International Solidarity Movement | August 21, 2013
Nablus, Occupied Palestine – At 10pm on August 15th Myassar Atyani, Linan Abu Gholmeh and Leena Jawabreh of Nablus district were arrested by the Israeli police with their friend Waroud Qasem in the 1948 occupied areas of Palestine (‘48), what is now referred to as Israel. The three friends who are all political activists and former political prisoners had travelled to ‘48 to visit Waroud who lives in Tyre and has Israeli citizenship.
Leena Jawabreh, Linan Abu Ghoulmeh, Woroud Qasem and Myassar Atyani
They were traveling together in Waroud’s car when they were stopped by the Israeli police and found to be without travel permits; Palestinians living in the West Bank require permits issued by the Israeli authorities to travel outside of the West Bank, including to the Palestinian capital Jerusalem and the rest of ’48. These permits are notoriously difficult to obtain, especially for activists. The four women were subsequently arrested and transported to Hasharon prison. Myassar, Linan and Leena were detained at the prison until their appearance at Salem military court on the 19th of August.
Waroud, also a former political prisoner from 2006 to 2012 was released from Hasharon prsison and placed under full house arrest with her driving license confiscated. She has another court hearing pending. The other three women are now being held in Salem prison awaiting a further court hearing. Leena on the 22nd of August and Myassar and Linan on the 25th of August.
Their families attended their court hearing on the 19th but thus far have been prevented from speaking with them directly by soldiers in the military court. Therefore they have only heard word of their relatives through their lawyer. Family members said that Linan told the lawyer to “Have me sentenced to what they want but don’t let them put me under administrative detention”.
Linan was arrested after her husband Amjad Mlitat was martyred by the Israeli army in 2004, and held until 2009 when she was released as part of a prisoner exchange; she was then re-arrested in July 2010 and placed under administrative detention, until the October 2011 prisoner exchange. “Administrative detention is a procedure that allows the Israeli military to hold prisoners indefinitely on secret information without charging them or allowing them to stand trial.” Administrative detention is a leftover from the British Mandate period of Palestine’s occupied past and has been exploited by the Israeli authorities to ensure that anybody resisting their occupation of Palestine can be imprisoned without justification; this violates the internationally protected right to a fair trial and means that prisoners can be held indefinitely, as administrative detention orders can be continually renewed without evidence. Human rights organisation B’tselem point out that with their regular use of administrative detention Israel violates international law, which “…stipulates that it may be exercised only in very exceptional cases – and then only as a last possible resort, when there are no other means available to prevent the danger.”
Myassar was most recently arrested and interrogated in 2009 and detained in prison for a month – she was also arrested multiple times in the 80’s and 90’s. Leena spent four years in prison from 2004 to 2008. All three women are prominent activists especially for prisoners rights and have been involved in prisoner hunger strikes.
Palestinians living in the West Bank are rarely granted permits to travel to ’48, nor to Gaza – in practical terms this means that they cannot reach the coast, the capital Jerusalem or the many remaining Palestinian cities in what is now referred to as Israel. The Apartheid Wall, illegally built, separating the West Bank from ’48, means that families and friends are divided. Many who want to visit the land lost by Palestinians who were expelled during the Nakba, or ‘catastrophe’, in 1948 are regularly denied and thus sometimes choose to travel without permission from the occupying Israeli authorities. The denial of permits is especially strict against those who are political activists and males aged 12- 35 – for these groups it is almost impossible to gain permission to travel freely in historic Palestine.
Ex-political prisoners, human rights defenders and those resisting the occupation are regularly targeted by the Israeli authorities and military for bureaucratic denial of permits, harassment, attacks and arrests.
You can take action demanding the immediate release of Linan, Leena and Myassar here.