Document: New Israel Fund failed to meet USAID requirement not to provide
aid to terror supporters

[9 September 2003 IMRA: PMW reported that USAID requires Palestinian
beneficiaries to sign a declaration that "The beneficiary institution has
not supplied, and will not supply in the future, any material or other form
of aid to any individual or other body that is known or has any reason to
be considered as a person or a body that incites, plans, supports, or is
involved in any terrorist activities of any kind."

The New Israel Fund, by providing funding to Adalah, that provided aid to
Marwan Barghouti, who most definitely " incites, plans, supports, or is
involved in any terrorist activities" would not meet the USAID requirements.

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ADALAH PRESS RELEASE
6 December 2002

Tel Aviv District Court to Hear Adalah's Petition Seeking Marwan Barghouti's
Release from Solitary Confinement

Today, Adalah filed a petition to the Tel Aviv District Court demanding that
it overturn the Prisons Authority's decision to place Marwan Barghouti in
solitary confinement for five days. The petition was submitted by Adalah
Staff Attorney Abeer Baker. The Tel Aviv District Court immediately issued
an order scheduling a hearing on the petition for Sunday, 9 December 2002 at
9 a.m.

On 4 December 2002, the Associated Press published an interview with Marwan
Barghouti, through one of his lawyers, Khader Shkirat. The Associated Press
reported that Marwan Barghouti called to change some of the Palestinian
leadership and reasserted the right of the Palestinians to resist the
Israeli occupation of the Occupied Territories. Following the publication of
the interview, the Prisons Authority decided to place Marwan Barghouti in
solitary confinement for five days, alleging that he violated the internal
orders of the prison. These internal orders prohibit prisoners from giving
any interviews to the media.

In the petition, Adalah argued that these internal orders should be voided,
as they are not based on any existing law or statute, and thus, the Prisons
Authority lacks power to promulgate them. In addition, the scope of these
internal orders is sweeping and overbroad, and severely violates prisoners'
constitutional rights of freedom of expression. Marwan Barghouti's
statements, published in the interview, reflect his well-known political
positions, and as a leader, he has a basic right to express his opinions
about the political situation.

Placing Marwan Barghouti in solitary confinement for voicing his political
beliefs, Adalah added, amounts to double punishment. This is so, as the
criminal indictment under which he is currently charged, includes offenses
that also relate to his political position against the occupation. As such,
the Prisons Authority's decision in this instance, if upheld, may lead to
his prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement. Further, the statements
and viewpoint expressed by Marwan Barghouti in the interview are completely
unrelated to maintaining order and security in the prison itself. It is only
in this area that the Prisons Authority may exercise its power to
discipline.

Adalah also emphasized that the punishment of solitary confinement for an
alleged violation of these internal orders is disproportionately severe. As
such, under international human rights principles, it constitutes "cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment," which is prohibited.
Moreover, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
(1957) clearly express that solitary confinement, as a form of punishment,
should be used infrequently and exceptionally. Importantly, The Basic
Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (1990), a UN General Assembly
resolution, encourages the restriction or abolition of solitary confinement
as a punishment.

Based on all of these arguments, Adalah demanded that the Tel Aviv District
Court order the Prisons Authority to immediately release Marwan Barghouti
from solitary confinement.