Letters from Anan Yaeesh / Part 2
by Anan Yaeesh
We publish two more letters from Anan Yaeesh, a Palestinian political refugee detained in Terni.
Letter dated 12.06.2024
Letter from Anan to the students from the prison of Terni
Hello to everyone who will read this letter.
To all the sisters and brothers among the students in Italy and around the world, whom I would rather call THE VOICE OF FREEDOM.
Because you truly are that voice, you are all like lions, you are the real freedom fighters and defenders of humanity in this world.
You all arrived with light and hope after this dark life caused by this government and the disgusting politics in this world.
Dear family, I would be happy if you accepted me as part of you. Every day, I wished to be part of this great battle that you fight daily.
Yes, I am a fighter and I’ve seen many things in this life, but I have never seen a heart with so much love as you all have for Palestine.
Dear friends, don’t think for even a moment that what you have done and are doing is something ordinary—it is something very important to us, and I am sure you will help Palestine and all Palestinians wherever they are in the world, as long as you support those who resist in Palestine.
Because after hearing that the whole world had abandoned them, you came to give them the strength to keep fighting.
You have given them deep emotion, love, and support, so you are part of us, and we are the same—no difference, UNDER THE SAME SKY AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD WE WILL FIGHT UNTIL WE ACHIEVE FREEDOM.
Throughout history, if we look back into the past, as well as now and in the future, all politics, freedom, war, and peace have come from students, because you are the cornerstone of this country, so keep going.
As I said before, I and all the partisans in Palestine are part of you. We draw our strength from all of you, and history will remember it forever.
Whether we lose or win is not important, because the war will never end and we are not done—we are opening the path for others to continue and eventually reach victory.
Dear friends and family, I’ve been through nearly all the war in Palestine from 2001 to today.
I’ve been in various prisons in different countries (Israel, Palestine, USA, Jordan, and now in Italy), but I’ve never been so sure of victory as I am now—because as long as there are students, lions, like all of you, we will never give up.
I don’t care about prison now because I am like all my brothers imprisoned in Israel, and we all believe that Palestine deserves more from us than we are giving it.
I want to say thank you to all of you even though I know that "thank you" is not enough—but I am sure that you deserve the best in this life.
One day we will win our freedom, I am sure of it—but on that day, we won’t share our joy with just anyone—only with you and anyone who supports and fights for us, because you will be the reason for that victory.
Italy, as a country and as a people, has always taught us new lessons of freedom—and I am not speaking about the government that helps Israel by sending rifles and bombs to kill our people in Gaza and the West Bank.
In any case, dear friends, keep going—we are on the right path toward freedom, not just for Palestine but for anyone in the world who deserves it.
With all my wishes and all my love to all of you.
NEVER GIVE UP... KEEP FIGHTING
FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA... PALESTINE WILL BE FREE
ANAN KAMAL AFIF YAEESH
Letter dated 01.03.2025
"I would like to begin with my greetings to the Court and to all those present."
There is always the law, but also the spirit of the law; therefore, I would like to ask the Honorable Judge to grant me the minimum human right in regard to my country: a moment of silence for the souls of the children, women, and martyrs of Palestine.
First of all, I want to express my trust in the Italian judiciary and to recognize its legitimacy.
However, I object to being tried in Italy, as I am Palestinian and have committed no crime in Italy or in any other country.
My record, as a Palestinian resistance fighter, is known to the Italian security authorities, and I was granted a residence permit and special protection in Italy after my asylum request was denied by the Foggia Court. Therefore, Mr. President, I consider my arrest and trial here illegitimate, as the arrest itself, from the very first moment, was carried out in violation of international humanitarian law, the UN Charter, the Geneva Convention and its two additional protocols, and everything that followed is equally illegal;
what is based on illegitimacy is also illegitimate.
If you recognize the legitimacy of the State of Palestine, then the extradition request made last January against me should have been submitted through my country's government.
If instead you consider Palestine to be a territory illegally occupied by a colonial power, then resistance is a legitimate right and I should not be arrested here for that reason.
Unfortunately, Mr. Judge, I have reviewed your comments on the case and, regretfully, I have concluded that you consider Palestinians to be terrorists—not because of the legitimate resistance we carry out against an occupying state, but because you recognize Israel as a friendly state.
If the occupying country had been someone else—Russia, for example—you would have recognized the legitimacy of Palestinian resistance.
You are not judging me according to international law, but according to diplomatic relations—simply because Israel is considered an ally of the Italian government, a commercial partner, and you deem all its actions legitimate.
We might as well rename international and humanitarian courts as “Courts of Friends.”
You want me to defend myself against the charges, but I am ashamed to seek acquittal from accusations that for me are a badge of honor. I do not want to defend myself from the accusation of having rights and demanding them, or of trying to liberate my people and my country from colonial oppression.
I swear I do not wish to be acquitted of the legitimate resistance against Zionist occupation. Palestinian resistance is one of the noblest phenomena known in history.
Instead, I am ashamed to find myself in a warm room, even if in prison, while the children of Gaza are dying from cold, hunger, and thirst.
I am ashamed of the good treatment I have received from the prison authorities here, while my fellow prisoners in Israeli jails are subjected to the worst kinds of torture, oppression, and abuse.
Mr. Judge, on all the documents issued to me in Italy, the name “Palestine” does not appear—it says “Occupied Territories.” So you know that land is occupied, and therefore, under the conventions signed by your country, resistance against the occupying entity must be considered legitimate.
Why, then, am I detained here by you?
As a Palestinian partisan, I am forced to note that politically, the world applies double standards: the stronger side, supported by the U.S., is the one that prevails.
But does justice, law, also use the same measuring stick—double standards—or will the law prevail in your courtroom?
Would it be fair, if you consider the settlers occupying Palestinian land—illegally and without legitimacy—to be civilians just because they don’t wear Israeli military uniforms, to then treat Palestinian resistance differently?
Because we too are civilians, not military personnel—Palestine has no State and no army to defend itself from the aggressors.
Both sides carry weapons and kill; the only difference is that Palestinian resistance defends its land, its people, and its denied rights, and does not kill children, women, or civilians—except by mistake.
Over the years, these mistakes have never exceeded one percent, while settlers systematically attack unarmed civilians.
For years they have murdered women and children, even burning them alive in their homes, like in Hebron where they killed over 30 worshipers in the Ibrahimi Mosque, or like with the Dawabsha family, Iman Hejju, Mohammad al-Durrah, or in the village of Jatt on August 16, and on many other occasions—all meant to terrorize Palestinians and force them off their land; the settlers follow the teachings of the Haganah and Irgun.
Nothing can testify to this better than the recent letter from the Director of the Israeli Shin Bet, who acknowledged that the settlers are terrorist groups and that the Israeli authorities should arrest and suppress them. However, Benjamin Netanyahu’s response was to provide them with over 10,000 rifles.
But then again, what can one expect from Netanyahu, recognized by the International Criminal Court as a war criminal for the massacres committed against Palestinians?
The Hague Tribunal issued an arrest warrant for him should he enter Europe, but despite this, the Italian government declared that he would be welcomed in Italy and rejected the Court’s decision, denying its legitimacy.
It is the government that decided to arrest me at Israel’s request, labeling me a terrorist. In light of this, I can say that:
I see no law in this country other than the law of the strongest; everything else is just fiction imposed on the weak by force.
At the first extradition hearing in February 2024, I asked the Court of Appeal and the Attorney General not to hand over the contents of my mobile phones to the Israelis, as they contained classified information I held in my capacity as a Palestinian resistance fighter, as a partisan commander. I was told that this would not happen, because they were aware that we were at war and that Italy was neutral.
However, I was shocked to learn that last April, all the information on my phones was handed over to the Israelis. In doing so, you have violated every principle of security and of international law itself, becoming de facto participants with the Israelis in this war, helping them suppress the legitimate aspirations of an oppressed people.
No women on Earth have ever given birth to fighters like Palestinian women have.
Mr. Judge, all the nations and armies of the world have stood against us, thinking they could crush our cause. But our cause will not end as long as even a single Palestinian child remains alive.
We will reclaim our rights. We ask no pity from anyone, we bow to no one, even if that means being killed, imprisoned, or deported.
Palestinians will never lower their heads or beg for mercy, because justice is on our side.
And if no one restores our rights in life, we believe that after death, we will stand before the only truly fair judge: God, who will deny no one their rights and will give every oppressed soul what is due—whether strong or weak—because on the Day of Judgment, all will be equal.
Mr. Judge, in the past, I have been subjected to torture dozens of times.
I was the target of assassination attempts by Israel, both in Palestine and abroad. My body bears 11 bullet wounds and over 40 shrapnel injuries; there is no bone in my body that hasn’t been broken.
I have no past—only memories and photos of friends killed by the occupation, and of a female friend executed in cold blood before my eyes.
I have a family I haven’t seen in many years and two parents who died without fulfilling their dream of seeing me one last time.
I have a devastated homeland, a displaced people, and even our homes have been demolished by Israeli bulldozers.
Yet I have never taken a step back, never hesitated in claiming my country’s right to freedom, and I have never bowed my head before anyone.
This is because I believe deeply in this cause.
What is death compared to freedom for my people and my country?
What are years in prison, when I know there are over 10,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails? I am one of them, inseparable from them.
If there’s one thing that saddens me, it’s that all my comrades had the honor of falling as martyrs, fighting for Palestine, feeding that land of peace and love with their blood, violated by Zionist occupation.
And I was not by their side.
We do not love death—on the contrary, we are a people who love life more than anything.
But we prefer death with dignity and honor over living in humiliation, stripped of our rights.
Mr. Judge, we believe that Palestine deserves this, and that our beloved Jerusalem has a dear price, which every Palestinian is ready to pay with their soul.
When Palestine calls out, wounded, she has only us—her children—ready to defend her with our soul and our blood.
Whoever does not defend their mother when she needs them does not deserve to be buried in her soil, which is soaked with the blood of martyrs.
He is an unworthy son who will be rejected by his land and will never feel warmth—in life or in death.
You all have a homeland where you can live in peace and safety—except us Palestinians.
Our homeland lives within us, and we are ready to sacrifice our souls to defend it.
It is what gives us dignity and honor, and this can be understood only by the truly free on this earth.
We are a people who will never surrender—it’s victory or death.
How can you accuse me of terrorism, while you recognize the Fatah movement as legitimate, a movement with offices and representations all over the world, including in Italy?
Isn’t this a hypocritical and false stance?
Italy even welcomed the leader and founder of our movement into the Italian Parliament—twice.
On those occasions, he came dressed in his military uniform and armed, and from Italy he delivered a speech that was heard around the world.
The same was done with the current President, Mahmoud Abbas.
If the biased gaze of justice declares that Palestinian resistance fighters are terrorists and not partisans, then it will be endorsing the law of the strongest, the law of the jungle, where the most brutal prevail.
Mr. Judge, the Italian people are not and will never be our enemies.
They deserve all the best and our respect.
They are a friendly people, who have always supported the Palestinian cause.
Our enemies are the Israelis who occupy our land, and no one else.
The Israeli entity is an occupying and terrorist entity, which does not and has never respected international law.
Its history is full of betrayals.
Over the years, it has assassinated many Palestinians around the world—in Norway, Hungary, Bulgaria, even here in Italy, in Malaysia, and in various Arab countries.
They recognize no law but their own, no legitimacy but their own, and see everyone who is not Israeli as inferior.
Today, they define UN organizations like UNRWA as terrorist, and the UN itself as a den of antisemites.
And with all their arrogance, they even attack the Pope with the same disgraceful accusation.
Whoever does not align with them becomes a target.
We Palestinians are a free people and we will never accept being anyone’s slaves.
In recent days, before the eyes of the whole world, the Israeli army has displaced over 40,000 Palestinians from their homes in Tulkarem, burning houses, destroying roads and hospitals, killing women and children.
The same is happening in Jenin.
They continue to occupy even now, while I sit in this courtroom, committing the worst massacres against defenseless civilians, while you label our self-defense as terrorism.
You have become blind and deaf to what is happening—why do you remain silent?
Mr. Judge, the Zionist entity has been killing and destroying in Palestine since 1947, not since October 7.
But the world remained still and silent, and pain is felt only by the one who is wounded.
We are facing squad violence, Nazi-fascist violence, just like the Italian people once faced German Nazi aggression.
The difference between you and us is that after about 20 years, you managed to free yourselves.
We, after 75 years, are still resisting.
Mr. Judge, if Palestinian resistance, recognized as legitimate by all international courts to which Italy adheres and gives legitimacy, is today considered terrorism, then by the same logic, Italian resistance against Mussolini, Fascism, and Nazi Germany should also be considered terrorism.
Mr. Judge, throughout its history, Israeli occupation has never respected UN Security Council Resolutions or International Court rulings.
Can you tell me what happened to the Oslo and Camp David Agreements, or to UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338?
Can you count how many Palestinians were killed during the Israeli aggression from 1947 until today?
Or the number of refugees expelled?
What does your law say about that?
Mr. Judge, the Palestinian mother is like every mother on Earth.
Imagine waking up every morning, sending your child to school, preparing his food, and when it's time to welcome him back home, you find him wrapped in a white shroud—killed by an Israeli soldier—and you must hold him for the last time.
Imagine, in Gaza, a father with his wife and nine children who has nothing to feed them. He goes out seeking food; upon his return, he finds his entire family lifeless beneath the rubble, killed by a Zionist bombardment.
Can any of you stand up and say that Israel is not an occupying, oppressive, and terrorist state?
This truth is known in your hearts, but none of you can speak it aloud, or you risk being accused of antisemitism, losing your job, or sharing prison meals with me under charges of terrorism.
That’s why I say, and I repeat, maybe Palestinians are the only truly free among all the enslaved in this world.
Long live Free and Arab Palestine
Long live Jerusalem, its eternal capital
Peace to the souls of Palestinian martyrs and children
We will always be the front line of defense until liberation.
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