بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
We who are imprisoned by the British state for Resisting the genocide of our beloved Palestinian people declare the beginning of our Hunger Strike, as we reaffirm our commitment to our struggle from within these Prison walls.
For 15 months, we who are imprisoned for Palestine have tested this “justice system”, and for 15 months we have watched Elbit Systems, the zionist entity and our Government abuse justice and prolong our imprisonment, demanding that we forsake our cause in exchange for our freedom. And so now, we’re forced to confront those that refuse to look us in the eyes with the very foundation of the humanity they deny recognising in us – our life, and our right to life.
On this day in 1917 is when our British state effectively began its colonisation of Palestine. Our British state is the origin of the zionist entity, and while it now likes to act as secondary in the zionist project, we remember and reiterate it’s shameful role in founding one of the most racist and genocidal settler-colonies to exist.
Elbit Systems is the despicable arm of the zionist entity, entrenched here in our British soil, that is manufacturing the weapons that are being used to ethnically cleanse Palestine.
Elbit Systems is the despicable entity that supplies 85% of the land-based weaponry that is being used to colonise the land of Palestine.
Elbit systems is the despicable entity that reaffirms its commitment to and facilitation of the colonisation of Palestine and Holocaust of our beloved Palestinian people in its sloganeering of its weapons as “battle tested on Palestinians”.
And this is the entity that has ordered our imprisonment. And so:
- On count 1 of the genocide of the Palestinian people;
- On count 2 of the starvation of the Palestinian people;
- And on count 3 of the brutal colonisation of Palestine;
On all counts, we who are Prisoners for Palestine, find Elbit Systems: Guilty.
As a result of this criminality, we demand:
1. End all censorship
We demand to be able to send and receive communications without restriction, surveillance, or interference from the prison administration. Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right that is vital for prisoners, whose voices are already systematically silenced. Censorship inside prisons is a tool of control used to punish resistance. Letters, phone calls, political statements, books and all other forms of expression must be respected.
2. Immediate bail
We demand that we be released from custody while awaiting trial. Holding people on remand, in some cases indefinitely, is a deliberate abuse of power, used to punish Prisoners before they have even faced a court or been convicted of any crime. Some of us will have been imprisoned for nearly two years without a conviction. The right to a fair trial must include the right to prepare for it in freedom, not behind bars.
3. Right to a fair trial
We demand the right to a fair trial, which cannot happen until all relevant documents related to our cases are released in full. This includes all meetings between British and israeli entity officials, the British police, the Attorney General, Elbit Systems representatives, and any others involved in coordinating the ongoing witch-hunt of Actionists and Campaigners.
We also demand the release of government records of all Elbit Systems UK exports from the last five years. We have the right to know what arms are being made and exported from the UK, especially when they are used to commit genocide.
4. Deproscribe
We demand the immediate dropping of all terror-related charges and ‘links’, and an end to the use of the Prevent strategy. The Government’s use of counter-terror laws to target those engaged in protest and direct action is unjustified and unprecedented, and must be stopped.
In light of this, we demand that the British government deproscribe Palestine Action. Direct action is not terrorism. It is a legitimate tactic deployed when democratic channels fail to reflect the will of the people. When the government breaks the law, citizens have the moral responsibility to act in defence of life, human rights, and collective dignity.
We also demand an apology from Yvette Cooper for spearheading a smear campaign in a cynical attempt to justify her decision to proscribe Palestine Action. Her claim that Palestine Action was a violent organisation “possibly funded by Iran” has no basis in fact.
5. Shut Elbit down
Many of us are imprisoned for allegedly taking action against Elbit Systems, israel’s largest weapons manufacturer. Since 2012, Elbit has won 25 public contracts in the UK totalling more than £355m. Now, the Ministry of Defence is preparing to sign a £2.7 billion contract with Elbit that would designate it as a “strategic partner” and see the company train 60,000 British troops each year.
We demand that the government does not use taxpayer´s money to fund the machinery of genocide and scrap this contract. Furthermore, we demand that all Elbit systems’ sites and its subsidiaries in the UK are permanently shut down.
Until our demands are met, we will Resist. We ask our Government now: Are you willing to let us die before you stop arming a genocide?
As we take on this struggle, we follow in the honoured legacy of Prisoners throughout time, from Ireland to Guantanamo to Palestine. The Resistance has always been banished by the oppressors to the Prisons in the hopes that this is where they will send it to die. But now, it is from within these Prison walls that we will use the Prisoners tools to disarm the master’s house.
As a Nation, we have made a shameful mockery of Resistance.
It is from our Palestinian people that we learn what Resistance truly entails.
It is from our Palestinian Prisoners, whose captivity and unspeakable torture could not extinguish their desire for the liberation of their homeland, that we learn.
It is from our Resistance whom we have cowardly forsaken, that we learn.
It is from them that we learned, O Palestine, that we can do more for you than bang our pots and pans! And it is in their footsteps we follow as we determine to put our bodies on the line in Resistance to the zionist project, its manifestation as Elbit Systems, and its implementation by the British State.
We seek to do this in service of the Palestinian Cause; in service of our duty to humanity; and in service of our duty to justice, entrusted to us by our Lord,
Al-Shaheed, The Witness. Because in the words of martyred Palestinian Journalist Hossam Shabat, this struggle is the “highest honour” of our lives.
We seek fulfilment and triumph only from Allah, with full certainty and the fact that it is He who presides over all matters. In this matter, we seek the support of Allah, certain that victory is only from Al-Adl, The Most Just. Ya Allah, we ask that you purify our intentions, makes sincere our actions and forgive us for our sins, so that we may earn through this struggle Your Mercy and Your Favour upon us. Ameen.
Elbit, while you boast of how your weapons have been “battle tested on Palestinians”, our Resistance will inform you that your tests have failed. Because Gaza will rise and Palestine will never die.
I do not have words that are more comforting than the words of our Lord. So, to my fellow prisoners, “Persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah so that you may be successful” (Quran, 3: 200).
And to my dearest people of the Land that is Palestine, “Be Patient, indeed the promise of Allah is true. Do not let those with no certainty weaken your firmness” (Quran 30:60). And please, forgive us for our failures, Ya Gaza.
And to the free people of this world, we, your Prisoners, urge you as our martyred Palestinian Journalist Anas Al-Sharif urged us all: “Not to let chairs silence you, nor borders restrain you”, and join us in pursuit of justice by Resisting the war machine in any and every capacity you can! Because “Whoever does Righteousness, it is for his own soul; and whoever does evil does so against it” (Quran 41:46).
So, from your Prisoners to you: Shut Elbit Down!
Sincerely,
Qesser Faryal Zuhrah
Prisoner No. A9259FG