The Israeli occupation authorities arrested the community leader and activist Ameer Makhoul, who serves as the General Director of Ittijah, President of the Popular Committee for the Defence of Political Freedoms and member of the Palestine World Education Forum National Committee. The authorities broke into Makhoul’s house last Thursday morning and performed a general search of his personal belongings, two weeks after he was issued a prohibition order to leave the country for two months, thus preventing him from attending the World Social Forum meeting in Mexico.
The arrest of Makhoul coincides with the approaching 62nd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, and thus constitutes another step in the Occupation’s endeavour to break the will of the Palestinian people, especially those inside 1948 areas, and their insistence on commemorating this important event.
The Palestine World Education Forum National Committee condemns the arrest of its member Ameer Makhoul. We believe that this arrest is an expression of the Israeli oppressive policies that negate the rights of our people inside the state of Israel, and also of the continuous failed attempts made by the Israeli authorities to eliminate the national Palestinian identity of its citizens for more than 60 years.
The Palestine World Education Forum National Committee demands the immediate release of its member Ameer Makhoul. We also call on all local and international human rights organizations to express their responsibility by pressuring the Israeli occupation government to release Ameer Makhoul from prison and to secure his safe return to is family and to the path he chose for the defence of his people.
