Members and leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) announced on Monday that they would begin open hunger strikes in solidarity with Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli prisons. The announcement was made at a sit-in in front of the office for International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza City, amid widespread protests over the organization’s recent decision to cut family visitations for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody, reducing arranged visits for male Palestinian prisoners from two days a month to just one. More than 80 PFLP-affiliated prisoners have entered open hunger strikes in a mass movement first inspired by incarcerated PFLP member Bilal Kayid, who has gone more than 55 days without food, while imprisoned PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Saadat also joined the hunger strike at the beginning of this month. The sit-in was attended by PFLP members, the families of Palestinian prisoners, former prisoners, representatives from various...

Hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayid is awaiting a response from Israeli authorities to a proposal to end his hunger strike, a statement from the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs said on Sunday. According to the statement, Kayid told lawyer Karim Ajwah that he had proposed to end his hunger strike if Israel agreed to free him after serving four more months of administrative detention -- the controversial Israeli policy internment without trial or charges under undisclosed evidence. Kayid additionally requested that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) end his solitary confinement and allow his family members to visit him. Kayid, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has been on hunger strike for at least 26 days in protest of being placed in administrative detention by Israel on the day he was scheduled to be released from serving more than 14 years in prison. The native of the town of Asira al-Shamaliya in the northern occupied Wes...

After shooting to death a leftist leader at a protest on Friday, Israeli forces again invaded Gaza Saturday to attack the man's funeral in the town of Dir al-Balah. 41-year-old Sami Shawqi Madhi was a leader for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a left wing political party that works for labor rights and against the excesses of capitalism. Israel and the U.S. both consider the PFLP to be a terrorist group, for their role in several attacks against Israelis in the 1990s. In the past decade, the group has employed a non-violent strategy in their struggle against the Israeli military occupation. On Saturday, hundreds of people turned out for the funeral of the slain leftist leader. Israeli troops invaded the Strip with armored vehicles and began firing at mourners. Some young men among the mourners began throwing stones at the invading forces, according to local sources. more

The Israeli Prison Service on Tuesday morning assaulted the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine amid an ongoing crackdown on Palestinian detainees inside Nafha prison, a Palestinian minister said. Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Qaraqe said in a statement that the Israeli Prison Service assaulted Ahmed Saadat, PFLP's secretary-general, who is serving multiple life sentences in Nafha prison in the Negev in southern Israel. Qaraqe blamed the Israeli government for the assault on both Saadat and on other Palestinian prisoners at Nafha. He said that Israeli wardens use all means of aggression against Palestinian detainees including torture, beatings, and humiliation. Qaraqe demanded that Israel stop that the "craziness," warning that the situation in Israeli prisons could "explode" at any moment. He pointed to the fact that after the assault on Saadat, prisoners affiliated to PFLP said they would not fail to take action. The situa...

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Hamas movement has denied that it reached a long-term agreement with Israel, member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s politburo said Wednesday. Saleh Zeidan’s statement came after a Palestinian faction meeting that included the Hamas movement, the DFLP, PFLP, Islamic Jihad and the PPP in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Zeidan added that Hamas must issue an official statement affirming its denial. He warned that any unilateral long-term agreements between Hamas and Israel would have "dangerous consequences" and would be to the benefit of an Israeli plan to separate the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian national project. Zeidan added that the DFLP backs forming a national consensus government that would include all factions, including Hamas, calling upon the president to hold an immediate meeting to form a national unity government. Hamas sources said Tuesday that Israel and the movement have been holding an indirect exchang...

Secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) threatened Wednesday to begin an open hunger strike in protest of being denied family visits by Israel's prison service. The left-leaning party's Ahmad Saadat is serving a 30-year sentence in Israeli jails and has been deprived of family visits for two years, lawyer Ashraf al-Khatib of the Palestinian committee of prisoners' affairs said. Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency is expected to extend a current ban on visits for six more months from June 18. Currently held in Gilboa prison, Saadat has been in Israeli custody since March 2006, when Israeli forces detained him from a Palestinian Authority jail in Jericho and put him on trial for allegedly masterminding the assassination of Israeli Minister of Tourism Rehavam Zeevi in 2001. He was charged in 2008 for heading an "illegal terrorist organization." The majority of Palestinian political organizations are considered illegal...

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A student list affiliated with Hamas on Wednesday came out on top in the closely-watched student elections at Birzeit University near Ramallah. A day after thousands turned out for a student debate between Fatah, Hamas, and the leftist parties participating, the Islamic List emerged victorious with 26 seats, while the Fatah-affiliated list trailed with 19. The leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine list emerged with five, while an alliance of three smaller leftist parties – the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestinian People’s Party, and Fida -- took one seat. Voter turnout was reported at 77 percent of all undergraduate students entitled to vote, who numbered around 9,000. The victory for the Islamic List at the historically staunchly pro-Fatah campus took observers by surprise. In the absence of regular national elections, university elections are seen as important indicators of public opinion by political commentat...

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) denounced an Israeli decision to put Khalida Jarrar, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PCL), under a six-month administrative detention. PCHR calls upon the international community to practice pressure on Israeli authorities to put an end to the administrative detention policy, which violates the right to a fair trial. On Sunday, 05 April 2015, the Israeli military commander issued an order putting PLC member Khalida Jarrar (52) under a six-month administrative detention. According to human rights sources, a hearing is supposed to be held at the military court in Ofer, west of Ramallah, on 08 April to confirm or reduce the detention order. The order came four days after Jarrar had been arrested on Thursday morning, 02 April, when Israeli forces raided her house in al-Bireh and took her to Hasharon prison for women in Israel. It should be noted that Ms. Jarrar is a PLC Member representing Abu Ali Mostafa Bloc and a memb...

Thousands of Palestinians marched in Gaza on Monday to commemorate the death of George Habash, the founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The march, led by PFLP leaders and national factions, set off from the Unknown Soldier's Square in Gaza City and called for national unity and an end to political division. "Our message today, on the memory of the death of al-Hakim (the wise one), George Habash, is to hold to the values he represented during his lifetime, since founding the Arab Nationalist Movement until the day he left us," PFLP leader Kayid al-Ghoul said. Habash was "known for his revolutionary ethics as an entrance to a clean policy based on our people's rights, the history of Palestine and his deep faith in the ability to achieve victory against Israel," al-Ghoul added. George Habash, a Palestinian Christian, founded the leftist PFLP and led the party until 2000, when health issues forced him to resign. He died in Amman on...

The Hamas movement on Saturday called Israeli airstrikes against a military base in Gaza a "dangerous escalation" as political parties across the Palestinian political spectrum condemned the first bombing since a ceasefire ended the summer's 51-day conflict. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned Palestinians in a statement of another "foolish" Israeli act, calling upon the international community to carry out its responsibilities toward renewed Israeli aggression. The statements come in the wake of Israeli airstrikes that targeted a Hamas military site in the early morning hours Saturday, causing no injuries but bring back memories of the Israeli offensive over summer that left nearly 2,200 Palestinians dead and almost 110,000 homeless. The Israeli military said it launched the attack in retaliation for a rocket from Gaza the day before that landed near the border in Eshkol but caused no injuries. Hamas denied any responsibility for the rocket but Israel has...

Palestinian factions Tuesday applauded an attack by two young Palestinians in a Jerusalem synagogue, killing four Israelis earlier in the day. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement that the attack was a response to the "ongoing Israeli crimes against the Al-Aqsa Mosque," and urged Palestinians to carry out similar attacks. "The operation in Jerusalem came in response to the execution of the martyr (Yousuf Hasan) al-Ramouni," Abu Zuhri added, referring to the Monday hanging death of a Palestinian Jerusalemite bus driver whose family says was murdered by right-wing Israelis while police say the death was a suicide. A leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation Palestine, Kayid al-Ghoul, also praised the attack, but he did not say that the PFLP officially claimed responsibility for the attack. Speaking to the Lebanese news channel al-Mayadin, al-Ghoul said the attack was in response to ongoing Israeli crimes in occupied Jerusalem. The military w...

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) barred prisoner Ahmad Saadat, the secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, from receiving prison visits for three renewable months. Saadat’s wife, Abla, said in press remarks on Thursday that the Israeli prison authority did not state the reason for its decision. The detainee, currently held in Gilboa prison, are regularly transferred to different jails as part of the ongoing punitive measures taken against him. His wife said the Israeli jailers always prevent her and her children from visiting their father, but the difference this time was that the visit ban decision was issued in writing. more

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine organized a rally in Gaza City on Tuesday to support national unity. Senior PFLP leader Kayid al-Ghoul spoke during the rally and said the "people's steadfastness" in Gaza should lead to Palestinian national unity based on partnership and a political program which guarantees Palestinian rights. Militants affiliated to the PFLP participated in the rally, which began at Omar al-Mukhtar Street before moving to the al-Basha multi-story residential tower, which was destroyed during Israel's offensive on Gaza. Participants waved Palestinian and PFLP flags during the march, and some members of the crowd held up photos of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. more

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Palestinians across the Gaza Strip turned out in the thousands for prayers and a victory march on Friday, as many savoured their first opportunity in 50 days to attend Friday prayers in Gaza mosques without fear of Israeli bombardment. Although a local council estimates one-third of mosques were damaged in the Israeli assault -- including 72 totally destroyed -- Palestinians flocked to services as political leaders took to the podiums to stress the need for national unity after what they deemed an unprecedented victory against Israel. Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said during a Friday prayer sermon in a mosque in the devastated eastern Gaza neighborhood of Shujaiyya that Palestinians have entered "a new age today and a new stage of national unity by choosing to win and support the resistance." "The war on Gaza should eliminate all previous internal disagreements," he added, calling upon the national unity government to fulfill it...

NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained 12 leaders from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine overnight Monday, sources in the group told Ma'an. Ahmad al-Haj Muhammad Abu al-Nimr and Zahi Khatatba were detained in the Nablus town of Furik, while Kamal Ibrahim Abu Tharifa, Youssef Abd al-Haq Abu Shaddad and Moussa Salama were arrested in Nablus. Amjad Hamayil, 37, was arrested from his house in Beta during a raid. In Jenin, Israeli forces detained Fadaa al-Zugheibi, Muhammad al-Zugheibi, Abdullah al-Afif, Alam Sami Masad and Jaafar Abu Salah. Mustafa Orabi Nakhla, or Abu Wadee, was detained from al-Jalazun refugee camp in northern Ramallah. The arrests of PFLP political leaders come a week after a senior official from the party was issued an order by Israel to leave Ramallah. more

The Israeli Occupation Forces raided the home of Khalida Jarrar, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, in Ramallah early this morning. The soldiers gave her an order for deportation to Jericho for an indefinite period. According to information received by PNN, the Israeli soldiers tried to force Khalida to sign the order, which she refused. Then a soldier read the text aloud, saying that the military courts, due to information from the intelligence and security services of the Israeli occupation, have ordered Jarrar to be deported to Jericho within 24 hours and to remain for an indefinite period within the city limits of Jericho; the soldiers left a map of the Jericho city limits. more

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said in a statement on Thursday that it will respond to Israeli forces' killing of an activist affiliated with the group during an arrest raid earlier in the day. The PFLP and its military wing Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said that the "response is undoubtedly coming," vowing to "continue to resist until the occupation is removed from all Palestinian soil." The statement comes hours after Muatazz Washaha, 24, was killed following a stand-off with Israeli forces in the central West Bank village of Birzeit. The PFLP also called upon the Palestinian Authority to end security coordination with Israel, and to "return to the Palestinian people." The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, condemned the "assassination" in a statement on Thursday and demanded the "provision of international protection to the Palestinian People," arguing that the "crime marks furthe...

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Palestinian factions on Thursday took responsibility for launching mortar shells at Israeli military targets earlier in the day. The military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, said in a statement that it fired two 80-millimeter mortar shells at a group of Israeli tanks that had invaded an area east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The statement said that the group would continue to resist the Israeli occupation. Meanwhile, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the National Resistance Brigades, said it fired two mortar shells at an Israeli military site east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. The group said in a statement that the shells were fired in a response to ongoing Israeli escalation in Gaza, saying it would continue to conduct operations against Israel. It called on all Palestinian military wings to unite in resisting the Israeli occupation. ...

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A meeting between three factions was held in Gaza Saturday for a discussion about national Palestinian reconciliation, one of the factions' leaders told Ma'an. Leaders from Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine were present, PFLP leader Kayed al-Ghoul said. Hamas called the meeting to discuss ways in which reconciliation with the Palestinian Authority could be achieved, al-Ghoul said. He added that the PFLP called for PA President Mahmoud Abbas to form a unity government and hold elections within the next six months. The leaders also discussed a program for proportional representation of each faction in the legislative council, guilds, and other institutes. more

[Sunday October 6 2013] Hundreds of Palestinians held in a protest in the central West Bank city of Ramallah demanding the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, to stop direct talks with Israeli due to its ongoing violations, and its absent interest in real and comprehensive peace. A number of leftists Palestinian political parties organized the protest. The protesters marched from the Manara Square, in the center of Ramallah, carrying Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against the political process, and the occupation. Protest organizers stressed that peace talks with Tel Aviv are futile, especially since Israel has no interest in real peace, and is only interested in legitimizing its illegal occupation of Palestine, and its illegitimate settlement activities. They added that all Palestinian factions must define a clear strategy to counter the Israeli occupation, and to defend the Palestinian people, their lands and their holy sites. The protesters further stressed on ...