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Ittijah-Union of Arab Community Based Associations
UN ECOSOC Special Consultative Status
Tel : 04-8507110 Fax : 04-8507241

URGENT

Administrative Closure Order of Ansar al Sajeen Association

Time for the case of 1948 Palestinian Prisoners to come into light

Ansar al Sajeen (Prisoner’s Friends’) Association[1], based in the Arab
town of Majd al Kroum and registered under Israeli Law, was shut down by
the Israeli security forces in the early morning hours of Friday, 8
September 2006. This has come as part of Israel’s escalating monitoring
policy of Palestinian NGOs in Israel following its latest aggression on
Lebanon and Palestine.

The Administrative order[2] for shutting down Ansar al Sajeen was issued
by the Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz and included the shutting
down of the association’s offices declaring it an illegal organization,
and the confiscation of all its properties. This order came in the wake
of the association’s launching of a campaign calling to include the case
of 1948 Palestinian prisoners, citizens of Israel, in the current talks
for prisoners’ exchange.

This violent reaction by the Israeli government displays its escalating
discriminatory policy towards the Palestinian community, its leadership
and NGOs. The illusion of Israeli democracy is clearly reflected in the
reality of its policies towards its Arab citizens. Therefore, urgent
action should be taken in this concern by the Palestinian civil society
being a representative of Ansar al Sajeen’s case and other cases as
such.

Ittijah, the Union of Arab Community Based Association doesn’t only
condemn Israel’s discriminatory policy, but rather calls for an
immediate action by the Palestinian civil society against Israel’s
terror campaign, which in its essence, violates the basic freedoms and
rights of Palestinian citizens, individuals and organizations, to
express their opinions and views under a ’democratic regime’ in addition
to its violation of Ansar al Sajeen’s status as a human rights’
Defender, addressing the rights of Prisoners and seeking to protect
them.

A meeting will be held on 14 September in this concern. We should all
unite and adopt Ansar al Sajeen’s campaign calling to include the case
of our 1948 Palestinian fellows in Israeli prisons on the agenda of the
current prisoners’ exchange talks.
10-9-2006

Ameer Makhoul
General Director
Ittijah - Union of Arab Community Based Associations
(UN-ECOSOC Special Consultative Status)
P.O.Box 9577 Haifa 31095
Tel : +972 4 8507110
Fax : +972 4 8507241
Mobile : +972 54 4862171
www.ittijah.org

_____

[1] http://www.ittijah.org/member/ansar.html
[2] Based on the colonial mandatory British Law of 1945. All accusations
are based on secret evidence that cannot be revealed neither to the
accused nor to his/her attorney.