Back to PLO Bulletin 1-15 September 1979

OCCUPATION DIARY

PALESTINIAN UNION LEADERS ARRESTED

The Israeli authorities have recently arrested and imprisoned several Palestinian labor union leaders in the occupied territories without any charge. The detainees are Muhammad Labadi, from the Workers' Union in Bethlehem; Mahmoud Ziad, from the Union of Hotel and Restaurant Workers; and Ali Abu Hillal, of the Abu Dis Workers' Union. The Israeli authorities have also arrested Zuhaira Badawi, President of the Female Work Committee in the Jerusalem and Ramallah regions. National forces, municipal councils and social organisations in the occupied West Bank have begun a solidarity campaign with the union leaders to force the Israeli authorities to release them as have the Committee of Defense of Prisoners in the Galilee, and the Democratic Women's Movement.

ISRAELI AUTHORITIES CLOSE GAZA OFFICES OF PALESTINIAN RED CRESCENT

The Israeli authorities recently I closed down the offices of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza. Sources from the occupied territories reported that the Israeli Military Governor of the Gaza Strip ordered the closure because of the Palestinian Red Crescent's support for the PLO.

ISRAELI AUTHORITIES CUTOFF WATER SUPPLIES IN JENIN

Palestinian citizens in the occupied territories are suffering from a serious shortage in water supplies because of Israeli seizures of wells and other water resources. Citizens of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on August 14 asked for permission to dig wells in their area instead of depending on the well of the village in Arabeh. Their request has been refused, whereas the Zionist authorities have dug and are digging wells to supply new Zionist settlements being built on confiscated Arab land, and at the expense of the water available to the local Arab population.

ISRAEL TRANSFERS NABLUS WATER TO NEARBY SETTLEMENTS

The Israeli authorities are presently laying pipes to transfer most of the water supplies in Nablus to the following nearby settlements: Kfar Qaddum, Scava, Yasuf, Tefwah and others. Moreover, the Israeli authorities prohibited the use of local water resources and consequently have increased the already existing water problem. This practice is yet another attempt to force Palestinian citizens in the area to evacuate.

MAYOR AL SHAK'A VISITS DETAINEES IN NABLUS PRISON

Bassam al-Shak'a, Mayor of Nab]us, several members of the Municipal Council, and the Nablus Shari'a judge visited Palestinian detainees in Nablus prison over the al-Fitr holiday, on August 27. During the meeting with the detainees' representatives, al-Shak'a was informed of the problems the detainees are facing and the aggressive measures inflicted on them by the prison authorities. Al-Shak'a and the Nablus delegation asserted the necessity of improving prison conditions, and granting the detainees prisoner of war status.

ARAB PRISONERS DECLARE HUNGER STRIKE

The Palestinian detainees in Ashkelon and Beersheba prisons began a hunger strike on August 28 in protest against the aggressive and sadistic acts of the Zionist authorities. This hunger strike came after the death of one Palestinian militant, Idriss Naufal, in July 1979, during interrogation in Beersheba prison. The Israeli authorities had refused to notify the Red Cross of what had happened, claiming that the militant had committed suicide, and they turned down a request from the Red Cross to examine the body.

NATIONALIST INSTITUTIONS IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES DEMAND SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION ON DETAINEES' CONDITIONS

On August 29, nationalist and socialist institutions in the occupied territories sent a memorandum to the Algerian, Pakistani and Iraqi Embassies in Amman, urging them to establish a committee of representatives from Arab, Islamic and Non-Aligned countries to pursue the project of a U.N. Security Council meeting to look into the conditions of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. The memorandum pointed out the deteriorating health and psychological conditions of the prisoners due to the continuous violation of their human rights. It insisted on the necessity of implementing Decrees 5, 9 and 25 of the Charter of Human Rights. The memorandum also called for sending a neutral international committee to look into the conditions of the prisoners and stated that these cruel measures are aimed at the liquidation of the prisoners. Such measures led to the death of the Palestinian militant, Idriss Ibrahim Naufal.

STUDENTS RELEASED, MORE ARRESTS

Israeli police arrests Arab youth

The Israeli authorities on August 13 released seven Bethlehem university students who served a three month sentence and paid a fine of IL 10,000. Meanwhile, another student, Jaser Hirman, is to serve two more months in prison. The students were arrested last May on charges of resisting Israeli occupation when Israeli forces stormed the Bethlemem University campus. In Ramallah, a Zionist military tribunal sentenced Othman Barham from Beit Sahour to a fine of IL 3,000 on charges of circulating banned Palestinian paintings at his shop.

The Mayor of the town of al-Bireh in the West Bank called on the Israeli authorities to release tens of Palestinian administrative detainees. He called for stopping the Israeli oppressive measures against West Bank muncipalities and to allow them to bring their money to execute vital projects.

MORE ISRAELI REPRESSION

Gaza: On August 15, Omar al Shurafa (22) and Muhammad Abu Attallah (25) were placed under administrative detention.

Nablus: On August 14, an Israeli military tribunal sentenced Abdul Aziz Abed al-Nasser Abu Aziz to 38 years imprisonment on charges of affiliation to the Palestinian Revolution.

Jerusalem: Israeli soldiers on August 15 broke into the homes of several Palestinian citizens in Jerusalem, and arrested a number of them because of nationalist slogans written on walls.

Ramallah: Adnan Burum has recently been fined IL 3,000 on charges of selling drawings and pamphlets dealing with the Palestinian question, the Tel al-Zaatar massacre and Israeli aggressions in South Lebanon. The Israeli authorities raided Jalazon Camp near Ramallah on August 16 and arrested three men and an old woman there without giving any reason for it. Tension prevailed at the camp due to this unjust detention.

Tell: Palestinian citizens in Tell village near Nablus on August 13 confronted Israeli soldiers who were breaking into the house of Palestinian Ibrahim Shita, to arrest him. The Israeli authorities immediately arrested dozens of Palestinian citizens, claiming that they attempted to prevent the Israeli security forces from accomplishing their 'duty'.

ISRAEL PROHIBITS SHAKA'A AND QAWASMEH TRAVEL

West Bank mayors Shaka'a (center right) and Qawasmeh (center) in dispute with a captain of the Zionist occupation forces

The Israeli authorities in mid-August issued an order prohibiting the mayors of Nablus and Hebron, Bassam al-Shaka'a and Fahd Qawasmeh, respectively, from leaving to the USA to take part in the conference of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign in Washington. An Israeli military spokesman had also stated that the authorities have adopted this resolution following Shaka'a's and Qawasmeh's rejection of the Israeli authorities' orders. The Israeli daily newspaper "Yediot Aharonot", which published this news item, reported that the Israeli autorities will never permit the two mayors to give political lectures in the USA, a chance which they would exploit to condemn Israeli policies in the occupied territories.

ISRAELIS DEPORT PALESTINIAN CITIZEN

The Israeli authorities have lately deported a Palestinian citizen, Atef al-Barghouthi, from Kobar village in the Ramallah district to Jordan via the Allenby Bridge. The Israeli authorities did not give reasons for the deportation, except that it was at the wish of the Israeli Defence Minister. Al-Barghouthi had come back to his village after obtaining a family reunion permit which his wife applied for on February 26, 1979.