New York protests of the murder of Basil al-Araj continue

New York, NY – On the March 17 the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoners Network organized an action where several dozen protesters gathered near Union Square to honor Basel al-Araj on the day of his burial and to continue protesting the regime the killed him.

Al-Araj was murdered on March 6, when Israeli Forces found his hiding place and for two hours rained bullets and rocket fire until they confirmed the kill. Al-Araj had recently been released by the Palestinian Authority after a hunger strike, but his legal charges for wanting to fight the U.S.-backed Israeli apartheid regime weren’t dropped. Al-Araj knew that once Israeli forces captured him, he would be sent straight to prison, so he evaded them for around a year before they found him and extra-judicially executed him.

Protesters chanted for the better part of an hour and handed out flyers regarding the Al-Araj case. As the protest coincided with Saint Patrick’s Day, one of the chants was, “From Belfast to Palestine, occupation is a crime.”

At the end of the protest there were several people read statements. Sapphira Lurie, from Fordham Students for Justice in Palestine, read Al-Araj’s will.

Joe Catron, an organizer with Samidoun, read a statement that the group signed on to that urged people to stand together to fight for the liberation of Palestine.

The protest ended with an announcement to join the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoners Network next Friday for their weekly protest.