'Revolutionary Salute': Palestinian Prisoners of PFLP Express Solidarity With US Prison Strike

'Revolutionary Salute': Palestinian Prisoners of PFLP Express Solidarity With US Prison Strike

“We extend a special revolutionary salute to the imprisoned strugglers of the Black Liberation Movement," the statement read.Several Members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, all of whom have been jailed by Israel for their participation in the struggle for national independence, have released a statement in solidarity with the national U.S. prisoners strike, which began on Tuesday.“We write today as imprisoned Palestinians of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, held in Israeli jails for our participation in struggle for the liberation of our land and people from colonialism and occupation,” the letter opened.

“Today, we extend our solidarity to the prisoners in the jails of the United States participating in the national prison strike beginning on August 21, fighting exploitation, racism and capitalism from within the heart of imperialist prisons...Black communities, Latino communities, Arab communities are under attack, facing mass incarceration and a system that seeks to imprison and exploit rather than support and nurture youth and elders.”

The statement expressed the group's “mourning for George Jackson, the imprisoned revolutionary and martyr of the Black Liberation struggle. The strike is beginning on the 47th anniversary of his martyrdom, an event that was recognized in Palestine and around the world at the time as an assassination of a true voice of struggle by the U.S. ruling class.”

It also noted that Jackson was an “internationalist and that the works of Palestinian poet Samih al-Qasem – addressing imprisonment and resistance – were found in his cell after his assassination. Today, we write to you to once again forge that connection of struggle, despite our different circumstances.”

“We extend a special revolutionary salute to the imprisoned strugglers of the Black Liberation Movement and other liberation movements, including Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose consistent internationalism and principled struggle is known and resonates around the world. We demand the freedom of these freedom fighters in U.S. jails, from Leonard Peltier to Mutulu Shakur...We know from our experience that it is through struggle and confrontation that true freedom can be realized.”

Prisoners across the United States, home to the world's largest prison population, went on strike in at least 17 states Tuesday. Prisoners are refusing to work, holding sit-ins and going on hunger strike from Aug. 21, the 47th anniversary of the murder of Black Panther member, by correctional officers in San Quentin, until Sept. 9, which marks the 47th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising for humane conditions and fundamental sociopolitical rights.

Led by incarcerated members of the Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, a group of prisoners providing mutual help and legal training to other inmates, the strike aims to bring attention to and an end to “modern slavery” conditions in U.S. prisons.

“Fundamentally, it’s a human rights issue. Prisoners understand they are being treated as animals. Prisons in America are a war zone. Every day prisoners are harmed due to conditions of confinement. For some of us it’s as if we are already dead, so what do we have to lose?” a statement read by the group.

This year's strike was triggered by the April 15 prison riot at the Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina, which left seven inmates dead, according to The Guardian. The deceased included: Corey Scott; Eddie Casey Gaskins; Raymond Angelo Scott; Damonte Rivera; Michael Milledge; Cornelius McClary; and Joshua Jenkins.

Every day, over 800,000 inmates are forced to work in different industries operating in U.S. prisons. In an industry that rakes in two billion U.S. dollars per year, prisoners in the state of Louisiana, for example, receive just four cents per hour.

A shortlist of companies profiting from prison labor include Microsoft; American Airlines; Starbucks; BP; Victoria Secret; Walmart; and McDonald's.

Sa’adat slams PLO for planning to convene National Council

Sa’adat slams PLO for planning to convene National Council

Ahmed Sa’adat, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has strongly denounced the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for intending to convene the National Council, describing such step as an attempt to overstep the national consensus and evade its obligations towards the inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

In an article he wrote recently, Sa’adat said that holding the National Council in its current form would reflect persistence in monopolizing the decision-making process and making decisions away from the national consensus.

He also described such step as “a violation of the PLO’s statute, and its national nature and content,” as well as the national reconciliation agreements, especially the 2005 Cairo accord.

On the 12th anniversary of the attack on Jericho prison: Resistance continues until liberation

On the 12th anniversary of the attack on Jericho prison: Resistance continues until liberation

The following statement was issued by the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat on the infamous anniversary of the assault on Jericho prison: 

March 14, 2018 marks the 12th anniversary of the infamous Zionist attack on the Jericho prison and the kidnapping of Ahmad Sa’adat, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and his comrades Ahed Abu Ghoulmeh, Majdi Rimawi, Hamdi Qur’an and Basil al-Asmar, along with Fuad Shoubaki, in a violent attack on the Palestinian Authority prison. The repercussions of this attack are still being felt today, as the kidnapped Palestinian leaders face lengthy sentences inside the prisons of the Zionist colonizer.

The assault on Jericho prison underlined the network of repression and collaboration that had already seen Sa’adat and his comrades imprisoned in a Palestinian Authority jail for over four years before the attack by Israeli occupation forces. Not only was the PA imprisoning Palestinian leaders and strugglers for their role in resistance to Israeli occupation, the prison at Jericho was secured not solely by Palestinian guards but by U.S. and British guards, colonial authorities maintained in place in order to cement their imprisonment. Among the British guards at Jericho prison reportedly were those who had previously served as prison guards against Irish republican prisoners jailed for their struggle against British colonization of Ireland.

Prior to the attack, the U.S. and British guards left their positions in a clear sign of coordination that made clear that their mission to “ensure the security” of the prisoners was always a mere facade; instead, they were present to serve the interests of the occupation, which carried out its assault on Jericho with U.S.-made and U.S.-funded weaponry and armed bulldozers. The imprisonment of Ahmad Sa’adat and his comrades is a direct result of the actions of U.S. and British forces alongside that of the Israeli occupation – not to mention the treachery of the Palestinian Authority. 

It was the continued security cooperation of the Palestinian Authority with the Zionist occupation that meant that these Palestinian strugglers and leaders were locked up and held behind bars for over four years in a “Palestinian” prison, even in defiance of the Palestinian Authority’s own laws and courts. They were seized after the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine carried out the assassination of far-right, racist extremist Zionist tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi in retaliation for the Israeli assassination of PFLP General Secretary Abu Ali Mustafa; like the attack on Jericho, the assassination of Abu Ali Mustafa was conducted by Zionist forces using U.S.-made and -provided helicopter-fired missiles directly into his Ramallah office. 

Palestinian Authority security coordination ensured that Ahmad Sa’adat and his comrades were under full view of the occupying forces at all times, where they could be attacked and abducted at the whim of the occupier. Indeed, the pretext used for the assault on Jericho was that recent Palestinian Legislative Council elections had indicated that Palestinians were unwilling to allow their prisons to be used any longer to jail their own leaders and strugglers. However, 12 years later, security coordination continues and Palestinian resisters remain behind bars in PA prisons. The Israeli occupation prisons and PA security services are a “revolving door” for Palestinian strugglers who face repression, surveillance and imprisonment at every turn.

Today, Sa’adat and his comrades are leaders behind bars as their resistance continues at the heart of every mass hunger strike, protest and struggle of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement. Sa’adat was subjected to over three years in solitary confinement until the 2012 mass hunger strike won his return to the general population along with 18 other prominent Palestinian leaders. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison on charges of “incitement” and his leadership role in the PFLP, while Abu Ghoulmeh, Rimawi, Qur’an and al-Asmar are all serving life sentences in Zionist colonial prisons.

In Israeli prisons, they continue to struggle, on the front lines of daily confrontation of the Zionist occupation, from their confrontation of the attacking forces and raids that invade their cells daily to their political struggle for the liberation of Palestine and their people. In messages released from prison, they urge solidarity with all imprisoned strugglers, urge Palestinian unity to confront the occupier and tell their stories of imprisonment, resistance and struggle. They are among the over 6,100 Palestinian political prisoners who daily lead the Palestinian struggle for liberation and inspire the strugglers everywhere around the world who stand with Palestine.

On this notorious anniversary, the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat renews its call and its dedication to intensify and build its efforts to struggle for the liberation of Ahmad Sa’adat, Ahed Abu Ghoulmeh, Majdi Rimawi, Hamdi Qur’an, Basil al-Asmar and all of the Palestinian strugglers imprisoned for their commitment to liberation for their people and for the world. Their imprisonment highlights the importance of confronting Zionist colonialism and U.S. and British imperialism and also PA security coordination and collaboration in order to free the Palestinian prisoners and win a free, liberated on the entire land of historic Palestine.

PFLP slams PA for failing to protect Palestinians in West Bank

PFLP slams PA for failing to protect Palestinians in West Bank

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) condemned the abducting of a Palestinian man, Shadi Maali, at the hands of Israeli occupation undercover forces from al-Mahd Street in Central Bethlehem. 

In a statement on Saturday, the PFLP slammed the Palestinian Authority (PA) for their failure to protect Palestinians in the West Bank.

The PFLP Movement called on the PA to bear their responsibilities for confronting Israeli occupation Special Forces.

Earlier at dawn Saturday a group of Israeli masked men, in a Palestinian car, stopped by arrested Maali and transferred him to Barrier 300 north of Bethlehem. Maali is a member of the PFLP and was arrested several times in Israeli jails.

Israel Extends Administrative Detention of MP Jarrar

Israel Extends Administrative Detention of MP Jarrar

The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal intelligence agency, on Wednesday extended the administrative detention of Palestinian lawmaker Khaleda Jarrar, with no indictment or trial.

Informed sources said that the administrative detention of MP Jarrar was extended for another six months at the pretext that she poses a threat to Israel’s security.

Jarrar, 54, was kidnapped from her home in Ramallah last July, and she has been in jail administratively since then.

She is one of the prominent officials of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and an outspoken opponent of the Palestinian Authority’s policies and practices.

Lebanese Communist Party commemorates the launch of Jammoul, the Lebanese national resistance front

Lebanese Communist Party commemorates the launch of Jammoul, the Lebanese national resistance front

On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the launch of the Lebanese National Resistance Front (Jammoul) and the liberation of Beirut, the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP) organized a political and artistic celebration in the town of Libaya, where the comrades marked the occasion by candlelight.

The event began with the national anthem and that of the LCP. The secretary of the LCP in Libaya, Ahmed Aqel, gave a speech in which he saluted the heroes of Jammoul – the martyrs, fighters and prisoners, pledging to continue on the path of struggle until full liberation. He also noted the role of Jammoul and its operations of struggle, which caused the enemy many losses and forced it to withdraw from Beirut, Mount Lebanon, Beqaa, Saida and Nabatiyeh. He noted that this anniversary comes amid the need for a national, revolutionary movement that responds to the needs of the people and the political reality. 

Yana Samarani, a member of the Political Bureau of the LCP, spoke about the founding of Jammoul, calling it a “great anniversary that is deeply engraved in the history of the national struggles of our people and the Lebanese Communist Party, with fire, blood, sweat, joy, sacrifice and pride.” She noted that “Jammoul had several advantages in the history of the country, including the long history of resistance to various forms of occupation and foreign intervention, such as the struggles of the peasantry, the Tanios Shahin revolution, the struggle against the French mandate, and the American defeat in 1958, leading to the experience of the Popular Guard and at Ansar in confronting Zionist threats.”

“When the Zionists entered Beirut, the first bullets were fired in the declaration of George Hawi and Mohsen Ibrahim,” she said, in the founding of Jammoul, to achieve victory. “After 10 days of resistance operations against enemy positions and military patrols in Beirut, including the battles of Ayoub station, Bustros pharmacy, the PLO headquarters, the Concorde, the Olympiad, etc, it was the first victory of Beirut. The resistance was a resistance of the people…The communists led a unique kind of armed struggle, far from media or publicity, planning, equipping and carrying out hundreds of heroic operations in silence,” she noted.

“The resistance was able to defeat the occupation forces and liberate Lebanon in the year 2000, thanks to the main role played by the Islamic resistance,” said Samirami. “Despite the difficult circumstances, the veins of Jammoul remained steadfast and the martyrs, captives and wounded continued until the last moment that the Israeli army were defeated….they provided more martyrs in the struggle for freedom during the July 2006 war.”

The Lebanese Communist Party issued a statement, saying that September 16, 1982 was a new beginning for an era of struggle by the national resistance confronting the Israeli enemy, which resulted in victory and liberation. Aggression can only met by comprehensive resistance that rejects appeasement and surrender. The communists, along with Lebanese national forces, responded to their party’s call to arms in rejection of defeat and in preparation to fight, whatever the sacrifices. The emerged from the rubble of steadfast Beirut, resisting and liberating it quickly, and continuing to pursue the enemy unceasingly, even defeating the enemy in Mount Lebanon and the western Beqaa and the resistance continued in the South, where it was victoriously completed in 2000 by the liberation achieved by the Islamic resistance.

From the beginning, the resistance project has always been a national one, viewing comprehensive confrontation as a key factor in the success of liberation through popular participation. The liberation process must be linked with democratic change for the Lebanese people, for freedom, progress and justice. The liberation of the land must be accompanied by building the homeland, for which so many fighters were martyred as the state was absent from its supposed role in carrying out its duties and national tasks in mobilizing political and military energies to defend our national sovereignty. The Lebanese people are still struggling for a homeland for all their children, living in dignity without subordination to the exploitation of the princes of capital, a homeland that is as great as the sacrifices made for its liberation, a country whose children do not live in destitution and poverty. A country not with a system of corruption and waste of public funds, but a state of social justice which provides all of the conditions of a dignified life, including quality housing, education, comprehensive health care, the right to retirement, electricity, water, unemployment insurance and more, that have not been and cannot be achieved under a state of sectarianism. Their sacrifices were not made for a corrupt governing authority.

Today, the Lebanese communists and national forces recall this occasion with pride. Our comrades and fellow strugglers in the Resistance continued through many various methods of struggle and combat against the enemy. On this occasion, the Lebanese Communist Party is committed to supporting our people, who have done their best in the most difficult conditions, to continue the resistance and struggle for liberation and to build the democratic resistance state for which the convoys of resisters fought, from Beirut to the far south, giving martyrs, many people injured, with every drop of blood shed for the people and the land.

The LCP invites all to participate in the 35th anniversary march commemorating the launch of the Lebanese National Resistance Front (Jammoul) and the beginning of the liberation of Beirut, at 5:30 pm on Saturday, September 16, and to participate in the central celebration at 6:30 to commemorate the completion of liberation and in honor of the martyrs, wounded and prisoners."

PFLP: Those who meet with the occupier stand with the enemies of the people

PFLP: Those who meet with the occupier stand with the enemies of the people

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine strongly condemned Palestinian Authority officials and merchants in Jenin for participating in a farewell ceremony for the Zionist liaison officer in the criminal occupation army, Samir Kioff.

The Front considers that the participation of a Palestinian delegation in the farewell of a Zionist war criminal who stained his hands with the blood of our people is a disgrace on those officials and a poisoned stab in the back of our people, disregarding the blood of the martyrs and the sacrifices of our people who are still struggling under the weight of the crimes of the occupation, in order to be exploited by the occupation to beautify this image.

The Front emphasized that this gathering in the so-called Salem settlement camp which has been a consistent source of suffering for our people, is yet another proof that the Palestinian Authority does not learn any lessons from its continuing great sins against the resistance of our Palestinian people, as shown in the rush of its leaders toward normalization and meetings with the enemy, and in light of the continuation of security coordination with the enemy by the security apparatus.

The Front pointed out that those who continue in the field of normalization are putting themselves in the path of confrontation of our people and should expect punishment for their actions, as national crimes have no statute of limitations.

The Front further emphasized that the Palestinian national responsibility requires all national, community, cultural and commercial actors to condemn these normalization meetings and to expose, besiege and boycott them."