UK Parliament to hear demand for release of Ahed Tamimi

Richard Burden MP announced that he and a group of parliamentarians will immediately submit an Early Day Motion to the British Parliament calling for the release of Ahed Tamimi, and all child prisoners, from the Israeli  jails. The paper will also demand that Israel should respect human rights and provide decent living conditions inside the prisons.

This came at the end of a session in the British Parliament that the General Union of Palestinian Students in the United Kingdom organised in cooperation with the Britain Palestine Communication Centre. Twelve members from across the parties were represented, along with four members of the House of Lords, in addition to representatives of a group of human rights and media organisations and a large number of Palestinian students.

The MPs listened to a number of statements by a group of Palestinian students about the occupation’s practices against Palestinians in general and against children, students and women in particular. Bassem Tamimi, activist in the Popular Resistance and the father of the captive child Ahed Tamimi, presented his testimony through a video conference. He reviewed the circumstances of the arrest of his daughter, and other children, and the poor detention conditions experienced by the child prisoners in the occupation prisons, before answering the questions of MPs on the developments in Ahed’s case, and his demands regarding his daughter’s case.

Read: Amnesty International launches urgent appeal to release Ahed Tamimi

Dr. Fouad Shaath, head of the Britain Palestine Communication Centre, introduced the event and stressed that the extremist Israeli government has abandoned the two-state solution through its daily crimes against the Palestinian land and people. He also warned from the repercussions of the lack of political plans on the security of the region and the world, and called on the British Parliament to immediately pressure Israel to abide by international law and UN resolutions.

Raed Al-Dabai, head of the International Relations Committee of Fatah Youth and Vice-President of the International Union of Socialist Youth, gave a presentation on the situation of child prisoners in the occupation’s jails, in which he reviewed how the Israeli occupation sent the child Razan Abu Sal, 13, from Hebron for a month and a half in prison, on Tuesday. He referred to 300 children in prison, 62 female prisoners and 1,000 patients who are in need of urgent and immediate treatment, in addition to 12 deputies, 4,500 administrative detainees and 20 journalists also incarcerated.

He also said that Israel is the only country which sends children to military courts, and violates all laws and values in treating its prisoners. This led to the martyrdom of prisoner Hussain Atallah, last week, as a result of the medical negligence. Al-Dabai called on the British Parliament to immediately and urgently press for effective steps to end the racial discrimination against Palestinians, especially that Britain bears direct responsibility for the suffering of our people.

Read: Israel delays trial of Ahed Tamimi

The Secretary-General of the General Union of Palestinian Students, Hazem Mhisen, has expressed his gratitude to the participating parliamentarians in the hearing session, and stressed that the General Union of Palestinian Students in the United Kingdom will continue its efforts to expose the Israeli occupation and its arrogance by following up the case of Ahed Tamimi and Munther Amira, with the help of the Parliament and other institutions and media organisations.

Dr. Asid Al-Serr, researcher at Queen Mary University of London, talked about the conditions of the Gaza Strip and the unjust siege that still afflicts our people, which caused a health disaster that might lead to the death of many of our people.

Anaam Tirawi, member of the Union’s leadership in the UK, stated that the issue of child arrests is resonating within the British society, as it infringes the basic human rights, captivates Palestinian children’s childhood and shows the occupiers’ real and ugly side.