Barghouti’s wife asks pope to intervene
US debates over embassy move wrong: Erdogan
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories, May 10, (AFP): The wife of the leader of a hunger strike by hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has written to Pope Francis calling on him to intervene “before it is too late”.
Fadwa Barghouti, wife of Palestinian leader and prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti, has called on the pope to “speak up, because freedom and dignity are God given rights, and no human group should deprive another of these rights.”
“Your call for respect of the rights of the Palestinian people, including the rights of our political prisoners, would allow the voice of those placed in isolation to reach the world,” the letter says.
The Vatican has recognised Palestine as a state. The hunger strike began on April 17, led by Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences over his role in the second Palestinian intifada.
Israeli authorities say 894 Palestinian prisoners have kept up the strike, though Palestinian officials say it is more than 1,000.
Detained
Some 6,500 Palestinians are currently detained by Israel for a range of offences and alleged crimes.
Around 500 are being held under Israel’s system of administrative detention, which allows for imprisonment without charge. Palestinian prisoners have mounted repeated hunger strikes, but rarely on such a scale.
Israel has vowed not to negotiate with the hunger strikers, with Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan calling them “terrorists and incarcerated murderers.”
In her letter, Fadwa Barghouti said “the Israeli courts are instruments of oppression not justice, especially Israeli military courts with their conviction rate of 90 percent to 99 percent for Palestinians.”
Marwan Barghouti, called the “Palestinian Mandela” by supporters, is a popular figure among Palestinians.
The European Parliament has called for his release, saying he could potentially help peace efforts.
While many Palestinians view him as a hero, Israelis point to the bloody suicide attacks of the second intifada of 2000-2005 and his role in that uprising.
Palestinians called for a boycott of Pizza Hut on Tuesday after the company’s franchise in Israel was accused of mocking hunger-striking prisoners.
The franchise’s Facebook page was said to have shared an image released by Israeli police which appears to show Palestinian hunger-strike leader Marwan Barghouti secretly breaking his fast. “Barghouti, if you are going to break your (hunger) strike, isn’t pizza the better choice?” a screenshot of the post said, with a pizza box seemingly photoshopped into the picture.
The image was later removed from the Facebook page, though it was still found on the page of at least one local branch.
Apologised
A spokeswoman for Pizza Hut International apologised for the post.
“It was completely inappropriate and does not reflect the values of our brand,” she told AFP.
“The local franchisee in the country removed it,” she added. “We truly regret any hurt this may have caused.”
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are currently on hunger strike over their conditions.
The post sparked fury on Palestinian social media, including calls to boycott the chain.
“Pizza Hut is ridiculing the prisoners’ strike,” activist Alaa Abu Diab wrote on Facebook, using the hashtag #boycott_pizzahut.
Occupation
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for boycotting Israel until it ends the occupation of Palestinian territories, said it supported calls to snub Pizza Hut.
“Pizza Hut’s mockery of leaders of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike for freedom and dignity adds insult to deep injury,” said the BDS’s Mahmoud Nawajaa.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said debates over the possibility of moving the US embassy In Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem are “extremely wrong” and should be dropped.
US President Donald Trump had promised during his campaign to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, whose status is one of the thorniest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Speaking at a forum in Istanbul, Erdogan said everyone should be careful on issues that concerned the status of Jerusalem, warning that even “relocating a stone” in the city could have serious implications.
“The debates over the possibility of US moving its Israel embassy to Jerusalem are extremely wrong and should certainly drop from the agenda,” the Turkish president said.