Case: Mr. Ameer Makhoul, General Director of Ittijah- Union of Arab Community Based Associations and Head of the Popular Committee for the Defense of Political Freedoms
We, as active members, representatives of Human Rights institutions, NGOs, networks and Unions call for the immediate action and support of Mr. Ameer Makhoul, General Director of Ittijah- Union of Arab Community Based Associations and Head of the Popular Committee for the Protection of Political Freedoms after the issuing of an order by the Israeli authorities to prevent him from leaving the country for a period of two months and so denying him the right to travel as an established Human right recognized in a range of international instruments.
This is not the first time in which Mr. Makhoul was harassed by the Israeli authorities; he was called in 2009 for investigation by the Israeli Security Agency (Shabak). Israel seizes every opportunity to take action against the Palestinian leadership in Palestine 48 and still escalates its policy of persecution against the role of active political figures and leaders in an attempt to crush the popular movement defending the Palestinian existence in their homelands.
Accordingly, we send a call to all of you believing in the Palestinian Just cause and struggle for freedom and self determination.
Please do support the voice of the Palestinian leadership in Palestine 48 and take serious action against the policy of persecution of Activists and political figures. Start with signing your name in support of Mr. Makhoul and the call to hold Israel accountable for its practices under International human rights law.
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We appreciate it if you re send this document after filling in the above details to: pr@ittijah.org, ameer@ittijah.org
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22 April 2010
Israeli Minister of Interior Prevents Ameer Makhoul from Leaving the Country
Statement made by the Popular Committee for the Defense of Political Freedoms and Ittijah â Union of Arab Community-Based Associations
This morning [22 April 2010], the Israeli Border Police prevented Mr. Ameer Makhoul, the Director of Ittijah â Union of Arab Community-Based Associations inside Israel, from leaving the country. Makhoul, who also serves as the head of the Popular Committee for the Defense of Political Freedoms, received a prohibition order from leaving the country upon his arrival to the Jordan River Crossing. The order, which was issued by the Israeli Minister of the Interior, Eli Yishai, prohibits Makhoul from leaving the country for a period of two months.
In the prohibition order itself, the Israeli Minister of the Interior, Eli Yishay, states that âI have reached the conviction that the exit of Ameer Makhoul from the country poses a serious threat to the security of the state, and therefore I issue this order to prevent him from leaving the country until the 21st of June, 2010â according to article 6 of the 1948 emergency regulations. Even though the order grants Makhoul the right to appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court, Makhoul already stated his unwillingness to do so. Usually in such cases, Makhoul stated, the Supreme Court acts as an extension of the Israeli General Security Services (GSS), the Shabak.
We consider this administrative order as one that aims at the creation of a culture of fear among Palestinian civil society and a direct attack on our popular and political bodies. We confirm our insistence to continue consolidating our relations with the Arab world and the world in general, and our call to boycott the State of Israel and its policies. Our relations with the Arab world are dependent upon neither the Israeli minister nor the GSS, but on our natural right based on international law and peoplesâ rights. We also consider the order to be a direct attack on the Popular Committees for the Defense of Political Freedoms and its activities on local and international levels that manifest our peopleâs deep roots in our land.
Furthermore, this order constitutes the culmination of the Israeli intelligence persecution of Ittijah â Union of Arab Community-Based Associations during the last few years, due to its wide relations with the Arab world and its role in representing Palestinian civil society inside Israel on local and international levels.
Following the issuance of this prohibition order, representatives of Ittijah, the PCDPF and the High Monitoring Committee of Arabs in Israel decided to convene today in order to discuss the methods to confront the order.