Free Jamal Juma’!
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Both Jamal Juma' and Mohammad Othman were freed in January 2010. More here.
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This arrest follows the imprisonment of Mohammad Othman, another Stop the Wall activist, and Abdallah Abu Rahmeh, a leading figure in the Bil'in popular committee against the Wall, as well as dozens more that are currently in prison for their action and advocacy against the Wall.
This latest arrest marks the escalation of Israel’s attack on Palestinian human rights defenders, and is just the latest example of their ongoing clampdown on the right to freedom of expression and the right to association.
Join the campaign for Jamal Juma’s release and for the freedom of the anti-Wall prisoners. It is crucial that global civil society stands in solidarity with their Palestinian counterparts.
War on Want believes such intimidation of human rights activists is unacceptable.
Background information
Israeli security first summoned Jamal for interrogation at midnight of 15 December. Hours later, they brought him back to his home. Jamal was handcuffed while soldiers searched his house for two hours as his wife and three young children looked on helplessly. The parting words of the soldiers were directed at his wife: she would only see her husband again through a prisoner exchange.
Jamal, 47 years old, was born in Jerusalem and has dedicated his life to the defence of Palestinian human rights. The main focus of his work is on empowering local communities to defend their human rights in the face of violations brought about by the Occupation. He is a founding member of a number of Palestinian NGOs and civil society networks. Juma' has been the coordinator of Stop the Wall since 2002. He is widely respected for his work and has been invited to address numerous civil society and UN conferences. His articles and interviews are widely published and his work has been translated into several languages. A highly visible figure, Juma' has never attempted to hide or disguise his activities.
Jamal Juma' is the highest profile arrest within an intensifying campaign of repression of grassroots mobilising against the Wall and settlements. After initially arresting local activists from villages affected by the Wall, the Israeli authorities have moved towards the detention of internationally known human rights defenders such as Mohammad Othman and Abdallah Abu Rahmah. Mohammad, another member of the Stop the Wall Campaign, was arrested nearly three months ago when returning from a speaking tour in Norway, where he had been promoting the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign. Since his arrest Mohammad has been held mostly in solitary confinement and subjected to lengthy interrogation sessions, threats and sleep deprivation. After two months of interrogation, Israeli authorities still could not press any charges against him and therefore passed an administrative detention order against him. Abdallah Abu Rahmah, a leading figure in the nonviolent struggle against the Wall in Bil'in, was taken from his home in the middle of the night a week before Jamal was jailed.
With these arrests, Israel aims to weaken Palestinian civil society and its influence on political decision making at the national and international level. This process clearly criminalises the work of Palestinian human rights defenders and Palestinian civil disobedience.
It is crucial that the international community combat Israeli attempts to criminalise human rights defenders struggling against the Wall. The Israeli policy of targeting organisers calling for Israeli accountability is a direct challenge to the decisions of governments and global bodies such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hold Israel to account for its violations of international law. This challenge shall not go unmet.
For updates on Jamal's situation visit Stop the Wall's website, the campaign blog, facebook group and twitter page.
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