This latest arrest is another escalation of attacks by Israel against Palestinian defenders human rights, which continues to repress the right to freedom of expression and the right of association.
Facts and background:
Israeli security Launched Juma in for questioning in midnight on 15 December. Hours later, he was brought back home. Juma was handcuffed, while soldiers searched his house for two hours and his wife and three small children watched helplessly. Parting words the soldiers were directed to his wife will only see her husband through an exchange of prisoners. Since then, Juma was arrested and forbidden to speak with a lawyer or his family. No explanation was given for his arrest.
Jamal, 47 years old, born in Jerusalem and has dedicated his life to defending Palestinian human rights. The main objective of his work is on encouraging local communities to defend their human rights against violations caused by the occupation. He is a founding member of several Palestinian NGOs and civil society networks. Juma has been the coordinator of the Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall since 2002. He is widely respected for his work and has been invited to give lectures to numerous civil society and United Nations. His articles and interviews are widely published and her work has been translated into several languages. As a very visible figure, Juma has never tried to hide or disguise their activities.
The Jamal Juma is the highest-profile arrest in the intensified campaign of repression against popular mobilization against the wall and settlements. Initially, local activists arrested in the towns affected by the Wall, then the Israeli authorities have made progress to the arrest of the internationally known human rights defenders such as Mohammad Abdallah Othman and Abu Rahmah. Mohammad, another member of the Stop the Wall, was arrested nearly three months ago, while returning from a lecture tour in Norway. After two months of interrogation, the Israeli authorities still can not bring charges against him, as approved by an order of administrative detention. Abdullah Abu Rahmah, a leading figure in the nonviolent resistance 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 wants to weaken society Palestinian civilians and their influence on policy making at national and international. This process clearly criminalizes the work of human rights defenders and civil disobedience in Palestine.
is crucial that the international community to address the Israeli attempts to criminalize human rights defenders who resist against the wall. The Israeli policy of targeting the organizers to call for accountability of Israel, is a direct challenge to the decisions of governments and world bodies like the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to make Israel pay for their violations international law. This challenge will not be dissatisfied.
