Stand up for Palestine benefit gig

Hastings Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Unite the Union have organised a stand up comedy benefit gig with all proceeds going to Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP) and Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD).

The benefit gig includes:

Ann Field: Unite the Union
Daphna Baram: comedian, UK director ICAHD
Hayley Savage: singer/songwriter
Tim Barton: DJ
Short films from and about Palestine

Benefit gig: Stand up for Palestinians

Sunday 4 March. From 15.00 to 18.00 (3 – 6 pm) at The Printworks, 14 Claremont, Hastings TN34 1HA.

Hastings Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. 

Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP)

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)

Free Ahed Tamimi campaign: a report from Gill Knight of HPSC

The serene face of 16 year old Ahed Tamimi that’s captured media attention is becoming an icon of resistance to the Israeli military occupation of Palestine. Nearly 2 million people worldwide have signed the petition for her release. However her arrest is not an unusual occurrence in Palestine. According to Defense of the Child International’s statistics, Israel prosecutes between 500 – 700 minors each year in military courts which lack fundamental fair trial rights.

Children within the Israeli military system commonly report physical and verbal abuse from the moment of their arrest, and coercion and threats during interrogations. 74.5 percent of children endured some form of physical violence following arrest and 62 percent were verbally abused, intimidated, or humiliated.   As Israel has signed the Convention of the Rights of the Child why does this happen? The answer is that is it one of the fear tactics used to repress any resistance to the occupation.

This year marks 51 years of the Israeli military Occupation of Palestine. An occupation which should have ended if the Olso Accords had been followed to the letter. But that was one of many of the unending and unresolved ‘peace talks’ that litter the Middle East diplomatic scene. Resistance to the Occupation has been uncoordinated and isolated in the West Bank since the second intifada of 2004 .

The Tamimi families in Nabi Saleh are one of the exceptions in their continued steadfastness in opposing the army’s iron fist control. They do this with weekly demonstrations in their village that start peacefully but are broken up in a short space of time with tear gas, rubber coated metal bullets, live ammunition and subsequent arrests. As Ahed’s father Bassem Tamimi says: “We have encouraged our children not to be afraid of the Israeli army and to stand up for their rights. So women and children join the short lived march, which frequently starts with singing and chanting.”

The UK government is fully aware of the mistreatment of Palestinian minors which was fully documented by UK lawyers in a cross parliamentary Children in Military Custody report in 2012. Many recommendations were made, for example: ‘the arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time’; ‘all arrests of children should be conducted during daylight’; ‘copies of all relevant documentation, including arrest warrants and summons for questioning, should be provided to the child’s legal guardian or close family member at the time of arrest or as soon as possible thereafter, and all documentation should be provided in Arabic’. Ahed ‘s middle of the night arrest is an example of the blatant disregard of human rights and Israel’s lack of accountability.

Another example of the colonising control that the Occupation uses is the policy of house demolitions, which have been documented by the NGO, the Israeli Campaign against House Demolitions (ICAHD). The policy exercises administration, planning, zoning and the law for overt political purposes: to quietly transfer Palestinians out of the country or, alternatively, to confine them to small enclaves, thereby leaving the land – their land – free for Israeli settlement and annexation. This is in sharp contrast to the expansion of the Jewish only settlements, held illegal under International Law and by the British government, frequently built on Palestinian owned land. The settlement of Halamish is on land stolen from Nabi Saleh, as is the village spring. Adding insult to many injuries, the Bassem Tamimi family home has a demolition order hanging over it – the bulldozer can come at any time without notification.

Human rights activists need to keep the pressure up on our government whose diplomatic attempts have failed to achieve even the basic human rights for the Palestinians. It’s only going to get worse with Trump in power. We need to show that the suffering and courage of the resistance demonstrated by the Tamimis is not in vain. Ahed, having had her 17^th birthday in prison, appeared in court on 13 February; the session was held behind closed doors after diplomats, reporters and supporters were expelled from the room. Her mother Nariman is also in prison as are Manal’s son, Hamadi and cousin Osama. With my friend Boshra, these women are the strongest I have ever had the privilege to meet and we must stay steadfast in our campaigning to honour their resistance.

Unite the Union and Hastings Palestine Solidarity are holding a benefit at the Printworks 4^th March, featuring Ann Field from Unite, comedienne Daphna Baram UK director of ICAHD UK, singer songwriter Hayley Savage , DJ Tim Barton.

Money raised will be donated to Defense of the Child International and ICAHD. Please come along and support.

 

Zelly Restorick, who has posted this on behalf of HPSC feels concern about an anti-Israeli message, is aware from her own travels to Israel that not every Israeli is supportive of their country’s treatment of the Palestinian people, just as in our country, every citizen doesn’t agree with the decisions of our government and the behaviour of some of our citizens.

Recent HOT article: Local woman calls for justice for Palestinians.

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