If imprisoned Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouti, becomes the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the status quo will change substantially. For Israel, as well as for the current PA President, Mahmoud Abbas, such a scenario is more dangerous than another strong Hamas showing in the upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections. The long-delayed elections, now scheduled for May 22 and July 31[Read More...]
Between the nightly raids and crackdowns by the Israeli military and the political intrigues within the divided Fatah movement, one wonders if the elections, if they take place, will finally allow Palestinians to mount a united front in the struggle against Israeli occupation.
The post Palestinian Elections Under Fire: An Impossible Democracy Dilemma appeared first on MintPress News.
With the Nobel Peace Prize to be announced Friday, this year’s winner from some 381 nominees will join a litany of past recipients from a diverse list of politicians, activists and others who’ve been mired in controversy.
Perhaps it was fitting that the most significant act of organized mass resistance by Palestinians to the occupation in many years was launched from behind bars. In April of this year more than 1,500 political prisoners began an indefinite hunger strike against their increasingly degrading treatment by the Israeli authorities. Some called it a prison “intifada,” the word Palestinians use for their serial efforts to “shake off” Israeli oppression.
The Trump administration’s emerging Arab-Israeli policy focuses on Saudi Arabia and Israel with little concern for the Palestinians, who continue to protest for their rights, including a recent prison hunger strike, reports Dennis J Bernstein. By Dennis J Bernstein On…Read more →
Palestinian boys raise up their hands with chains, during a protest to show their solidarity with hunger striking Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails in Beirut, Lebanon, May 4, 2017. (AP/Hussein Malla)
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners ended a 40-day hunger strike today initially launched over conditions in Israeli jails, the Israel Prison Service and a Palestinian official said.
On April 17th at least 1500 Palestinian prisoners launched a hunger strike of indefinite duration, responding to a call from Israel’s most famous Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti. It also happens to be that Barghouti is the most popular political leader, far more liked, trusted, and admired that the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. Barghouti is serving a series of lifetime terms for his alleged role in directing an operation during the Second Intifada in which five Israelis were killed.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is among a group of South African officials and activists engaging in a 24 hour hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners. (AP/Schalk van Zuydam)
One of South Africa’s two vice presidents is going on a 24-hour hunger strike today in solidarity with the 1,600 Palestinian prisoners protesting their conditions in Israeli jails.
Protesters gather under a banner with a picture of jailed Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti during a rally supporting Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, who have been on an open-ended hunger strike in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 3, 2017. The prisoners launched the protest to press for better conditions, including family visits. The International Committee of the Red Cross issued a rare statement, urging Israeli authorities to stop what it called the “systematic suspension” of family visits for the hunger strikers. (AP/Nasser Nasser)
