For a flickr slide show with photos see: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stopthewall/sets/72157632864447120/show/
Arafat Shalish Shahin Jaradat, from the village Sa’er in Hebron, who was arrested the 18 th of February 2013 died in Megido Prison the 23th of February after a series of interrogation. The official version from the occupation forces was that he had died from cardiac arrest. However, Jaradat did not suffer from any diseases and did not have any chronic problems with his health when he was arrested. It was thus no surprise when the autopsy revealed that he in fact had been killed as a result of torture and medical neglect with six broken bones in his neck, spine, arms and legs and other signs of torture.
The assassination of Arafat Jaradat has unleashed the frustration and anger of the Palestinians, and clashes has erupted in Bethlehem, Budrus, Betunia, Jenin, al-Khalil, Kfar Kusra, Nabi Saleh, Kfar Qaddum, al-Ram, Turmusaya and Jerusalem as well as at Huwara
and Jalameh checkpoints and in the Gaza Strip. Both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli
occupation are fearing that this will be the beginning of the third intifada and doing the best they can to calm the situation. The uprising is now called for “the prisoners’ intifada” – referring to the Palestinian prisoners tortured, killed and under hunger strike as a result of their struggle against the illegal occupation of Palestine.
This can of course not be seen as the only cause of the escalation of resistance, but rather as the final piece in the increasing accumulation of suffering over the last couple of years. Economic hardship, daily repression and humiliation at the checkpoints, house demolitions, the ethnic cleansing in the Jordan Valley and the other areas of Palestine, prohibition for Palestinian farmers to reach their land and the daily increase of the illegal settlements and settler attacks on Palestinian villages and private property are just some of the factors that have led to the increase of resistance that we are now seeing in the streets.
The Israeli occupation is now releasing funds to the PNA that it has illegally withheld before in order to calm everything down. However, it is clear that they can’t buy their peace from the suppressed. There can’t be any peace before we have our freedom!