Call to Action: Imprisoned Palestinian journalist on 85th day of hunger strike: Free Mohammed al-Qeeq!

Emergency Action: 85 days of hunger strike, threat of death for Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq

Imprisoned Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq, 33, is showing symptoms of a heart attack or stroke on his 85th day of hunger strike, said Palestinian lawyer Hanan al-Khatib, who warned that al-Qeeq may “die at any moment.”

Al-Qeeq is held without charge or trial under Israeli administrative detention. He began his hunger strike on 25 November 2015 – four days after he was arrested by Israeli occupation forces – in protest of the torture to which he was subjected under interrogation – and has maintained the strike since he was imprisoned without charge or trial. His body is reaching the limits of human possibility and he is faced with the danger of multiple organ failure at any time. Still, he is determined to continue and to demand his immediate release.

The Israeli Supreme Court rejected his petition to transfer to a Palestinian hospital. Clearly, the Israeli state is willing to see Mohammed al-Qeeq die - and we must act to stop this.

The case of Mohammed al-Qeeq is not about him alone: it is about Palestinian journalists targeted for persecution for exposing the reality of Israeli occupation; it is about the over 660 Palestinians held in administrative detention without charge or trial; it is about the 7000 Palestinians imprisoned by the Israeli state. His struggle for freedom is a struggle for the freedom of the entire Palestinian people.

Palestinians are taking the streets throughout occupied Palestine to demand al-Qeeq’s release. His fellow prisoners are engaging in solidarity strikes. Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, and an EU parliamentary delegation have called for the end of al-Qeeq’s detention. Still, his case remains silenced.

On Wednesday, Samidoun is urging people in the United States and around the world to phone the White House to demand action to pressure the Israeli state to free Mohammed al-Qeeq: Call the White House on Mohammed al-Qeeq’s 85th day of hunger strike to demand his immediate release: 001-202-456-1111. Join protests in B russels on 17 February, and New York on 19 February. And sign and distribute this petition from the International Solidarity Movement calling for meaningful EU action.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network calls for EMERGENCY ACTION everywhere in the world to save Mohammed al-Qeeq and secure his freedom, in every city, on every campus, in every community. Events and actions have taken place in London, New York, Montreal, Berlin, Dublin, Brussels, Nicosia, Lebanon, and throughout Palestine. Now is the time for protests, sit-ins, flyering, tabling, and call-in actions to raise the voice and the profile of Mohammed al-Qeeq and create real popular pressure for his immediate release.

Take Action:

1. Contact government officials and demand that they break their silence on Al-Qeeq and support for Israeli violations of Palestinian rights. In the United States, call the Israel Foreign Service Desk
1-202-647-3672 and the White House – 202-456-1111. Demand action on al-Qeeq’s case and an end to aid to Israel. In the UK, call UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Philip Hammond, MP, +44 20 7008 1500. In Canada, call Foreign Minister Stephane Dion: 613-996-5789.

2. Protest at an Israeli consulate or embassy (or federal building, G4S office or public square) and demand freedom for Mohammed al-Qeeq. Raise the issue of this case publicly and distribute information – this flyer is available for you to distribute at protests in your community. Find your closest Israeli consulate: http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/israel. Please email us at samidoun@samidoun.netto inform us of your action – we will publicize and share news with the prisoners.

3. Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Palestinians have urged an international boycott of Israeli goods and institutions – and corporations that profit from occupation , like G4S, the world’s largest private security company, that sells security equipment to Israeli prisons, checkpoints and police training centers – directly profiting from the occupation that destroys Palestinian lives. At the same time G4S profits from occupation, institutions like the United Nations continue to do business with it. Go to addameer.org/UNdropG4S to take action!

Call the White House on Mohammed al-Qeeq's 85th day of hunger strike to demand his immediate release: 001-202-456-1111

After calling, post on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/523700587807403/ about the White House operator's response.

Israeli forces captured al-Qeeq, a 33-year-old Palestinian journalist and father of two, in a 21 November nighttime raid on his Ramallah home.

On 25 November, al-Qeeq launched a hunger strike to protest torture by his Israeli interrogators. He continued after being placed in administrative detention - imprisonment without charge or trial - on 17 December.

Al-Qeeq has rejected an Israeli Supreme Court decision to "suspend" his administrative detention - until he recovers enough to leave the hospital - and a conditional offer for his release on 1 May, instead demanding immediate freedom and treatment in a Palestinian hospital.

His family, attorneys and an independent physician who visited al-Qeeq in HaEmek hospital have said he appears close to death.

Al-Qeeq is one of 6,900 Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel, including 650 administrative detainees and 18 journalists. Nearly all are tortured during interrogations by Israeli forces.

As Israel's biggest economic and political supporter, the Obama administration shares responsibility for its crimes against Palestinians, including its administrative detention and torture of al-Qeeq.

Tell the White House:

* Mohammed al-Qeeq, a Palestinian journalist, is on his 85th day of a hunger strike protesting his torture and administrative detention without charge or trial by Israel.

* The United States must demand al-Qeeq's immediate release and end all support for Israel's political imprisonment and other crimes against Palestinians.

* Israel's use of administrative detention and torture, and its attacks on Palestinian journalists and other civilians, are universally-recognized violations of human rights and international law.

* US aid to Israel breaks the Leahy Law, which bars assistance to military units known to violate human rights with impunity.

* The billions of dollars sent to Israel by the US could be better spent on pressing needs within the country. (Mention any domestic priorities, like health care, job creation or schools, that are particularly important to you.)