Palestinians Rally over Prisoner’s Martyrdom

Local Editor

Tens of thousands gathered Monday for the funeral of the Palestinian prisoner who was martyred in an "Israeli" prison, as anger escalated over "Israel's" continued violations of Palestinian rights.

The Palestinian prisoner Arafat Jaradat was martyred Sunday, a week after being arrested by "Israeli" forces. While "Israeli" authorities claimed that he had succumbed to cardiac arrest in the "Israeli" prison of Megiddo, an autopsy carried out by a Palestinian doctor showed that Jaradat was tortured.
"There were marks of torture on the back, marks of torture on the chest, a deep wound on the upper side of the shoulder, wounds alongside the spine and marks of torture underneath the skin," Palestinian Authority Minister of Prisoners Issa Qaraqe told Maan news agency.

These reports did not come as a surprise for Abdallah Abu Rahmeh, a spokesperson for the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee.
"To us Palestinians, we know [what happened] because we have all been in prisons. We know that the first month of detainment is the worst when they are going through interrogation," he stated. "It's not news that "Israel" uses illegal methods to torture. The tactics they use are extremely brutal, both physically and mentally."

Fearing a Palestinian response, "Israeli" troops were deployed in large numbers in the area and imposed extensive restrictions on the entrances to al-Khalil and neighboring villages.
Meanwhile, "Israeli" forces fired tear gas at protesters in the nearby al-Arrub refugee camp and in the village of Beit Einun.
Smaller protests took place throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Sunday and Monday in memory of Jaradat.

Senior Hamas leader Salah al-Bardawil urged resistance fighters to kidnap "Israeli" soldiers at Sunday's rally in the Gaza town of Khan Younis.Lawyers in Gaza have announced that they will go on strike Tuesday to denounce Jaradat's death.
Prior to Jaradat's martyrdom, the West Bank and Gaza were already witnessing a rise in protests, as Palestinians have rallied around the cause of four prisoners on life-threatening hunger strikes. The current wave of Palestinian protests has stoked "Israeli" fears of a popular upheaval, and "Israel" has demanded that the Palestinian Authority rein in the unrest.
"Resistance is a natural right and we agree unanimously on escalating popular resistance," senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad told al-Mayadeen. He added that the PA might bring Jaradat's case up to the United Nations security council.

"The "Israelis" have left no door open for Palestinians. They've killed every possibility for peace during the last 20 years, throughout the so-called Oslo process," Palestinian MP Mustafa Barghouti said.

However, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused "Israel" of deliberately causing unrest, AFP reported."The "Israelis" want chaos and we know it but we won't let them," he said. "We want peace and freedom for our prisoners and no matter how hard they try to drag us into their schemes, we will not be dragged."
For Abu Rahmeh, the time might be ripe for a new Palestinian uprising.
"It is becoming obvious from the clashes that there is an upcoming intifada. Day after day the people and actions are growing in numbers," he said. " We, the Popular Struggle [Coordination Committee], believe that now is the best time to fuel these protests to get "Israel" to meet our demands and force them to ease their methods in the occupation in all its aspects: prisoners, arrests, the [apartheid] wall and the checkpoints."

"We are coming closer to ending the life of this brutal occupation," Abu Rahmeh said.

This comes as  the United Nations called for an independent inquiry into the death of Jaradat in "Israeli" custody, warning that mounting tensions risk an eruption of violence in the occupied territories.

UN Middle East peace envoy Robert Serry made the call in a statement after talks with Palestinian prime minister Fayyad on the death of Arafat.

"The United Nations expects the autopsy to be followed by an independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances of Mr Jaradat's death, the results of which should be made public as soon as possible," the envoy added.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org