Jamal Juma’ of Stop the Wall Released by Israeli Authorities

After suffering more than a month in detention without charges, Jamal Juma’, the coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign has been released by Israeli authorities.  A Grassroots International partner, Stop the Wall is a coalition of Palestinian non-governmental organizations and neighborhood committees that work to halt the construction of, and dismantle Israel’s Wall in the West Bank.

Many international organizations, including Grassroots International, have called for his release, as well as that of other Palestinian human rights activists.

The Middle East International Media Center interviewed Jamal shortly after his release yesterday. He said: “In the first 12 days I was interrogated and they targeted my work with the popular committees, the non-violence work. The main accusation was incitement. They said that my work was a danger to the security of Israel at a local and international level.. It is clear that they are panicking about the popular struggle, the international solidarity.”

Like many other Palestinian human rights defenders in Israeli jails, Jamal’s case never reached a courtroom, and no charges were filed against him. Many believe that his arrest was purely political – an attempt to crush Stop the Wall and send a message to other popular resistance movements. Likewise, the reasons for his release are political, due to the impressive support of international civil society making his imprisonment too uncomfortable and public. Thank you to all who took action on Jamal’s behalf.