14 May 2000

In the name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful

On the anniversary of the establishment of the usurping Zionist entity
Let the popular confrontations with the enemy
soldiers and settlers continue in solidarity with the heroic detainees
Nation wide strike in Palestine tomorrow in solidarity with the detainees

The heroic detainees in prisons of the Zionist enemy’s jails continue their open hunger strike demanding their release and ending their ordeal after the humiliating peace agreements and negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and the enemy failed to set them free. Their strike was also launched after hopes of most of them in freedom faded away due to their political opposition to the capitulatory agreements concluded with the usurping occupiers.

The heroic detainees have decided to take the matter into their own hands and extract their own thorns, thus they launched the battle of empty stomachs to halt the series of oppression, suppression and torture, which they daily suffer in enemy jails. They also decided to resist attempts to break their will and steadfastness by humiliation, beating, constant provocations, solitary confinement, which lasted for more than three years for some of them, depriving them of seeing their relatives and children and refusing to provide medicine or medical treatment along with bad detention conditions.

We, in the Hamas Movement, affirm our absolute support to all heroic detainees and stress the following:

1- we hail the heroes of our people and their towering symbols in jails. We assert to them that their cause will permanently remain at the top of our priorities and programs. We also affirm that liberating them will remain the noble goal that we will work for along with all our people and Mujahideen. We stress that our people will never forget them regardless of their affiliation and will never forget their sacrifices and Jihad for the sake of their people, cause, nation, Quds and sanctities.

2- our people’s Intifadha in various areas of our country against the enemy soldiers and settler herds is but a reflection of the faithfulness of our people, young and aged, women and men, to those heroic detainees. The uprising also points to the status of those heroes, the bright stars in our country’s skies and in hearts and conscience of our country and nation’s hearts.

3- we call on our Palestinian people in each and every city, village and refugee camp to maintain their supportive campaigns with the detainees and to escalate popular confrontations with the enemy soldiers and settler herds in solidarity with the heroic detainees and to mobilize all efforts for the sake of ensuring their release.

4- we ask the Palestinian Authority to immediately halt its absurd negotiations with the Zionist enemy if it was really serious in adopting the issue of the detainees.

5- we beseech leaders of Arab and Islamic countries along with the Arab League and the Islamic Conference Organization to express solidarity with the detainees of our steadfast people and to adopt their just cause in all international platforms. We appeal to them to organize activities and different programs to spread awareness of their case and shed light on their sufferings in addition to exercising all necessary efforts to guarantee their release.

6- we call on the UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan to exert all efforts possible to liberate our detainees in enemy jails and to halt all forms of repression and violation of human rights and dignity of those detainees at the hands of the occupation authority.

7- we invite our people to launch a commercial strike in all occupied Palestinian lands tomorrow Monday 15 May in solidarity with our heroic detainees and to display popular backing for their release and to declare our people’s rejection of the establishment of the usurping Zionist entity on our occupied lands, the anniversary of which falls tomorrow.

As for you, the brave heroes behind bars, towering like the Dome of the Rock, loyal men who made glory for their people and nation … we feel with you, all your sufferings and pains, steadfastness and patience, revolution against the jailers, hunger strike. We will remain in your support with all our might until you enjoy freedom, break the shackles of imprisonment and return to your people and families.

Let us all stand united in backing of the detainees to realize their goals of freedom and dignity and let confrontations escalate in all areas against occupation, its soldiers and settlers and let us all stick to the option of steadfastness “If you raise high the word of Allah, He will make you victorious and steadfast.”

Allahu Akbar and victory for our Mujahid people

The Islamic Resistance Movement
(Hamas – Palestine)
Sunday 10 Safar 1421H
14 May 2000