Khader Adnan

The social media efforts which recently brought global attention to Palestinian nonviolent resistance (Khader Adnan) and to the impact of Israeli occupation on Palestinian intimate and family relationships (Love Under Apartheid) did not do so by chance. Neither effort could have succeeded without a sound understanding of several key social media concepts. Although several news articles and blog posts have reported on these campaigns, none have yet explored the question of why the efforts were effective.

Today marks the 15th day of Hana al-Shalabi’s hunger strike against her arbitrary imprisonment by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank. Currently held in the Hasharon prison, she was seized from her home near Jenin in a violent nighttime raid in the early hours of 16 February.

Political prisoner Ameer Makhoul, a Palestinian citizen of Israel and civil society leader currently held in Gilboa prison, says that Palestinian prisoners welcome the call for an international day of action on 17 April, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day. He also says that Palestinian political prisoners at Gilboa held a one-day hunger strike on 13 February, for which they were punished by the prison authorities.

The Palestinian prisoners advocacy group Addameer announced on Twitter yesterday that Israel had renewed an administrative detention order against Palestinian writer Ahmad Qatamesh for an additional six months. This is the third consecutive administrative detention order issued against Qatamesh.

As Palestinian “administrative detainee” Hana Al-Shalabi, 29, entered her eleventh day on hunger strike, her parents announced they had begun their own hunger strike in solidarity, against their daughter’s imprisonment without charge or trial by Israel.

Khader Adnan, the Palestinian who ended a 66 day hunger strike against his detention by Israel without charge or trial is recovering well, but remains in a precarious medical condition. Meanwhile, news has emerged that a Palestinian woman is on hunger strike against her detention without charge or trial by Israel.

An increasing number of organizations endorse the call to make 17 April a Day of International Action. Richard Falk and South African former political prisoners who resisted apartheid have added their weight to the call.

Visualizing Palesine is new project whose website is yet to fully launch but already they have used their Twitter account to release this amazing graphic. It combines a history of hunger strikes around the world with a factual illustration of what Palestinian political prisoner Khader Adnan must have been going through since he started the 66-day hunger strike that concluded yesterday after a deal to release him in April was reached.