Palestinian human rights defender Issa Amro received the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law. The prize was delivered to Amro outside an Israeli container checkpoint in Hebron after the army denied entry to French Consul General in Jerusalem, Mr. Nicolas Kassianides and the Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to Palestine, Mr. Oliver Owcza. Since 2016, the award has been given annually to 15 people from all over the world who have shown special commitment and courage in working for human rights and the rule of law in their homeland.

Kassianides: "It was not exactly where we intended to do this ceremony but we will still do it, even here. I want to say a few words about the prize. The prize is the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law. Its theme is to reward human rights defenders and to show solidarity with their courage and that all of the world supports you."

Owcza: "This criteria is extremely true for the work you have been doing, Issa. Knowing that you've just come from Sweden where you received the 'alternative Nobel Prize' makes us modest in what we are doing here. But we can claim that we come to you, we come to Hebron. We wanted to be in your house today, which unfortunately is not possible. So we are here. This prize has been awarded to you for your staunch human rights advocacy based on principles, not on a specific ideology; you have been critical of human rights violations of any side. This is what a true human rights defender represents. You have the most important attribute that you committed, which is personal courage. Because to defend human rights in this very challenges environment requires personal sacrifice and personal risk, which we hope to accommodate and limit by presenting you with this prize."

Amro: "Thank you very much, this prize means a lot to me. But it is not for me; it is for Palestine and for the Palestinian families who are suffering from the Israeli occupation. We see here what is going on; the Israeli occupation did not allow you to come to my house where we could celebrate properly together with us as Palestinians and even with Israeli human rights activists who wanted to participate with me today and with my other Palestinian friends. This story to take this prize here gives me more courage to defend my people's rights in spite of who is the offender. It's a principle, it's a value. This prize tells me that peace is possible as well. I learned a lot from the German and French values of peace and human rights and equality and justice. We should all work together now to stop the war in Gaza, to stop all the human rights violations here and to end these kinds of obstacles in front of us as Palestinians. This means a lot and I was hurt that we are doing it here. It's not something easy for me that we are standing on the street and we will eat in the streets because an Israeli soldier did not allow us to celebrate properly. It is not something political, it is about human rights. For decades, we as Palestinians are fighting to make peace and to make equality between everybody. We do not want to harm anyone, and our main value is nonviolence. All human beings deserve to live equal, to live with freedom, and to live with justice. And this is what I learned fom the French Revolution; that we can have the courage to make the change. And every time my people tell me, 'Issa, it's going to be more dark, we are disappointed, we are hopeless.' I usually mention Germany and France about how the society there managed to change a lot and they now have great values. Your prize today is making me stronger, making our people stronger, making our cause stronger, and making our commitment to the humanitarian law and international law much stronger. I hope that we work together to make a change. This is what I want and this is my message and my people's message here in Hebron, in Palestine: one day we will have freedom, we will have justice and equality, and for sure, we will have peace. Thank you very much, we will continue fighting for human rights and for political rights."

Kassianides: "It is an important day today because we really wanted with my German counterpart to come here in Hebron and award this French-German prize of Human Rights and Rule of Law to Issa Amro. It was important to come here and we were aiming to award this prize in his house. Unfortunately we were prevented from doing so, so we decided to do it here in the street in front of the checkpoint. The message is pretty simple and it is important from France that we will be by the side of the human rights defenders, we will be by the side of those that fight for human rights and the rule of law all over the world. And we believe that Issa Amro is doing it here. We were prevented today from reaching the house, but this reflects the lives of the Palestinians every day, and we think of them today by being here and sharing this moment. We think it's important for the Palestinians in general and in particular for the human rights defenders in Palestine, and we mentioned that he is supporting and defending human rights in general, whoever is responsible for them. But it is important for them to know that we are here and we will stand by them as the international community and as France and Germany today, it is very important to pass on this message."

Owcza: "We are in Hebron at the crossing point today, and just a moment ago we awarded the Franco-German Human Rights Prize to Issa Amro, a well known human rights defender from Hebron, someone we have been working with as the German government for many years, He received this award for his staunch commitment to human rights and addressing violations of either side of this conflict. Unfortunately it was not possible for us to visit him in his house as planned, so we had to stay on this side of the checking point. It is an important part of our policy to support human rights defenders in general, and those who are advocating on both sides of this conflict in particular, so I am very honored to participate in this ceremony today."

On December 4th, Amro and Youth Against Settlements received the Right Livelihood Award, the "alternative Nobel Prize" for Human Rights, in Stockholm, Sweden.

On October 31st, Israeli soldiers detained 22 Palestinians from Dura in South Mount Hebron and wrote numbers on their foreheads. Soldiers broke into the home of Osama Shahin and kidnapped him. Along with the other detainees, Shahin was blindfolded, threatened and beaten. Soldiers labeled the Palestinian men by writing numbers on their foreheads with a black market for identification. Disregarding army protocol, the soldiers took Shahin and the other detainees into the home of another Palestinian family for interrogation, mistreatment and intimidation.

The Israeli army has seemingly adopted a new strategy of choosing a specific Palestinian home each raid to use as unofficial army outpost to mistreat and interrogate Palestinian detainees. This contributes to creating an atmosphere of intimidation and a lack of safety for Palestinians, even in their own homes.

The Friends of Hebron field office was once used for a similar purpose before the volunteers of Youth Against Settlements managed to campaign for its return to Palestinian hands.

On Saturday, October 26th, in the historic Hebron neighborhood of Tel Rumeida, a group of Israeli settlers pelted a Palestinian house with stones and stole the tarps used for collecting olives. They stole from the family's olive harvest too. Part of the incident was caught on camera. The families living in the ancient olive grove area are subject to frequent Israeli settler harassment and violence, as well as restrictions. These threats and attacks are particularly challenging during the annual olive harvest tradition.

Human Rights Defender Issa Amro with Youth Against Settlements won the Right Livelihood Award of 2024 as one of four laureates "for their steadfast non-violent resistance to Israel’s illegal occupation, promoting Palestinian civic action through peaceful means." The Award is referred to as the "alternative Nobel Prize" directed at human rights an ecological preservation.

Amro is recognized as a human rights defender by the UN and EU and he is the Executive Director for Friends of Hebron. He co-founded and led the Youth Against Settlements initiative, which is supported by Friends of Hebron.

The awards ceremony will be held in December. Read more here.

On June 3rd, three men ambushed Human Rights Defender Issa Amro in a neighborhood in Hebron. It has now been three weeks and the Palestinian authorities have yet to take action. Today on the 3 year commemoration of the murder of Hebron-based Nizar Banat, we believe it is crucial for the human rights organizations to call on the PA to arrest the culprits to secure the protection of Issa and other defenders of human rights and free speech.

Issa filed a complaint with the police, but the Palestinian authorities have yet to arrest the assailants or look into the case. The incident was also caught on CCTV cameras, yet the PA refuses to view the footage.

Issa has been expecting this type of attack for a long time. He has a long record of persecution and harassment by the PA (as well as by Israeli soldiers and settlers.) He has also faced similar threats by Palestinians with unknown motivations over the last few years— such as drive-by-shootings toward his family’s house in H1, being threatened with a knife, and being attacked during a tour in the old city. At the hands of the PA, Issa has faced arrests, detention, torture, prosecution, and PA-affiliated smear campaigns. Issa was also detained by PA security during the same days that Nizar Banat was murdered in 2021. The human rights community cannot afford such a case again, and Issa is crucial to the city of Hebron and Palestine at large.

If the PA arrests the criminals, it will be much harder to attack Issa and other defenders of human rights in the future.

UPDATE: After private pressure from UN officials, the culprits were arrested. A trial has begun, yet the criminals were released after a mere one week in jail. They are now at large and Issa's life remains in danger! We call on the Palestinian Authority to see the trial through and get Issa justice and to take significant measures to protect his life and wellbeing!

Help us get justice for Issa!

Contact your country's embassy or consulate in Palestine and ask them to follow the case, and contact your local diplomatic mission of the Palestinian Authority and call on them to get Issa justice and take significant measures to protect his life and wellbeing. If you are based in Europe or elsewhere outside the U.S., you likely has a diplomatic mission in your capital that can be contacted.

In late April, Sundus and Aysha Azza traveled to Brussels, Belgium, on a speaking tour about their lives and volunteer work under Israeli occupation. 

The Aysha sisters spoke at the opening of a photo exhibition for the new publication of photos by Palestinian women in Tel Rumeida, Hebron. Titled 'Om or "Mother," this book features photos by local Palestinian women on their everyday resistance to Israeli occupation and the peaceful struggle for their land and freedom. The photos show these women's love for their families, houses and gardens that drive them to stand up to extremist settlers every day and tell them that "We will stay. We will never leave and we will never give up." Aysha was able to share her work with the world and explain her life and thoughts behind the project.

Sundus and Aysha also met with Belgian and European policy makers to tell them about the oppressive situation in occupied Hebron since October 7th.

On May 1st, the New York Times Magazine published a feature article on the story of Issa Amro, UN-recognized Human Rights Defender and Executive Director of Friends of Hebron.

“Welcome to the daily life of all my neighbors,” said Amro, who was waiting on the other side of the barrier for us. No sooner had we started to walk toward Amro’s home than we ran into another checkpoint, an impromptu roadblock manned by a pair of soldiers. One asked Amro where he was going.

Read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/magazine/issa-amro-palestinian-nonviolent-activist

Friends of Hebron imparted on a successful campaign to provide relief to hundreds of struggling families in Hebron. Through crowdfunding and grassroots outreach, Friends of Hebron successfully provided relief to close to 600 families in Hebron. The aid provided ranges from food supplies, medicine, gas, toys for the children as well as Ramadan lights and cash support handed directly to mothers. Furthermore, the efforts of Friends of Hebron include helping certain families install fences to protect their houses from vandalism or break-ins by extremist Israeli settlers.

"In dark times like this, we need to ensure the basic survival of our community," said Friends of Hebron Director Issa Amro, who have coordinated efforts on the ground. "Even here in Hebron, people have been going hungry due to the severe restrictions and economic conditions imposed on us by the Israeli occupation. Our volunteers on the ground have done amazing work surpassing these conditions and bringing supplies and relief directly to families through the checkpoints. We thank our supporters for making it possible and are proud to have helped families to support themselves during this time."

On November 6th, 2023, an Israeli soldier walked into the yard of Issa Amro's house, which doubles as a community center for nonviolent resistance in the neighborhood of Tel Rumeida, Hebron. Caught on a security camera, the soldier is seen approaching the front door, reaching up and removing a Go Pro camera from the above the door. Then, he walks over and takes security cameras lying on top a sack of olives. He is seen handing these cameras to a colleague behind the house.

The break-in and theft comes after Issa Amro's sudden eviction on October 20th, where a group of soldier demanded that he leave the house without any notice or written order. Amro has been unable to access the house since, despite his personal belongings being left inside and unfinished work left in his yard. He is now homeless. The eviction itself followed harassment campaigning beginning with Amro's abduction and torture on October 7th.

Sign the petition here to get Issa home.