawyer Khaled Mahajna told Al Mayadeen that the rulings against the prisoners were “unfair”, adding that these sentences are an example of “Israel’s” arbitrary practices against the Palestinian people.
Mahajna noted that the rulings can be appealed, but there is no trust whatsoever in the Israeli courts’ system.
Earlier, the prisoners’ lawyer said 11 prisoners were being sentenced today for the 2021 prison break from Gilboa in September, clarifying that five of the defendants are accused of providing assistance to the others to escape, as per the Israeli claims.
Mahajna also said that he does not expect the Israeli occupation to do them justice, rather it will conspire with Israeli intelligence and the prosecution’s demands and will force harsh sentences against them in order to please the “Israeli public” and feign an achievement after the embarrassment the prisoners caused them.
He declared that this “show trial” the prisoners are undergoing is illegal and inhumane, noting that if the sentences are harsh, the defendants’ team of lawyers will head to the Central Court and the Higher Court to appeal any sentence considered harsher than expected.
The other prisoners that provided assistance to the Freedom Tunnel prisoners as per Israeli claims were later sentenced to four years of imprisonment and a fine.
On the Monday morning of September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners broke out of the high-security Israeli Gilboa prison through a tunnel they dug, which led them outside the prison walls before they were arrested.
The Freedom Tunnel prisoners are Mahmoud Al-Aridah, Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, Yaqoub Qadri, Mohammad Al-Aridah, Ayham Kamamji, and Munadel Nafi’at.
الاحتلال يصدر حكماً بالسجن 5 سنوات على 5 من أسرى نفق الحرية
أصدرت محكمة الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، اليوم الأحد، الحكم على الأسرى الفلسطينيين الذين شاركوا في عملية “نفق الحرية”.
وقالت مراسلة الميادين إنّ محكمة الاحتلال حكمت بالسجن 5 سنوات و8 أشهر وغرامة مالية على أسرى نفق الحرية.
وأعلنت أنّ الاحتلال حكم على الأسرى الذين يتهمهم بمساعدة أسرى نفق الحرية بالسجن 4 سنوات وغرامة مالية.
وقال محامي نادي الأسير خالد محاجنة للميادين، إنّ الأحكام الصادرة بحق الأسرى “غير عادلة”، مضيفاً أنّ “الأحكام الصادرة هي نموذج من ممارسات إسرائيل بحق الشعب الفلسطيني”.
ولفت محاجنة إلى أنّه يمكن استئناف الأحكام، “لكن لا تعويل على نظام المحاكم الإسرائيلية”،مشيراً إلى أنّ قوات الاحتلال تحاول إبعاد الصحافيين من قاعة المحكمة.
وفي وقت سابق، أكد محامي أسرى نفق الحرية، أن 11 أسيراً سوف يعرضون على المحكمة اليوم للبت في عملية انتزاع حريتهم من سجن جلبوع في أيلول 2021، موضحاً أنّ 5 من “المتهمين” يزعم الاحتلال تقديمهم المساعدة لأسرى نفق الحرية ال6.
وقال محاجنة إنّه لا يتوقع أن تنصفهم المحكمة، بل سترضخ وتتواطأ مع مطالب النيابة والمخابرات الإسرائيلية وفرض عقوبات صعبة من أجل إرضاء “الجمهور الإسرائيلي” ومحاولة الخروج بإنجاز معين بعد الإحراج الذي سببه لهم الأسرى.
وأشار المحامي إلى أنّ المحكمة الصورية التي تمارس على الأسرى غير إنسانية وغير قانونية، مشيراً إلى أنّه في حال كانت الأحكام التي ستطلق صعبة، سيتوجه طاقم المحامين إلى المحكمة المركزية ومحكمة العدل العليا لاستئناف كل حكم سيكون فوق المتوقع.
وفي مطلع الشهر الجاري، أكدت هيئة شؤون الأسرى والمحررين، أنّ سلطات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، تُواصل عزل الأسير زكريا الزبيدي داخل زنازين العزل الانفرادي منذ ما يقارب 8 أشهر.
وحمّلت هيئة الأسرى سلطات الاحتلال المسؤولية الكاملة عن حياة الأسير الزبيدي ورفاقه الآخرين الذين انتزعوا حريتهم من سجن “جلبوع”، في ظل ما تقوم به إدارة سجون الاحتلال من إجراءات عقابية بحقهم وابتكار أساليب قمعية جديدة تنفذها ضدهم.
وكانت المحكمة قد نظرت، في نيسان/أبريل الماضي، في طلب النيابة العامة فرض عقوبات إضافية عليهم وعلى 5 أسرى آخرين، تنسب إليهم سلطات الاحتلال تهماً بمساعدة الأسرى ال 6 في الهروب.
اشتهر وزير الدفاع (الإسرائيلي) الأسبق موشي يعلون عندما خدم كرئيس أركان الجيش أثناء الانتفاضة الثانية بأنه صاحب نظرية كيّ الوعي، والتي تبنّتها حكومة اليسار في حينه برئاسة إيهود باراك، ثم ما لبثت أن تبنتها الحكومات كافة. هذه النظرية هي لطريقة التعامل والانتصار على الشعب الفلسطيني أساساً، واستعملت ببعض التحوير للتعامل مع العالم العربي المطبّع معها. ترى هذه النظرية أنّ كي الوعي الفلسطيني هو المقدمة الضرورية للانتصار عليه لاحقاً في أرض المعركة، وذلك من خلال تحطيم إرادته ومعنوياته وضرب منظومات قيمه وثقافته وتاريخه، ومحو هويته، وإشعاره الدائم بضعفه وفشله أمام (إسرائيل) المتفوّقة والمنتصرة في النهاية، وإحداث انشقاقات داخلية وزرع فئات مستفيدة (خلق طبقات جديدة) مما تقدّم، وتعمل على نشر الروح الانهزاميّة وثقافة الاستسلام.
هذه النظرية (الإسرائيلية)، ما لبثت أن أخذت أبعاداً متدحرجة وذلك إثر تعيين الجنرال الأميركي دايتون في أيار عام 2005 منسقاً للعلاقات الفلسطينية ـ (الإسرائيلية)، ( (USSCثم عقب فوز حركة حماس في الانتخابات التشريعية والتداعيات التي تلاحقت وأخذت شكل الانقسام الجغرافي، فأضيف لعمل الجنرال مهمة الإشراف على تدريب ـ وللدقة على إعادة تأهيل، أجهزة الأمن الفلسطينية، وسرعان ما أصبح الجنرال نجم السياسة ومقررها بفضل امتداد نفوذه الى شتى الوزارات والإدارات الفلسطينية لا الأمنية فحسب. والجنرال متعدّد المواهب وله سيرة ذاتية مهمة وتجارب سابقة ساعدته في القيام بمهمته، فقد عمل سابقاً دبلوماسياً في موسكو ما بعد الاتحاد السوفياتي، وساهم في صناعة المجتمع المدني هناك عبر إنشاء منظمات غير حكوميّة ( (N.G.Osثم انتقل الى يوغوسلافيا ليكون له دور في شرذمتها ثم الى العراق في فرق التفتيش عن أسلحة الدمار الشامل المزعومة.
عمل الجنرال دايتون على صناعة عقيدة أمنية جديدة للأمن الفلسطيني، حيث تتمّ تعبئة رجال الأمن بأنّ مشروعهم وعملهم لا علاقة له بالعودة والتحرير وحق تقرير المصير وإقامة الدولة المستقلة وعاصمتها القدس، وإنما بالدفاع عن اتفاق أوسلو ووليدته السلطة الفلسطينية بكامل التزاماتها، ثم انّ العدو ليس (إسرائيل) وإنما العدو في الداخل الفلسطيني وكلّ من يعارض الاتفاق المشؤوم والالتزامات الواردة في نصوصه…
ما تقدّم ليس تحليلاً او اجتهاداً، بل هو ما أفصح عنه الجنرال متفاخراً بإنجازاته بمحاضرة ألقاها أمام جمع من السياسيين في معهد واشنطن لسياسات الشرق الأدنى المقرّب من إيباك (اللوبي اليهودي) ونص المحاضرة موجود باللغة العربية على الشبكة العنكبوتية لمن يريد الاستزادة، ويضيف الجنرال بفخر وتبجّح أنّ أحد الضباط خاطب متخرجي إحدى الدورات قائلاً: ليست مهمتكم أن تقاتلوا (إسرائيل)، وإنما الحفاظ على الأمن، وهذا ما جعل ضباطاً في الجيش (الإسرائيلي) يسألونني بإعجاب: كم من هؤلاء الرجال تستطيع أن تصنع؟
تجاوزت صلاحيات الجنرال الأمن والتنسيق مع (إسرائيل)، باتجاه إعادة صناعة المواطن الفلسطيني وفق المحددات ذاتها، فعلى المواطن الفلسطيني أن يرى في العمل المقاوم للاحتلال عملاً موجهاً ضدّه أيضاً، فهو يؤدي الى إغلاق المعابر أمام حركة البيع والشراء ويعطل عمل السوق ويؤدي الى سحب تصاريح عمل العمال في الداخل الفلسطيني، المقاوم يصبح عدواً للشعب الفلسطيني لا لـ «الإسرائيلي» فحسب. هذا الفلسطيني الهجين والمشوّه الذي ظنّ دايتون انه صنع له عقيدة تقوم على الراتب وفوائد الاستسلام، وولاء لمن يؤمّن الراتب، فشلت. فـ «الإسرائيلي» لم يقدّم للسلطة مقابل احتضانها لدايتون ونظرياته وتدريباته إلا الإمعان في تهميشها.
يا ترى ماذا لدى الجنرالين موشي يعلون ودايتون ليقولا تعقيباً على ما جرى ويجري انطلاقاً من جنين مدينة ومخيماً ومحافظة؟ وما حصل من زخم مقاوم واشتباكات من مسافات صفرية في أنحاء الضفة الغربية التي أصبحت تعيش أجواء انتفاضة ثالثة أو حالة حرب، وهي مرشحة للمزيد مع اقتراب عيد الفصح اليهوديّ خلال أيام، وما يمكن ان يحصل في المسجد الأقصى خلاله، وبالطبع غزة ليست شريكاً وإنما جزء من المواجهة، ولكن بما تحكمه الجغرافيا، وما هو قابع في أعماق العقل والقلب الفلسطيني بقي على رفضه للسموم وإن غلفت بالسكر، الشهيد رعد زيدان هو نجل عقيد في الأمن الفلسطيني، والشهيد السعدي هو عنصر سابق في الاستخبارات العسكرية والذي أطلق النار على المستوطنين المعتدين على مقام قبر يوسف في نابلس ضابط أمن، وهم يكذبون بالقول والفعل أية نظرية تظنّ أنها تستطيع تعمية الشمس بغربال باطلها. لم يستطع موشي يعلون كي الوعي الفلسطيني العام، ولا الجنرال الأميركي استطاع صناعة فلسطيني جديد وفقاً لمقياسه، إلا في حالات نادرة سيلفظها الزمن، وما حصل في الأيام الأخيرة يؤكد تهافت كلّ النظريات المعادية أمام حقيقة أنّ الاحتلال وكيانه إلى زوال، وأنّ الأميركي في تراجع.
الاثنين الماضي تمّ عرض أبطال سجن جلبوع أمام المحكمة في الناصرة، استطاع الأسير محمود العارضة ان يمرّر خلال المحاكمة جملة واحدة نقلتها الصحافة: هذه (إسرائيل) ـ الوحش ليس إلا غباراً…
FILE – In this Dec. 30, 2004 file photo, Zakaria Zubeidi, then leader in the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in the West Bank, is carried by supporters during a presidential elections campaign rally in support of Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank town of Jenin. For nearly two decades, Zubeidi has been an object of fascination for Israelis and Palestinians alike, who have seen his progression from a child actor to a swaggering militant, to the scarred face of a West Bank theater promoting “cultural resistance” to Israeli occupation. In his latest act, he has emerged as one of Israel’s most wanted fugitives after tunneling out of a high-security prison on Monday, Sept. 6, 2021, with five other Palestinian militants. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)
Angry residents reportedly opened fire on the PA headquarters in Jenin as discontent against Fatah leaders continues to grow
In the pre-dawn hours of 8 January, Palestinian Authority (PA) forces forcibly arrested the son of Zakaria Zubeidi, one of the six Palestinian detainees who escaped from the maximum security Gilboa prison last year.
According to the PA, he was arrested along with two other men “for illegal weapon ownership.”
Videos shared on social media show PA troops roughing up the young Zubeidi before arresting him.
תיעוד מעצר בנו של זכריא זביידי , מוחמד אזביידי ,על ידי כוח של המשטרה ומנגנוני הביטחון. האירוע הצית את השטח והוציא חמושים לרחוב בג'נין ובמחנה הפליטים. pic.twitter.com/xgveLWSn8U
In response to the arbitrary actions by PA troops, dozens of local residents took to the streets of Jenin in the occupied West Bank to demand the release of the detainees.
According to Israeli media, some even opened fire on the local headquarters of the PA. However, no casualties have been reported.
According to local reports, Zubeidi was released a number of hours later, and appeared to have a bandaged head and hand.
On 6 September of last year, his father, Zakaria Zubeidi, along with five Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) prisoners escaped from the maximum security Gilboa prison by digging a tunnel underneath their bathroom sink, reportedly using a spoon.
But while they were all eventually detained just days later, their daring escape proved to be a major embarrassment for the Israeli occupation forces.
Not long after Zubeidi was rearrested, he had to be rushed to a hospital to fight for his life after being tortured by occupation authorities.
On 12 September, Zubeidi’s brother took to social media to report that following his capture, Zakaria had been “subjected to the most extreme forms of torture,” adding that the Israelis “beat him, electrocuted him, and broke his leg.”
According to an exclusive report by The Cradle, as the former commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Zubeidi had a long history of armed resistance.
Despite being given amnesty at the close of the second intifada in 2002 after Operation Defensive Wall was concluded and was then forced to undergo a “rehabilitation process,” Zubeidi was re-arrested in 2019 for shooting at illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
تحت شعار “جهادنا حرية وانتصار”، تُحيي حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين هذا العام الذكرى الـ34 لانطلاقتها الجهادية.
القيادات والحركات الفلسطينية باركت لحركة الجهاد هذا اليوم، مؤكدة وحدة الصف الفلسطيني بوجه العدو المحتل.
قيادات “الجهاد”
وبالمناسبة، قال الأمين العام لحركة الجهاد الإسلامي زياد النخالة إن “ما حدث بعد نفق الحرية يؤكد للعدو مرة أخرى أن هذه الأرض لنا وأن العدو إلى زوال”.
ولفت النخالة إلى أن “هؤلاء القتلة الصهاينة وجب قتالهم فإما حياة كريمة لنا أو ذل مستدام”، مشيرًا إلى أن “هذا العام شهدنا رفضًا لكل محاولات العدو لتهجير أهلنا في الشيخ جراح وحي سلوان”.
النخالة اعتبر أنه “المحزن أكثر هو تمدد الصهيونية في المنطقة العربية بشكل لم يحلم به مؤسسو الصهيونية”.
وقال: “نحن أكثر وعيًا بالمشروع الصهيوني فلنقف جميعًا شعبًا واحدًا وإرادة واحدة”، لافتًا إلى أن “المشروع الرسمي الفلسطيني أقصر من قامة الشهداء”.
وأشار إلى “أننا موعودون بالنصر والعدو محكوم بالخروج من فلسطين وعلينا أن نخرج من الغمغمة السياسية”.
ووفقًا للنخالة، فإن “بعض الأنظمة العربية يأخذ خطابنا للارتماء في المشروع الصهيوني الأميركي”، مضيفًا أنه “إذا لم نفعل ذلك سيبقى الاحتلال وسيتمدد لذلك يجب أن نراهن على شعبنا ومقاتلينا”.
ورأى الأمين العام لـ”الجهاد” أن “معركة سيف القدس كشفت هشاشة الاحتلال وأحيت الأمل لدى شعبنا بأن الانتصار على العدو ممكن”، مشيرًا إلى أنه “أصبح واضحًا للعالم أن مهرجانات التطبيع والسلام الكاذب وافتتاح السفارات لن تغير حقائق التاريخ”.
النخالة أكد أنه “رغم التحديات نراهن على ثبات أهلنا في القدس في التصدي لاقتحامات المستوطنين للأقصى”، قائلًا إن “ما تمر به قضيتنا الفلسطينية من تحديات لا يمنعنا من أن نرى بوادر أمل من أن الانتصار قريب”.
كما شدد على أن “شعبنا شعب مقاوم ومرابط ولم يبخل يومًا في تقديم التضحيات من أجل فلسطين ويواجه أعتى احتلال”. في المقابل “هناك من يراهن على تسويق الوهم في إمكانية إحداث اختراق لدى ذلك الاحتلال”، موجهًا “التحية إلى الأسرى ولا سيما منهم أسرى حركة الجهاد الإسلامي”.
كذلك وجه التحية إلى أبطال نفق الحرية وإلى الأسيرات اللواتي وصفهن بأنهن نجمات على جبين الأمة، مؤكدًا “وحدة قوى المقاومة في فلسطين والمنطقة وحماية هذه الوحدة”.
وشدد الأمين العام على “التمسك بفلسطين كل فلسطين وعلى أن المقاومة خيارنا”، مجددًا رفضه الدائم لكل مشاريع التطبيع والاستسلام مهما بلغ عدد الدول المتورطة فيها.
ممثل “حركة الجهاد الإسلامي” في لبنان إحسان عطايا قال من ناحيته إن “ذكرى انطلاقة حركة الجهاد الإسلامي الـ34 لها ميزة ونكهة خاصة، ولا سيما أنها جاءت خلال عام حافل بالإنجازات المهمة التي غيَّرت فيها “سرايا القدس” وفصائل المقاومة الفلسطينية الكثير من المعادلات مع العدو الصهيوني”.
وأكد عطايا لـ”إذاعة القدس” أن “حركة الجهاد ما زالت ثابتة على خيار المقاومة من أجل تحرير كل تراب فلسطين، ولم تتزحزح عن ثوابتها التي انطلقت من أجلها قيد أنملة”.
وأضاف: “حركة الجهاد في مواقفها وإنجازاتها أكدت للجميع أنه لا يمكن بغير المقاومة تحقيق إنجازات نوعية وتفوق على العدو في طريق تحرير القدس وكل فلسطين”.
ولفت إلى أن “الساحات كلها تعمل على قدم وساق من أجل الاحتفال بذكرى الانطلاقة الجهادية المركزية المتزامنة فيما بينها، لتثبت الحركة بذلك مجددًا أنها ما زالت متماسكة، وقادرة على التواصل والتفاعل، ويمكنها إرسال رسائل متعددة الاتجاهات بأنها ستبقى متسلحة بثوابتها، ومتمسكة بمبادئها ومنطلقاتها، وستظل وفية لنهج قادتها المؤسسين، ولدماء شهدائها المخلصين، وكل الذين استشهدوا على طريق القدس وفلسطين”.
وأكد عطايا في ختام حديثه أن “حركة الجهاد في طليعة المقاومين، وتخوض المعركة مع العدو دفاعًا عن فلسطين ومقدساتها، وصونًا لكرامة الأمة وعزتها”، موجهًا “التحية لشهدائنا وجرحانا وأسرانا البواسل في سجون العدو وزنازينه، ولشعبنا الصابر والمقاوم في غزة الأبية الصابرة، الذي لا يزال يدفع أثمانًا باهظة، ويتحمل الحصار الخانق لتمسكه بخيار المقاومة، وكذلك لأهلنا في القدس والضفة وعموم أرضنا المحتلة في انتفاضتهم المباركة بوجه الاحتلال”.
من جهته، أكد القيادي في حركة الجهاد الإسلامي أحمد المدلل أن الحركة من خلال سلاحها البسيط استطاعت أن تدك العدو الصهيوني وتصنع معادلات ردع جديدة.
وأكد المدلل في تصريح لقناة القدس اليوم أن شرف الانطلاقة الجهادية الـ34 أن الدكتور المؤسس فتحي الشقاقي أراد لفلسطين أن تكون حاضرة دائمًا في صلب الوعي الإسلامي ومن تمحور حوله هم الشباب المسلم.
وقال: “بالرغم من كل ما واجهته حركة الجهاد الإسلامي من حصار ومطاردات إلا أنها أصبحت قوية أكثر”. وأوضح أن كل العمليات البطولية لحركة الجهاد وصولًا لعملية انتزاع الحرية أعادت تأثير الحركة على الطاولة العالمية.
وشدد على أن المقاومة الفلسطينية والشعب الفلسطيني هما السد المنيع أمام العدو الصهيوني الذي لا يفهم سوى لغة القوة. وأكد أنه لا بد من وجود مشروع عربي إسلامي نهضوي في مواجهة المشروع الاستكباري الصهيوني.
وبيّن المدلل أن الكيان الصهيوني يعيش في أسوأ مراحله لأن سلاح المقاومة وعلى رأسه سلاح سرايا القدس استطاع ضرب عمق “تل أبيب”.
قيادات “حماس”
وقد هنأت حركة المقاومة الإسلامية “حماس” حركة الجهاد الإسلامي وأمينها العام، وأعضاء المكتب السياسي، وعموم قادة الحركة وكوادرها بمناسبة ذكرى الانطلاقة الرابعة والثلاثين.
وقالت “حماس” في بيان إن انطلاقة حركة الجهاد الإسلامي مثلت إضافة نوعية وإسهامًا كبيرًا في تعزيز المقاومة، وردف مشروع التحرير وحق العودة بالقوة والمنعة.
وأكدت الحركة في هذه المناسبة وحدة الهدف والقواسم المشتركة القائمة على خيار المقاومة ومقارعة المحتل، والمضي في تعزيز وحدة الحال والكلمة، والاستمرار في تحالف متين نحو هدفنا المشترك، تحرير فلسطين من بحرها إلى نهرها.
ولفتت إلى أن الصورة المشرقة التي جمعت سرايا القدس وكتائب القسام وكل أذرع المقاومة الفلسطينية في مواجهة الاحتلال ستبقى هي الحقيقة الثابتة، والتي لن تتغير حتى تطهير الأرض والمقدسات.
وأضافت “في هذا اليوم المجيد نقف إجلالًا للقادة الشهداء، المؤسس الدكتور الشهيد فتحي الشقاقي، والدكتور الشهيد رمضان شلح، وكل الشهداء والأسرى من حركة الجهاد الإسلامي الذين برهنوا بالدم على صدق التمسك بمسار التحرير والإصرار عليه، وأنهم لن يقيلوا أو يستقيلوا حتى يتحقق هدف التحرير”.
وبعثت الحركة بخالص التبريكات والدعوات الصادقات لرفقاء الدرب وشركاء الدم، مجددة معهم عهد الوفاء لفلسطين حتى نلتقي في ساحات المسجد الأقصى المبارك مهللين مكبرين محررين، وما ذلك على الله بعزيز ولا بعيد.
من جانبه، وجه اسماعيل رضوان القيادي في حركة حماس التحية والتهنئة لحركة الجهاد الاسلامي في ذكرى انطلاقتها، مؤكدًا أن انطلاقة حركة الجهاد الإسلامي نوعية وليست زيادة رقمية حيث أضافت رخمًا جديدًا في العمل المقاوم وأبدعت في ميداني السياسة والمقاومة معًا.
وقال رضوان: “نعتز بالعلاقة التي تربط حركة حماس والجهاد الاسلامي، حيث إننا يدٌ واحدة، وسرايا القدس وكتائب القسام تعملان سويا وستواصلان العمل كونهما رفقاء الدم والمصير”، مشددًا على حرص حركته على تطوير العلاقة الثنائية بين حركتي الجهاد الاسلامي وحماس وكل الوطن حتى الوصول للوحدة الوطنية التي تحافظ على الثوابت حتى تحرير فلسطين.
وأضاف رضوان: “العلاقة التي تربط بين الحركتين قائمة على المبدأ والعقيدة كوننا أصحاب مدرسة ايمانية تستمد أساسها من القرآن والكريم والسنة النبوية، وهي ما يربطنا في الفكر والتربية فنحن نسير على ذات الشوكة”.
وأشار رضوان إلى أن حركتي الجهاد وحماس قدمتا أغلى ما لديهما من رموز القيادة، بالإضافة إلى قيادة الجهاد الإسلامي مؤسسها فتحي الشقاقي وهاني العابد والخواجة وبهاء أبو العطاء وغيرهم من قوافل الشهداء، مؤكدًا أن التحام الحركتين نابع من صدقهما في تحرير فلسطين والتكامل القائم من رأس الهرم إلى باقي المجالات العسكرية والميدانية.
حركة “المجاهدين”
في السياق نفسه، تقدمت “حركة المجاهدين الفلسطينية” ممثلة بأمينها العام أسعد أبو شريعة “أبو الشيخ” وأعضاء مكتب الأمانة العامة وكافة قيادة وكوادر الحركة من إخوة الدين والدرب والجهاد في حركة الجهاد الإسلامي، وعلى رأسهم القائد زياد النخالة الأمين العام للحركة وأعضاء مكتبها السياسي وكوادرها، بخالص التهاني والتبريكات في ذكرى انطلاقتهم الرابعة والثلاثين.
وقالت حركة المجاهدين في بيان لها إن الانطلاقة أضافت زخمًا جهاديًا لمسيرة النضال الفلسطيني وللحركة الإسلامية في فلسطين، فكانت معلمًا بارزًا في مشروع التحرير والعودة، وقدمت رصيدًا كبيرًا في مسيرة الفكر والبندقية.
واعتبرت أن هذه المناسبة الجهادية أكدت الروابط الوثيقة التي تجمع مجاهدي الحركتين ومقاتلي سرايا القدس وكتائب المجاهدين والمشوار الطويل من التنسيق والعمل المشترك لنؤكد مضينا في تعزيز روابط الشراكة والتحالف نحو تحرير فلسطين من بحرها إلى نهرها وانتزاع كل الحقوق.
وشددت على ضرورة تعزيز التعاضد بين فصائل المقاومة كجسم فلسطيني أصيل يعبر عن ارادة الشعب في التحرر والخلاص من المحتل.
حركة “الأحرار”
بدورها، هنأت حركة الأحرار حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في الذكرى الـ34 لانطلاقتها الجهادية، مؤكدة أنها امتداد لمسيرة من الجهاد والعطاء في خدمة مشروع المقاومة
وقالت حركة الأحرار إن حركة الجهاد الإسلامي شكَّلت عنوانًا من عناوين الجهاد والبطولة وركيزة أساسية في ريادة مسيرة نضال شعبنا وإضافة نوعية لفصائل المقاومة الفلسطينية.
واستذكرت الحركة قادتها الكرام المؤسس الدكتور فتحي الشقاقي والأمين العام السابق د.رمضان عبد الله شلح وقافلة كبيرة من الشهداء، متمنية لحركة الجهاد دوام الرفعة والتقدم والارتقاء والثبات على خطى الشهداء.
حركة “فتح”
بالموازاة، هنأ عباس زكي عضو اللجنة المركزية لحركة فتح الأمين العام لحركة الجهاد الاسلامي القائد زياد النخالة ومكتبها السياسي وكوادرها بذكرة الانطلاقة الجهادية الـ34، مشيدًا بالحفاظ على نهج الحركة القائم على الثوابت ونضالها من أجل استعادة الأرض دون أن تسأل عن مكانتها في الحصص.
وقال زكي: “كرم الله حركة الجهاد الاسلامي أن يكون قائدها الأول شهيدًا، ونحن نراهن على الحركة التي تعلقت وملأت الفراغ وأصبحت قوة لا يستهان بها في ظل أوضاع غاية في التعقيد”.
وأشاد زكي بالأمين العام لحركة الجهاد الاسلامي القائد زياد النخالة لحفاظه على الإرث العظيم بعناده وإصراراه على الثوابت التي تُشكل طموح شعبنا.
وشدد زكي على أن العدو يقف حائرًا أمام حركة تكرس الوعي والفهم الذي انطلقت على أساسه بالإضافة إلى دورها المعاصر، مشيرًا إلى أن الاحتلال يستهدف أسرى الجهاد الإسلامي، بعد أن قام ستة من نخبتها بحفر نفق داخل سجن جلبوع واصطحاب المارد الفتحاوي ليعطي العارضة رسالة لنا جميعا أن الوحدة هي الأساس للقضاء على الاحتلال.
The occupied West Bank bade farewell to five of its young heroes who were shot dead by ‘Israeli’ occupation troops after intense confrontations that erupted in at least four towns following overnight arrest raids.
According to official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Zionist military forces stormed the northern town of Burqin near al-Quds in the predawn hours of Sunday, and surrounded a home before breaking in and detaining its owner. The detainee was identified as Mohammad Zirini.
The raid prompted skirmishes between angry town residents and Zionist occupation troops who fired live rounds, killing two protesters and injuring at least four others.
One of the two Palestinian martyrs was identified as 22-year-old Osama Yaser Soboh.
Confrontations also erupted shortly after midnight in Kafr Dan village northwest of Jenin as Zionist occupation troops raided the area, detaining at least two Palestinians.
On Saturday night, the occupation regime’s undercover forces kidnapped two young Palestinian men from their car in a fuel station near Jenin.
Furthermore, three Palestinians were shot dead by the Zionist forces in an attack which targeted a house in the village of Biddu.
Witnesses told Wafa that ‘Israeli’ occupation military troops surrounded the building and fired gunshots and grenades at it. Loud explosions were heard during the raid.
Tensions have been rising in the occupied territories following the heroic escape of six Palestinian detainees from high-security Gilboa Prison earlier this month.
The six heroes tunneled their way out through their cell’s drainage system, dealing a serious blow to the Zionist regime’s prestige through bringing the condition of Palestinian prisoners to international attention even though they were rearrested later.
The Zionist occupation regime’s so-called Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev on Friday published the names of the committee members to investigate the escape of six Palestinians from the high-security Gilboa prison in northern ‘Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories earlier this month.
All six Palestinians heroes were eventually recaptured following a massive manhunt involving the Zionist Police, Shin Bet [Zionist Security Agency] and the Zionist military.
The government commission will be headed by retired judge Menachem Finkelstein, who served as the Tel Aviv regime’s Military Advocate General from 2000 to 2004.
Professor Efrat Shoham will also be on the committee. She served as chair of the ‘Israeli’ Criminology Association and serves as head of the Department of Criminology at the Ashkelon Academic College.
Finkelstein and Shoham will be joined by Arik “Harris” Barbing, a former senior official in the Shin Bet, who served as head of the security agency’s cyber division.
Six Palestinian resistance detainees tunneled their way out through a hole that wasn’t sealed for seven years while the prison guard near their cells was sleeping, the watch tower was unmanned, no one answered the phone, and the structure’s blueprint was published online a year earlier.
The jailbreak embarrassed the Zionist security establishment but delighted Palestinians who see resistance members jailed by the occupation regime as heroes in the struggle for liberating Palestine.
The Commission of Palestinian Detainees published Friday new letters from Mohammad and Mahmoud Al-Arda from behind the bars of “Israeli” prisons. The letters included new details about the “Tunnel of Freedom” under Gilboa Prison and their current situation behind bars.
Detainee Mahmoud Al-Arda revealed new details about the tunnel through which six detainees broke free from prison, saying that the main reason behind digging the tunnel is “snatching freedom.”
“Digging the tunnel was in retaliation for the martyrdom of detainee Mohamad Al-Ashkar in 2007, and for this same reason the tunnel in Shatta Prison was dug in 2012,” he added.
“The Tunnel of Freedom came in protest to the martyrdom of the detainee Kamal Abo Waer, the miserable situation of the women in detention, the awful isolation circumstances, the non-implementation of the quests of the mass hunger strike of detainees in 2017, the current tragic conditions and preserving achievements.”
In parallel, Al-Arda dedicated “this victory to martyrs Mohamad Al-Ashkar, Kamal Abo Waer, as well as to the martyrs of The Palestinian Detainees Movement, The Resistance, to our Arabic and Muslim peoples, to the free souls everywhere, and to Gaza in gratitude to what it had offered to the detainees.”
He announced that the tunnel has got the name “The Road to Al-Quds.”
“We have won and “knocked the empty water tank of the lorry” as the great writer Ghassan Kanafani once said. We have delivered our message to the world, that we are seekers of freedom and rights, that we are oppressed, and the world should be by our side in order to free our land,” he added.
For his part, detainee Mohamad Al-Arda, stated that he has been isolated from the outside world since the last nine days, and he paid tribute to his Palestinian people.
Fathia, the mother of Palestinian prisoner Mahmoud Arda. (Photo: via Social Media)
Palestinian prisoners Mahmoud Arda, 46, sent a letter to his mother through his lawyer, Quds News Network reported on Friday.
#Palestinian prisoner Mahmoud Arda mother, who was detained again by IOF in Nazareth city last night after he claimed his freedom from Gilboa Prison last week.
“I’d like to extend my greetings to you, mom, and tell you that I tried very hard to come and hug you before you leave this world, but I couldn’t.
“You are in my heart and head. The good news is that I have eaten figs from many places across our homeland. I also ate prickly pears, pomegranates, sumac, and wild thyme. I even ate guava for the first time in 25 years. I had a jar of honey as a gift for you. Extend my greetings to my dead sisters Basima, Ruba, Khitam, and Saeda, and to my brothers as well, as I miss them a lot.
“I smelled freedom and we saw that the world has changed. I climbed the mountains of Palestine for long hours and we walked across broad plains. I saw how the plain of Arraba, my hometown, is a small part of Bisan and Nazareth.
“My greetings to all family members and friends. My greetings to my niece, Sinat, who I wore her socks all across the mountains. My greetings to Abdullah, Hadeel, Yousef, the wife of Raddad, and all family, to Sarah, Rahaf, Ghada, Muhammad, and everyone. A special greeting to Huda. I miss her so much and I will send the whole story to her.”
Arda, 46, spent over 28 years of his life in Israeli jails, 25 of which are continuous. He is serving a life sentence.
On September 6, along with other five prisoners, he managed to carry out a daring escape from the highly fortified Gilboa prison. However, he was recaptured by the Israeli Police on the outskirts of Nazareth, north of occupied Palestine.
Zakaria Zubeidi is one of six Palestinian prisoners who, on September 6, tunneled their way out of Gilboa, a notorious, high-security Israeli prison. Zubeidi was recaptured a few days later. The large bruises on Zubeidi’s face told a harrowing story, that of a daring escape and of a violent arrest. However, the story does not begin, nor end, there.
Twenty years ago, following what has been etched in the collective Palestinian memory as the ‘Jenin Massacre’, I was introduced to the Zubeidi family in the Jenin refugee camp, which was almost entirely erased by the Israeli army during and following the Jenin battle.
Despite my repeated attempts, the Israeli army prevented me from reaching Jenin, which was kept under total Israeli military siege for months following the most violent episode of the entirety of the Second Palestinian Uprising (2000-2005).
I could not speak to Zakaria directly. Unlike his brother, Taha, Zakaria survived the massacre and subsequently rose in the ranks of Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the armed wing of the Fatah movement, to become its leader, thus topping the list of Israel’s most wanted Palestinians.
Most of our communication was with his sister, Kauthar, who told us in detail about the events that preceded the fateful military siege of April. Kauthar was only 20 years old at the time. Despite her grief, she spoke proudly about her mother, who was killed by an Israeli sniper only weeks before the invasion of the camp and about her brother, Taha, the leader of the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad in Jenin at the time; and of Zakaria, who was now on a mission to avenge his mother, brother, best friends and neighbors.
“Taha was killed by a sniper. After he was killed, they fired shells at him, which completely burned his body. This was in the Damaj neighborhood,” Kauthar told us, adding, “The Shebab gathered what remained of him and put him in a house. Since that day, the house has been known as ‘The Home of the Hero’.”
Kauthar also told me about her mother, Samira, 51, “who spent her life going from one prison to another” to visit her husband and her sons. Samira was loved and respected by all the fighters in the camp. Her children were the heroes that all the youngsters attempted to emulate. Her death was particularly shocking.
“She was hit with two bullets in the heart,” Kauthar said. “Once she turned around, she was hit in the back. Blood poured out of her nose and mouth. I did not know what else to do but to scream.”
Zakaria immediately went underground. The young fighter was feeling aggrieved at what had befallen his beloved Jenin, family, mother and brother – the latter’s wedding was scheduled one week from the day he was killed. He was also feeling betrayed by his Fatah ‘brothers’ who continued to openly collaborate with Israel, despite the mounting tragedies in the occupied West Bank, and by the Israeli left that abandoned the Zubeidi family despite promises of solidarity and camaraderie.
“Every week, 20-30 Israelis would come there to do theatre,” Zakaria said in an interview with ‘The Time’ magazine, with reference to the ‘Arna’s House’ theater, which involved Zakaria and other Jenin youngsters, and was established by Arna Mer-Khamis, an Israeli woman who was married to a Palestinian. “We opened our home and you demolished it … We fed them. And, afterwards, not one of them picked up the phone. That is when we saw the real face of the left in Israel.”
Of the five children who participated in the ‘Arna’s House’ theatre, only Zakaria survived. The rest had joined various armed groups to fight the Israeli occupation and were all killed.
Zakaria was born in 1976 under Israeli occupation, therefore never experienced life as a free man. At 13, he was shot by Israeli soldiers for throwing stones. At 14, he was arrested for the first time. At 17, he joined the Palestinian Authority security forces, believing, like many Palestinians at the time, that the PA’s ‘army’ was established to protect Palestinians and to secure their freedom. Disillusioned, he left the PA less than a year later.
Zakaria only committed to armed struggle in 2001, as a way of achieving freedom for his people, months after the start of the Second Intifada. One of his childhood friends was one of the first to be killed by Israeli soldiers. In 2002, Zakaria joined the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, around the time that his mother, Samira, and his brother, Taha, were killed.
2002, in particular, was a decisive year for the Fatah movement, which was practically, but unofficially, divided into two groups: one that believed that armed struggle should remain a strategy for liberation, and another that advocated political dialogue and a peace process. Many members of the first group were killed, arrested or marginalized, including Fatah’s popular leader, Marwan Barghouti, who was arrested in April 2002. Members of the second group grew rich and corrupt. Their ‘peace process’ failed to deliver the coveted freedom and they refused to consider other strategies, fearing the loss of their privileges.
Zakaria, like thousands of Fatah members and fighters, was caught up in this ongoing dilemma, wanting to carry on with the struggle as if PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ leadership was ready to risk it all for the sake of Palestine, while remaining committed to the Fatah party, hoping that, perhaps, someday the movement would reclaim the mantle of Palestinian resistance.
The trajectory of Zakaria’s life, so far, is a testament to this confusion. He was not only imprisoned by the Israelis, but also by the PA. Sometimes, he spoke highly of Abbas only to, later, disown all the treachery of the Palestinian leadership. He surrendered his weapon several times, only to retrieve it with the same determination as before.
Though Zakaria is now back in prison, his story remains unfinished. Scores of young fighters are now roaming the streets of the Jenin refugee camp, vowing to carry on with armed struggle. Namely, Zakaria Zubeidi is not just a single person but a whole generation of Palestinians in the West Bank who are caught up in an impossible dilemma, having to choose between a painful, but real, struggle for freedom and political compromises, which, in Zakaria’s own words, “have achieved nothing”.
– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is “These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons” (Clarity Press). Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) and also at the Afro-Middle East Center (AMEC). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net
In wake of the heroic Gilboa Prison Break, ‘Israeli’ prisons administration tended to punish detainees to compensate its intelligence failure.
In further details, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees stressed that the ‘Israeli’ prisons’ administration has been recently intending to apply the policy of ‘collective revenge’ and tightening its grip against Palestinian detainees in different prisons, namely in “Nafha.”
In a statement, the Commission said that the Nafha Prison administration is intending to carry out punitive measures against the detainees, in addition to tight security measures, all-night inspections, and exposing the faces of detainees to light every five minutes.
Additionally, the Nafha Prison administration is specifically tightening the measures against the Islamic Jihad detainees, preventing them from remaining in their organizational cells, and transferring them instead to other cells.
The Commission also pointed to two separate cases involving sick detainees, one of which is the case of detainee Mahmoud Abu Wahdan from Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus. He is serving three life sentences.
Abu Wahdan suffers from hemiplegia causing paralysis in the right side of his body. As a result, he is unable to move his right leg and hand, as well as his tongue, which caused a twisting of the face from the right side.
The Commission reported that he was transferred to the ICU in Soroka Medical Center, where he underwent many tests, including a blood test and CT scan. It turned out that he had been subjected to psychological pressure. The Commission pointed out that Abu Wahdan’s condition is now stable, but he is now taking four types of medication and is waiting for an MRI scan to determine the cause of the hemiplegia.
In 2003, the prisoner was also beaten on the head, which lead to vision problems. He needs a referral to an ophthalmologist.
The second case is that of detainee Jamal Amro from the city of Al-Khalil. He is serving a life sentence. Amro is in very poor health and is in dire need of urgent medical care.
He has tumors in the liver and kidneys and suffers from stomach and intestinal problems. He recently experienced nerve problems, and his hands often tremble. Amro also has severe dental problems.
The Commission indicated that the Nafha administration was procrastinating in providing him with treatment and deliberately neglected him medically, as he has been suffering from these health problems since 2018.
It further added that a date was set for a gland operation at Soroka Medical Center a month and a half ago, and on the day of the operation, he was informed of its cancellation. The reason was that the prison doctor refused to take him out claiming that he does not need an operation.
Nearly 200 human rights organizations have held the Zionist entity fully responsible for the lives and safety of six prisoners who tunneled their way out of a maximum security Zionist detention center earlier this month and were arrested later.
A total of 199 organizations, in a joint statement released on Monday, called for the formation of an independent international investigation committee to immediately look into the conditions of their detention.
“According to the testimony of lawyers, ‘Israeli’ occupation forces assaulted them harshly from the moment of arrest, causing multiple bodily injuries. The injuries necessitated hospitalization of some of them as they had been subjected to unjustified violence and torture,” the statement read.
“They are deprived of sleep, and have been interrogated after complete sleep deprivation, according to available information. Interrogators have made death threats against some of them, and their relatives have also been arbitrarily arrested for the purposes of revenge.”
The human rights organizations stressed that the mistreatment of the prisoners amounts to a violation of international and humanitarian principles.
They demanded the “urgent formation of an independent, impartial and honest international investigation committee to examine circumstances surrounding the arrest of the six Palestinian prison escapees, and to hold the perpetrators of violations to account.”
The organizations called upon Arab nations and expatriates to advocate for Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Zionist occupation jails, and to raise their cause through social media platforms.
The rights organizations asked the Hague-based International Criminal Court to prosecute ‘Israeli’ prison officials responsible for the torture of Palestinian detainees.
They urged the Arab League and its bodies to support Palestinian prisoners, and to activate effective mechanisms at the international level.
The rights organizations stressed that UN special rapporteurs, especially Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory Michael Lynk, should actively shed light on the Zionist entity’s systematic torture of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and take the matter to the United Nations.
On Sunday, the Zionist occupation forces arrested the two remaining prisoners, who had escaped from Gilboa Prison more than two weeks ago.
A former commander of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade in Jenin and five Islamic Jihad members had tunneled their way out through their cell’s drainage system and escaped from the prison on September 6.
There are reportedly more than 7,000 Palestinians held at Zionist jails. Hundreds of the inmates have been apparently incarcerated under the practice of administrative detention.
Zakaria Al-Zubaidi’s lawyer discloses that Al-Zubaidi did not participate in the excavation of the escape tunnel.
Prisoners Commission: Zakaria Al-Zubaidi suffered fractures in the face and body as a result of beatings
The Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported on Wednesday that lawyer Avigdor Feldman was able to visit prisoner Zakaria Al-Zubaidi in the Al-Jalama detention center. The lawyer found that the latter was subjected to beatings and abuse during his arrest. Al-Zubaidi’s injuries included a broken jaw and two broken ribs.
According to the commission, Al-Zubaidi was transferred to an Israeli hospital and given only painkillers following the arrest. Bruises and scratches cover his body as a result of beatings.
Feldman disclosed that Zakaria al-Zubaidi did not participate in the tunnel excavation. He added that al-Zubeidi joined the room of the other five prisoners one day before they exited the tunnel, which took nearly a year to dig.
During the visit, Al-Zubaidi detailed to Feldman that over the four days they spent outside captivity, the escapees did not ask for help from anyone, out of concern for Palestinians in the occupied territories being punished by Israelis.
He also pointed out that they did not drink any water after their successful escape and only ate whatever fruits they found in orchards, such as figs and cacti.
Zakaria’s brother: We do not know the seriousness of his injuries
Jibril Zubeidi, Zakaria’s brother, announced last Monday that Zakaria was in need of hospitalization due to the deterioration of his health during his arrest.
Yahya al-Zubaidi, another brother of Zakaria, told Al- Mayadeen that Zakaria’s health condition deteriorated further due to an old injury he sustained from a mortar shell in his face. Yahya added that he recently had a broken leg and bruises on his body.
While the Zionist regime’s Prison Service officials wonder how they allowed six Palestinian prisoners to escape one of their most secure facilities, the chief of Hermon Prison said last week it’s still unclear if the prison break was down to systemic neglect.
Six Palestinian resistance detainees tunneled their way out through a hole that wasn’t sealed for seven years while the prison guard near their cells was sleeping, the watch tower was unmanned, no one answered the phone, and the structure’s blueprint was published online a year earlier.
They never know, they never hear, they never see but most importantly they never take responsibility, ever. That’s the number one rule of the Zionist regime’s public officials.
From a lowest ranking officer up to a minister, every official in the occupation regime knows very well who wins over the public. Everybody is responsible, but nobody bears the responsibility.
For many years no one in the Zionist public sphere would take responsibility and resigned over national disasters caused by human error, and over time they stopped being ashamed.
For years, no one would stand in front of a camera and say the one thing that any decent man would say after a devastating event for which he is accountable for: I failed, I resign immediately, and hope that one who comes after me will do a better job.
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 
