List compiled by: Mohamad Ballan of SPHR UBC

Being that a few days ago was Gilad Shalit's "capture anniversary", there's about a billion news stories on it. For a change, let's remember the 11 000 + palestinian prisoners in Israeli captivity (illegally). If collectively, they had as much news coverage as Gilad Shalit, maybe they would have been released by now, or the numbers would be significantly smaller, as the pressure to release them would be equivalent to the campaigns to release Gilad Shalit. To everyone that knows they exist (including any palestine solidarity workers), they are just a number.

But, here are some names for a change. Let's remember them, because if we know Gilad Shalit's name, we owe it to the Palestinians to learn several of the ones below, that are beloved to them and missed by them.... note that the ones listed below are a mere fraction of the numbers in captivity.

For more information on Palestinian Prisoners, visit http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/IMG/pdf/Prisoners.pdf

For reports from B'tselem on those considered to be in 'administrative detention', please see: http://www.btselem.org/English/Administrative_Detention/

Most of the names of these prisoners have been gathered from various websites and sources, ranging from the Israeli Ministry of Public Security official website, which deals with issues of administrative detention and Palestinian prisoners, to human rights groups, including Addameer, Sumoud, and others. The names of ALL the prisoners listed, especially those of women and children, have been double checked with other sources, mainly UN reports and Palestinian prisoners online forums, for verification. There are also at least 25 cases of infants under 2 years old being detained as well. Most of the prisoners live in appalling conditions and are subject to torture on a regular basis, and many human rights organizations are not entitled to access to most of the prisons in which they are held. Of all the prisons run by Israel, Facility 1391 is by far the worst and is known by Palestinians (and Israeli human rights groups as) "the Israeli Guantanamo" but it is in fact worst, and actually served as the blueprint on which Guantanamo, Abu Gharaib, and Bagram prisons are based.

It is also imperative to note that these name are only roughly 200 names when in fact there are over 11, 000 in Israeli prisons. Unfortunately, there is no transparency, and the names of these prisoners remain elusive due to the nature of their imprisonment. No human rights organizations or governmental organizations have access to all of the names and identities of these Palestinians. Although they may be erased from our regular world, we will not forget their existence and let them run through the pages of history.

It should also be noted that of those Palestinians detained, only a minor proportion have actually committed acts of "terrorism" (as defined by Israeli law) or orchestrated attacks against the Israeli civilian and military infrastructure of occupation.

For some of the source used to compile these names, please visit:
http://addameer.info/
http://sumoud.tao.ca/?q=
http://www.miftah.org/Doc/Factsheets/Miftah/English/Prisoners.pdf
http://palestinianprisoners.blogspot.com/

ISRAELI PRISONERS: in capitivity with hamas:

One soldier, captured during combat role.

Mainstream media coverage: 180 hrs +, over 200 news articles, since 25th June 2006

Name: Gilad Noam Shalit


PALESTINIAN PRISONERS:

10,000 men, 1500 women, 500 children under 12 yrs old.

Mainstream media coverage, including Israeli/Arabic/Palestinian/Western news stations: 0.00 minutes, 0 news articles

This year, on Sunday, March 8, 2009, women and men worldwide have commemorated the day by highlighting the plight of the women of Gaza. CODEPINK's historic 60-person International Women’s Day delegation, carrying the 2,000+ gift baskets you so generously donated to the women of Gaza now inside Gaza City. United Nations Gender Division has invited us to hand-deliver humanitarian aid in the region. Click here to view photos and reports, and remember that you can still send more aid to the region...

The residents of Bil’in, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah,  gathered today after the Friday prayer to mark the fourth anniversary of the struggle against the construction of the wall and expanding settlements. Party members and supporters of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) also celebrated its 40th anniversary. Friday February 20, 2009

scores of villagers from Nil'in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, on Friday midday, held their weekly protest against the illegal Israeli wall being built on the village's land.

Friday February 20, 2009

Palestinian medical sources reported that an undercover force of the Israeli Army infiltrated on Saturday at dawn into Juhr Ad Deek area, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and assassinated two fighters.

On Saturday (Feb 14), a Palestinian resident of Beit Hanina neighborhood in East Jerusalem had to demolish his own home built ten years ago after he was unable to pay a high fine imposed on him by the Jerusalem Municipality.

The Jerusalem municipality said that the home was built without a construction permit and imposed a 130.000 NIS fine.

Amnesty International delegates visiting the Gaza Strip found indisputable evidence of widespread use of white phosphorus in densely populated residential areas in Gaza City and in the north.

“Yesterday, we saw streets and alleyways littered with evidence of the use of white phosphorus, including still burning wedges and the remnants of the shells and canisters fired by the Israeli army,” said Christopher Cobb-Smith, a weapons expert who is in Gaza as part of a four-person Amnesty International fact-finding team.

Caracas, Venezuela (AHN) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday expelled Israel's ambassador to the country as he accused the Jewish nation of "genocide" against the Palestinian people. He described the Israeli army as "cowards."

This as United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon slammed Israel's shelling of schools run by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Gaza that killed 30 people and injured dozens more as he repeated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the region.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and thousand more injured as Israel continues to assault the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza -- the majority of them children and refugees -- from the air, sea and sky.

The dead include police officers who were attending a graduation ceremony, school children heading home after a day of study, and other Gazans killed without warning as they were conducting their normal business. The death toll will most likely rise as corpses are recovered from the rubble of destroyed buildings and the critically injured die of their wounds. Many will likely die because Gaza's hospitals -- already chronically short of medicines and supplies due to the Israeli siege -- are unable to cope with the scale of the catastrophe.

BY David Wildman, The Electronic Intifada, 5 September 2008

PART 1: A history of confronting injustice

The 2008 United Methodist General Conference

The General Conference of the United Methodist Church meets once every four years and is the only body that speaks on behalf of the whole church. The United Methodist Church is a global church with some 25 to 30 percent of its membership in countries of Africa, Europe and in the Philippines. General Conference adopts broad policies and principles designed to guide church actions. The work of implementing such principles goes to agencies and local churches.

David Wildman, The Electronic Intifada, 5 September 2008 -

Applying international law in Palestine-Israel

"We denounce as immoral an ordering of life that perpetuates injustice ... Believing that international justice requires the participation of all peoples, we endorse the United Nations and its related bodies and the International Court of Justice as the best instruments now in existence to achieve a world of justice and law." -- United Methodist Church Social Principles