Since the Nakba: More than 100,000 martyrs, 6.4 mln refugees

15 May 2022

Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen Net

By Al Mayadeen English 

Palestine’s Central Bureau of Statistics reveals shocking numbers related to Palestine, its martyrs, prisoners, and lands, from the Nakba until the present day.

By the end of 2020, Palestinians around the world numbered 14 million, marking a tenfold increase from their numbers in the Nakba

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) says the number of UNRWA’s Palestinian refugees reached 6.4 million by December 2020.

The center’s statistics showed that 28.4% of Palestinian refugees are currently living in 58 official UNRWA camps, with 10 in Jordan, 9 in Syria, 12 in Lebanon, 19 in the West Bank, and 8 in the Gaza Strip.

These estimates show the minimum number of Palestinian refugees, seeing as some refugees are not registered, like those forcibly displaced from Palestine after 1949 until the war of June 1967, according to UNRWA, and this also does not include those who were displaced during the 1967 war, who weren’t refugees.

According to UNRWA’s official definition, Palestinian refugees are defined as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.”

The number of Palestinians increased more than tenfold since the Nakba

The PCBS revealed that historical Palestine’s population reached around 690,000 in 1914, 8% of whom were Jews. In 1948, the population rose to more than 2 million, around 31.5% of which were Jews, as 225,000 flocked to Palestine between 1932 in 1939’s organized migration waves. 

Between 1940 and 1947, more than 93,000 Jews entered Palestine, and by 1975, the total number of Jews that immigrated to Palestine reached more than 540,000.

As for the total number of Palestinians around the world, the number was estimated in 2021 to have reached around 14 million, a tenfold increase of their numbers since the Nakba, especially since 7 million of them were living in historical Palestine, including 1.7 million living in 48-occupied territories.

Nakba cause of overpopulation in Palestine

The Palestinian Nakba turned the Gaza Strip into the world’s most densely populated area. While the population density in Palestine reached 878 persons/km2 by the end of 2021, with a density of 557 persons/km2, the Gaza Strip’s density reaches 5,855 persons/km2, knowing that 66% of Gaza’s citizens are refugees.

Furthermore, the occupation’s establishment of a buffer zone on the periphery of the Gaza Strip allowed it to seize control over 24% of the strip’s 365 km2 area, which further exacerbated the city’s economic difficulties, and impoverished over a half of its citizens, with Gaza’s poverty rate reaching 53% in 2017.

Over 100,000 martyred since the 1948 Nakba

Since the Nakba in 1948, both inside Palestine and out, close to 100,000 people were martyred, with the number of martyrs since the beginning of the Intifada reaching 11,358 between 29/9/2000 and up to 30/4/2022.

It is noted that 2014 was the bloodiest year, as 2,240 people were martyred, 2,181 of whom were martyred in Gaza during an Israeli aggression.

The number of martyrs in Palestine reached 341 in 2021, including 87 children and 48 women, whereas the number of wounded reached 12,500.

Close to 1 million arrests since 1967

The occupation has kept 25 Palestinians under arrest for over a quarter century, whereas the total number of detainees in Israeli prisons reached 4,450 in April, including 160 child prisoners, 32 women, 570 sentences to life, 700 prisoners who are in ill health, six Palestinian lawmakers, and 650 prisoners placed in administrative detention.

The overall number of arrests in 2021 reached 8,000 in Palestine, including 1,300 children and 184, while 1,595 people were sentenced to administrative detention without any charges being brought up against them.

226 prisoners have been martyred since 1967, either because of torture inflicted upon them following their arrest or due to medical neglect; these include 103 prisoners that were martyred since September 2000.

Continued colonialist expansion of Israeli occupation

By the end of 2020, 712,815 illegal settlers were living in the West Bank, around 47% of whom (246,909) were living in Al-Quds. The settler/Palestinian ratio reached 23/100 in the West Bank and surged to 71/100 in Al-Quds.

Moreover, 2021 also witnessed a large increase in the speed at which Israeli settlements were built in the West Bank, as Israeli occupation forces approved the building of more than 12,000 new settlement units in 2021, including 9,000 on the lands of Al-Quds’ Qalandia airport.

Continued confiscation of land

The Israeli occupation abused the categorization of lands according to the Oslo Accords (A, B and C) in order to further its control on Palestinian C-classified lands, which are completely under Israeli control in terms of security, planning, and construction, and close to 76% of their area are currently being exploited.

Al-Quds: Displacement and settlement policies

In 2021, Israeli occupation authorities approved the building of more than 12,000 settlement units, most of which were in Al-Quds. Meanwhile, it demolished more than 300 buildings and gave orders to demolish more than 200 others, in addition to approving a project to seize 2,050 Palestinian properties, including those of the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighborhoods in eastern Al-Quds, whose area is estimated at 2,500 acres.

Last year also saw close to 1,621 cases of attacks by settlers protected by occupation forces against Palestinians and their properties, marking a 49% increase in attacks from 2020. Israeli settlers are also exploiting around 120,000 acres of Palestinian lands for agriculture.

20% of water in Palestine is bought from Mekorot

Israeli measures against Palestinian water resources force them to compensate for their lack of water by buying 20% of their water from Israeli company Mekorot, meaning around 448.4 million m3. The main reason behind Palestinians’ inability to use surface water is due to the Israeli occupation’s control over the Jordan River and Dead Sea’s waters.

79% of available water drawn from groundwater

Palestine mainly relies on water extracted from surface and groundwater, which constitutes around 79% of all available water resources. In 2020, the amount of water pumped from groundwater wells (eastern, western, and northeastern basins) in the West Bank amounted to 108.6 million m3.

Palestinians Rally for Hunger Striker Khalil Awawdeh (PHOTOS)

May 7, 2022

Palestinians in Gaza participate in a rally in solidarity with Palestinian hunger-striking prisoner Khalil Awawdeh. (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

Palestinians in Gaza participated in a rally in solidarity with Palestinian hunger-striking prisoner Khalil Awawdeh, who was transferred to a hospital following a serious deterioration of his health.

Awawdeh, a 40-year-old father of four, has been on a hunger strike for 67 days now, in protest of his illegal administrative detention without charge or trial.

Awawdeh, from the town of Idhna, near Hebron (Al-Khalil), was detained on December 27, 2021. He suffers from headaches, joint pain, severe fatigue, arrhythmia, and frequent vomiting in addition to significant loss of weight, as he has lost over 20 kilos.

“Administrative detention is Israel’s go-to legal proceeding when it simply wants to mute the voices of Palestinian political activists, but lacks any concrete evidence that can be presented in an open, military court,” wrote Palestinian journalist and editor of The Palestine Chronicle, Ramzy Baroud.

“Not that Israel’s military courts are an example of fairness and transparency. Indeed, when it comes to Palestinians, the entire Israeli judicial system is skewed. But administrative detention is a whole new level of injustice,” Baroud added.

(All Photos: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)

Prisoners Awawdeh, Rayan continue their open hunger strike

 May 3, 2022 

Source: Agencies

By Al Mayadeen Net 

The Israeli occupation continues its medical negligence policy against administrative prisoners Khalil Awawdeh and Raed Rayan.

A demonstration in support of prisoner Khalil Awawdeh (Archive)

In a letter to his family conveyed by the Prisoners Club, Awawdeh confirmed that the doctors at the Ramle prison clinic threatened not to transfer him to an Israeli civil hospital unless he lost consciousness during his ongoing hunger strike.

Awawdeh pointed out that his health condition is deteriorating, as he suffers from severe weakness, inability to control his movement, and blurred vision.

He also noted that he regained his ability to drink water only six days ago after he stopped vomiting.

Awawdeh, a father of four girls, was arrested on December 27, 2021, and an administrative detention order was issued against him for a six-month period. He had previously been arrested several times since 2002.

Eid Al-Fitr will remain postponed until the prisoner Khalil Awawdeh returns to his home and family.He continues his open hunger strike for the 62th consecutive day in protest against his administrative detention without charge or trial#free#FreeKhalil pic.twitter.com/2IaNddNBaG— @Eman Breish (@eman_breish) May 3, 2022

As for prisoner Raed Rayan, he was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces on November 3, 2021, and was transferred to administrative detention for a period of six months. As his detention period was about to end, the Israeli occupation renewed his detention for an additional four months, which led Rayan to announce his open hunger strike.

Rayan is suffering from headaches and joint, flank, and knee pain, as well as difficulty in walking. He has not been seen by a doctor and has not undergone any medical examinations since the beginning of his hunger strike.

الأسير رائد ريان ( 27 عاماً) من القدس إضرابه المفتوح عن الطعام لليوم الـ27 على التوالي احتجاجاً على تجديد اعتقاله الإداري.#فلسطين #القدس pic.twitter.com/r1aKxhk15g— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) May 3, 2022

Rayan is a former administrative prisoner. He spent nearly 21 months in administrative detention before he was released. Seven months later, he was rearrested.

Palestinian Prisoners Escalate Protests against Zionist Prison Service

March 7, 2022

By Staff, Agencies

Palestinian prisoners inside Zionist occupation jails continue their protests against the ‘Israeli’ Prison Service [IPS] and reject new systematic restrictions imposed on them, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club [PPC] reported.

On 5 February, the Palestinian prisoners started their action against the new restrictions imposed by the IPS that started after six Palestinian prisoners escaped from a high security jail in September.

The Palestinian prisoners started disobeying prison rules, including daily security checks and staged sit-ins in the prison yards.

Immediately following the introduction of the new restrictions in September, the prisoners formed a High Follow-up Committee that consists of prisoners from all factions and it has been representing them.

According to reports, the detainees will launch a hunger-strike on March 25th if the IPS does not respond to their demands.

Meanwhile, nearly 450 Palestinian detainees have been refusing to show up for their military court hearings for 66 days in protest of their unfair detention without charge or trial under the Zionist occupation regime’s so-called administrative detention policy.

The boycott includes hearings for the renewal of administrative detention orders as well as appeal hearings and later sessions at the Zionist regime’s ‘Supreme Court.’

Also, for more than 11 days now, Palestinian administrative detainees with chronic diseases in the ‘Israeli’ prison of Ofer have been boycotting the Zionist prison clinics in protest of their unfair detention without charge or trial.

Palestinian detainees say their action is a continuation of longstanding Palestinian efforts “to put an end to the unjust administrative detention practiced against our people by the occupation forces.”

More than 4,500 Palestinian prisoners are currently held in about 17 ‘Israeli’ jails. Over 450 detainees, including women and minors, are under administrative detention. Rights groups describe the Tel Aviv regime’s use of detention as a “bankrupt tactic” and have long called on the ‘Israeli’ occupation entity to end its use.

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Palestinian Administrative Detainees Continue Boycott of Israeli Military Courts

February 20, 2022

Friends of Al-Aqsa launched a campaign in London calling for an end of Israel’s administrative detention. (Photo: FOA Twitter page)

At least 450 Palestinian detainees have been refusing to show up for their military court hearings since the beginning of the year, in protest of their unfair administrative detention, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

The boycott includes hearings for the renewal of administrative detention orders as well as appeal hearings and later sessions at Israel’s Supreme Court.

1/ Right now, 500 Palestinian political prisoners are undertaking a "mass united resistance movement" against administrative detention through a boycott of Israel's military courts. Read about it in this letter penned from inside Israel's apartheid jails: https://t.co/AkFl108dB0 pic.twitter.com/DRcQSO59Mr

— PSC (@PSCupdates) February 15, 2022

Palestinian detainees say their action is a continuation of longstanding Palestinian efforts “to put an end to the unjust administrative detention practiced against our people by the occupation forces.”

Under administrative detention, Israel keeps Palestinians without charge for up to six months, a period that can be extended an infinite number of times.

https://twitter.com/danaelkurd/status/1493976593009680390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1493976593009680390%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.palestinechronicle.com%2Fpalestinian-administrative-detainees-continue-boycott-of-israeli-military-courts%2F

Palestinians and human rights groups say the administrative detention violates the right to due process since the evidence is withheld from prisoners while they are held for lengthy periods without being charged, tried, or convicted.

More than 4,500 Palestinian prisoners are currently held in about 17 Israeli prisons. Over 450 detainees, including women and minors, are under administrative detention.

(WAFA, PC, Social Media)

Solidarity with Palestine in Stadiums: When Sports and Politics Conjoin

January 4, 2022

Chants of solidarity show that sports can’t be separated from politics and losing a game by withdrawing for political reasons can be a powerful victory.

Fans wave the Palestinian flag during the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 group C football match between Morocco and Palestine at the Al-Janoub Stadium in the Qatari city of Al-Wakrah on December 1, 2021. x Photo by Karim Sahib, AFP via Getty Images

YOUSEF M. ALJAMAL

Palestinian football history is rich and goes back to British Mandate Palestine when the Palestinian national team played against Australia’s football team in Sydney on July 2, 1939. Interestingly, at the time, nine years before the creation of Israel, the entire Palestinian team comprised of Jewish players and Australia won 7-5. Today, Palestinian sports unions and clubs are scattered across major Palestinian cities such as Jaffa, Gaza, Jerusalem, and Haifa.

Despite suffering a serious blow in 1948 due to the establishment of Israel and the takeover of many Palestine’s sports facilities by the Israeli authorities, Palestinian sports remained alive over the years with sports taking a particular political taste. Sports has never been separated from politics especially after Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

The scenes of football fans waving the Palestinian flag in stadiums at local, regional, and international tournaments have become familiar across the globe. To the disappointment of people who call for separating sports from politics, this does not seem possible. Supporters of various teams have turned stadiums into platforms to voice their support for the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom and statehood. In some cases, they have received punishments and restrictions from sports bodies such as UEFA for doing so.

In response to imposing a fine penalty on the Green Brigade, one of the team’s ultras groups raised money to pay the fine imposed by UEFA and an additional 176,000 British pounds to support Palestinian charities. The Scottish Celtic fans in Scotland have repeatedly expressed their support for the Palestinian cause by raising Palestinian flags especially when their team is playing against an Israeli one. Celtic fans are also known for their pro-Palestine chants.

Palestinian players and sports people have always been a target for Israel.

In fact, Israel also knows that sports can’t be separated from politics. Israel’s former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a video calling on the Iranian people to revolt against their own government, when Iranians took to the streets in 2018. He asked them, “Can you imagine how hard it is to stop Ronaldo from scoring a goal? I used to play soccer, let me tell you, it is almost impossible, but the Iranian team just did the impossible. To the Iranian team I say, you showed courage on the playing field, and today, you are sharing the same courage in the streets of Iran.”

Palestinian players and sports people have always been a target for Israel. In 2009, Israeli forces arrested Palestinian footballer Mahmoud al-Sarsak, while he was on his way to the West Bank from the Gaza Strip. They held him under the “Unlawful Combatants Law,” which allows Israel to hold prisoners without charge or trial. After three years under arrest, al-Sarsak gained his freedom after going on a three-month-long hunger strike.

Palestinian sports infrastructure and players have also been targeted by Israel. In 2009, Israel bombed Al Ahli Sports Club in a refugee camp, Al-Nusierat, and during the Great March of Return (GMR), on April 4, 2018, Israeli snipers shot Palestinian footballer Mohammed Khalil in the knee, ending his career. In fact, dozens of Palestinians who were rendered amputees by Israeli forces during the GMR protests formed an amputee football team.

Israel has made it almost impossible for Palestinian teams from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to play against each other during national tournaments. This has prompted Palestinian sports officials to complain against Israel to FIFA. Israel has lifted some of these restrictions, but many of them are still in place, rendering it almost impossible for Palestinian players to compete freely.

During the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, a number of Arab players chose to withdraw from competing rather than compete against Israeli players. Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine was sent home and had a 10-year ban imposed on him as punishment for his withdrawal, which effectively ended his career.

Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool did the same when he had to compete against Tohar Butbul – whom Nourine had refused to play with – citing solidarity with the Palestinian people. The stance of these athletes reveals the huge gap between the political and popular levels in the Arab world, and it further explains the importance of sports and the impossibility of separating it from politics.

More recently, at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup held in Doha between November 30 and December 18, increasing solidarity with the Palestinian people was expressed by football fans. During the Tunisia-Egypt game, Palestinian flags were visible. The Algerian football team and its fans were very vocal in support of Palestinians, raising the Palestinian flag during their matches.

Following winning the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, Algeria’s fans and team raised the Palestinian flag. Following the Algeria-Morocco match, Houcine Benayada, Algeria’s national team player who wrapped the Palestinian and Algerian flags over his body, said, “We do not play for any bonus, we play for these two flags.” Madjid Bougherra, the Algerian team’s coach, dedicated his country’s victory to the Palestinian people, adding, “We dedicate the Arab Cup to the Palestinian people and our people in Gaza.” In the streets of Gaza, Palestinians took to the streets to celebrate Algeria’s championship.

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Exclusive: Occupation failed in bid to kill Abu Hawash – PIJ official

4 Jan 2022

Source: Al Mayadeen Net

By Al Mayadeen Net

PIJ official Mohammad Shallah tells Al Mayadeen Net the occupation sees that every time the PIJ pressures the occupation, it wins.

Victorious Palestinian prisoner Hisham Abu Hawash

Initial information says the Israeli military prosecution informed lawyer Jawad Boulos of its approval of releasing prisoner Hisham Abu Hawash on February 26, meaning he can end his hunger strike, Palestinian Islamic Jihad senior official Mohammad Shallah told Al Mayadeen Net on Tuesday.

It is up to the prisoner to agree to the deal, Shallah said, adding that his approval means the decision went into force, and he can go back to his life. However, he will remain under supervision and detention until his release in February.

The PIJ official said information the group received lately suggested that “the Israelis were determined to kill Hisham, as it sees that every time the PIJ pressured it, it won, and then the PIJ would go to the media, expose the occupation’s crimes, and celebrate its victory.”

“The Israeli occupation was asking mediators with the PIJ to tone down their threats,” Shallah revealed, asserting that the PIJ did not listen to any mediators, “But we are thankful for their efforts.”

According to the senior official, PIJ had fully coordinated with Al-Quds Brigades and Al-Qassam Brigades in case the Israeli occupation “made the decision to drag us into a battle, and we were expecting the occupation to stall until the martyrdom of Hisham.”

Shallah explained that what they expected from the occupation was the reason behind their calls to protests and preparing the people through marches and protests.

“The Israeli occupation got our message, and it was convinced that we were completely serious, determined, and unwavering; PIJ was determined to liberate the prisoner,” he asserted.

Had Abu Hawash been martyred, he stressed, “We would have seen that as an assassination, and there would have been a response.”

Hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Hisham Abu Hawash is expected to end his hunger strike in the coming hours, Al Mayadeen correspondent reported.

“Abu Hawash’s decision to end his hunger strike comes after reaching an agreement that stipulates that he would be freed on February 26,” our correspondent added.

40-year-old Hisham Abu Hawash, from Dura, Al-Khalil, has been on hunger strike for 141 days in protest of his administrative detention as warnings over the deterioration of his health grow.

Abu Hawash has been in prison since October 2020, and the Israeli occupation forces have issued three administrative detention orders against him since his arrest, one of which was issued after the 70th day of his hunger strike.

He is a father to five children, and his total time in prison amounts to eight years, 52 months of which were spent in administrative detention.

Israeli Media: Agreement Reached to End Palestinian Prisoner’s Hunger Strike after 141 Days

January 4, 2022

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

Palestinian hunger-striking prisoner Hisham Abu Hawwash. (Photo: via Social Media)

An agreement was reportedly reached Tuesday afternoon to end Palestinian prisoner Hisham Abu Hawwash’s hunger strike after 141 days, after negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials with Egyptian mediation, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

Abu Hawwash has completed his 141 days of hunger strike in an Israeli prison in protest of imprisonment without trial, known as ‘administrative detention’. 

Finally😍🔥
The Palestinian prisoner Hisham Abu Hawash decided to to suspend his hunger strike that lasted for 141 days, after reaching an agreement with the occupation authorities to release him in 26.2.2022.

Thanks God🙏#FreeThemAll pic.twitter.com/EuGlmimevV

— Eman𓂆🇵🇸 (@Emannajee) January 4, 2022

According to the terms of the agreement, Abu Hawwash “is expected to remain in the Israeli hospital he is currently kept in for medical follow-up until February 26, after which he will be released to his home,” Haaretz reported, adding that the administrative detention order against him will not be renewed.

Abu Hawwash, a 40-year-old resident of the town of Dura, near Hebron, in the Southern-occupied West Bank, is a father of five children. He was arrested by Israel on October 27, 2020, and has been held under administrative detention ever since.

#US Congresswoman @RashidaTlaib Expresses Solidarity with Abu Hawwash, Holds Israeli Government Responsible https://t.co/o4H5MlZQ5I via @PalestineChron #HishamAbuHawash pic.twitter.com/RZPYQmOVuS

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 4, 2022

Several human rights groups, along with the European Union, had expressed concern about Abu Hawwash’s deteriorating health conditions. 

On Monday, US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said in a tweet that she held the Israeli government responsible for the safety and health of the Palestinian hunger striker, also calling on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to demand an end to Israel’s administrative detention policies against Palestinians.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

More on the topic

• Palestinian prisoner Abu Hawash seizes his freedom
• Palestinian Prisoner in Israeli Jails Hisham Abu Hawash Snatches Freedom after 141-day Hunger Striker 
• Hisham Abu Hawash falls into an intermittent coma
• Abu Hamza: We were following up on the most minute of details with prisoner Abu Hawash
• Prisoner Abu Hawash continues his strike despite ‘nearing death’