Samer Tariq Issawi (born December 16, 1979, in
Issawiyeh, north east of
Jerusalem) is a Palestinian prisoner in Israel.
On 15 April 2002, Samer was detained by the Israeli army in
Ramallah
Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...
as part of
Operation Defensive Shield
Operation "Defensive Shield" ( he, מִבְצָע חוֹמַת מָגֵן, ''Mivtza Homat Magen'', literally "Operation Shield Wall") was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002 during the Second Intifada ...
during the
Second Intifada
The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...
. Samer, who was affiliated with the
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
[ allegedly manufactured and distributed pipe bombs and in several instances fired indiscriminately at Israeli civilians. He was convicted of membership in an illegal organization, possession of explosives, and attempted murder.][
Nearly 10 years later, in October 2011, Samer was released along with 1027 Palestinian prisoners as a result of an Egypt-brokered deal between Hamas and the Israeli government for the return of Gilad Shalit. However, on 7 July 2012, he was re-detained near for violating the terms of his release by leaving Jerusalem and entering the West Bank.][ His lawyer Andre Rosenthal stated that he had been taking his car to be fixed at a garage in the West Bank.][
He was convicted of an 8-month sentence, which according to the terms of his release could include a reinstatement of the rest of his original 26-year sentence.]Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...
, president of the Palestinian state, sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
and began a publicity campaign on 13 February 2013 to raise awareness of the condition of Issawi and three other prisoners of Israel engaged in a hunger strike to protest that they were being held in prison without being convicted.
On April 22, 2013, it was announced that Samer was ending his hunger strike. A deal had been reached where Samer would serve eight months for violating the terms of his bail, and then be released to Jerusalem. However, he was detained again, six months after his release. In 2015 he renewed his hunger strike.
References
Living people
1979 births
Palestinian people imprisoned by Israel
Palestinian hunger strikers
People from Jerusalem
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