Free Alaa Hammad.

By AM Thursday, December 5, 2013

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Guest writer Steven Katsineris with a piece on a political prisoner on hunger strike in an Israeli jail. Steven Katsineris is an Australian free-lance writer of articles on Palestine, Cyprus and the rest of the Middle East region, political prisoners and human rights, environmental and social issues. He has been actively involved in the Palestine solidarity movement for over forty years. Steven lives with his family in Melbourne, Australia.

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Jordanian hunger striking political prisoner Alaa Hammad has been on hunger strike for 192 days, and was taken to Soroka Military Hospital on November 9 for medical treatment.

Shireen Nafe, of Fedaa, the organization supporting Jordanian prisoners in Israeli jails, said that Alaa Hammad has pledged to continue his strike until his demands to be released and relieved of one-third of his imprisonment period in accordance with the laws of the Israeli prisons, where he spent more than two-thirds of his sentence, or to be deported to Jordan to complete his sentence there and for family visits are met. The Prison administration has refused to pledge in writing to date to either release him or deport him.

Alaa Hammad was born in Jerusalem, Palestine on October 20, 1978; he holds Jordanian citizenship and lived with his family in Amman, Jordan. He travelled to Jerusalem in 2006, where he was arrested on November 24 and accused of plotting to kidnap an Israeli soldier to exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and contacting a hostile country, namely Syria. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and during the first six years of his arrest he has been denied all contact with his family except through mailed letters, except for visits from his mother, who was able to visit every six months because she holds a Jerusalemite identity card. His wife and children were prohibited from visiting him.

On May 2, 2013, he launched, along with four other Jordanian prisoners, a hunger strike calling for action from the Jordanian government to move to release them or deport them to Jordan to complete their sentences, and to reveal the locations of missing or martyred Jordanians. Four of the prisoners ended their strike after 100 days and serious health deterioration; an agreement was concluded with the prison administration for family visitation and improvement in conditions of confinement, which has been violated since that time by occupation authorities.

Alaa Hammad chose to continue his hunger strike, demanding release or transfer as well as family visits. He was married in 1998 and has six children: Maryam (14 yrs), Maram (13 yrs), Rim (12 yrs), Yousef (10 yrs), Ibrahim (8 yrs) and Issa (7 yrs).

Please help to publicise the situation of Alaa Hammad through whatever means possible via letters, emails and Facebook. And please send letters to Israeli Embassies urging Israel to grant Alaa Hammad's demands and to Jordanian Embassies urging Jordan to do more to support Alaa Hammad and other Jordanian political prisoners held by Israel.

Source: Samidoun. For more information contact Samidoun, a Palestine prisoner solidarity network.