Samer Tariq Issawi

Samer Tariq Issawi is from Issawiya, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem.[2] Israeli prison records, as relayed by CAMERA, list his full name as "Samir Tariq Ahmad Muhammad" and his identification number as 037274735.[8] Israel Hayom identifies him with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Palestinian terrorist organization, while NGO Monitor identifies him as a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine instead.[2][5] The discrepancy in organizational affiliation is a matter of differing source attributions and has not been independently adjudicated.

Issawi was arrested in April 2002 and subsequently sentenced to 26 years in prison.[8] According to Israel Prison Service information relayed by CAMERA, his convictions included attempted murder, membership in an unrecognized organization, military training, and possession of weapons, arms, and explosive materials.[8]

IDF spokesman Capt. Eytan Buchman, as quoted by CAMERA, described five alleged attempts to cause death connected to Issawi's case.[8] These included four shooting attacks carried out between July 2001 and February 2002, in which Issawi and partners fired at police cars and buses traveling between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem; one policeman was injured and required surgery.[8] Buchman also described an October 2001 shooting targeting two students near the Hebrew University and stated that Issawi supplied weapons and explosives for additional planned attacks, including a December 2001 plot directed at security personnel at the university.[8]

Issawi was released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange.[5] CAMERA reports that he was among 477 Palestinian prisoners released in the first stage in October 2011 and that a condition of his release required him to remain within Jerusalem.[8]

In 2012, Israeli forces rearrested Issawi after he traveled from Jerusalem to the West Bank—known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria—or, in some accounts, to the nearby neighborhood of A-Ram, in violation of his parole conditions.[8][4] Issawi stated that he made the trip to have his car repaired.[4] Israeli security officials offered a sharply different account: an Israeli official told Reuters that the trip was part of alleged efforts to establish terror cells, and Israel's Shin Bet stated it had intelligence indicating that he planned to return to terrorist activity.[4] Israel Hayom dates the rearrest to June 2012.[2] CAMERA reports July, while NGO Monitor reports August.[8][5]

Following his rearrest, Issawi began a hunger strike that became the subject of widespread Palestinian and international attention. In February 2013, an Israeli magistrates' court sentenced him to eight months for leaving Jerusalem in violation of his parole; a Times of Israel report said he had gone without food since August 1 and that the sentence would expire on March 6, with a separate hearing potentially resulting in further imprisonment under his original sentence.[9]

Accounts of the hunger strike's duration and continuity differ across sources. The Times of Israel reported that it lasted 266 days, from August 2012 to April 2013, sustained on water and intravenous vitamins.[4] The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reported a strike of 210 days before his December 2013 release.[6] Israel Hayom described the strike as lasting on and off for more than 200 days.[2]

CAMERA relayed competing accounts: Issawi's sister Shirin said he had been fasting for 206 days and drinking only water since January; an Israeli Prison Service spokeswoman said he ate periodically and was under medical supervision; and Palestinian prisoner-affairs minister Issa Qaraqe described the fast as intermittent.[8] An Associated Press description cited by CAMERA called it an "on-again, off-again hunger strike for several months."[8]

An arrangement to end the hunger strike was reached on April 22, 2013, between the military prosecution and Issawi's lawyer, Jawad Bulous, head of the Palestinian Prisoners' Club legal department.[10] Under the agreement, Issawi would stop the strike and be released in eight months, subject to approval by a military court.[10] A separate report covering April 23–30, 2013 states that Issawi and fellow hunger striker Yunis al-Haroub ended their strikes after an agreement with prison services that their administrative detention would not be extended.[11] Palestinian Authority public figures characterized the agreement as a Palestinian "victory" over Israel.[11]

The U.S. State Department's 2013 human rights report recorded that hunger striker Samir Issawi ended an eight-month hunger strike in April in exchange for early release from prison.[3]

Issawi was released from Israeli custody on December 23, 2013.[6] A mass reception was held in Issawiya and attended by senior Palestinian Authority figures and armed DFLP terrorist operatives; Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas telephoned to congratulate him.[6] The release was authorized under a deal with the Israel Prison Service approved by then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Issawi freed under restricted conditions.[2]

In June 2014, Issawi was detained again during Operation Brothers' Keeper.[1] He appeared before a judge on June 25 and was ordered held in custody for eight days.[1]

In May 2015, an Israeli military court ordered Issawi returned to prison to serve 20 years.[7] A military prosecutor alleged that Issawi had resumed "full terrorist activities" following his December 2013 release.[7] Ynet attributed its report on the five prisoners' return to prison to a Palestinian NGO.[7] The claim that Issawi violated his release conditions is attributed to Israeli authorities; it has not been independently adjudicated in the sources comprising this article's research base.

Issawi's hunger strike became a focus of Palestinian solidarity activity and international advocacy. Demonstrations were held in Ramallah, where supporters carried placards depicting him.[8] Supporters also wrote his name on Israeli currency and euros to raise international awareness.[10] The U.S. State Department's 2013 human rights report connected demonstrations in Issawiya to his detention and reported that Israeli security forces controlled movement into and out of the neighborhood in late 2012 and early 2013, blocking entrances with checkpoints and inspecting people entering or leaving.[3] The Association for Civil Rights in Israel described the restrictions as illegal and called for them to end—a characterization the State Department reported as ACRI's advocacy position rather than a legal finding.[3]

In April 2013, a group of Israeli writers, poets, and public intellectuals petitioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release Issawi, warning that his death could damage Israel's foreign relations and ignite unrest in the West Bank.[12] The petition described him as the "beating heart of the Palestinian people" and called for an end to administrative detentions.[12] Issawi was 33 at the time.[12] Reports indicated that Israel had proposed deporting him, though his lawyer said he refused, and an EU official said Israel had not formally made the offer to the EU.[12]

Several aspects of Issawi's case rest on disputed or unverified claims. Sources identify his organizational affiliation differently, naming either the DFLP or the PFLP.[2][5] Israel Hayom dates his 2012 rearrest to June.[2] CAMERA reports July, while NGO Monitor reports August.[8][5]

The nature and continuity of Issawi's hunger strike are also described inconsistently, ranging from a continuous 266-day fast to an intermittent strike of more than 200 days.[8][4] Issawi's account that he traveled to the West Bank to repair his car directly contradicts Israeli security services' allegation that the trip was connected to plans to resume terrorist activity.[4]

At a February 2013 State Department press briefing, a questioner cited reports that Israeli police had questioned Issawi's mother and brothers and arrested a relative. Spokesperson Victoria Nuland declined to confirm the reports, saying only, "I don't have anything at that level of granularity. I'd refer you to the Israelis."[13]