Issa Amro

Issa Amro a Palestinian activist based in Hebron, West Bank. He is the founder and director of Youth Against Settlements, a peaceful group that documents the alleged abuse by Israeli soldiers and settlers in addition to organizing protests against Israeli policies in Hebron. As a spokesman of the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian Territories, Amro advocates the use of peaceful activism. Amro was declared “human rights defender of the year in Palestine” in 2010 by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Amro has been arrested numerous times for his non-violent human rights work and is being indicted by the Israeli military court with 18 charges against him. The United Nations Human Rights Council has expressed concern for Amro due to the harassment, intimidation, and reprisals he receives from Israeli soldiers and settlers.
He has been charged with “causing division” among Palestinians and for speaking ill of the authority, based on the new law issued by the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas’, presidential decree. He is expected to face trial before the Israeli military court for his role in organizing against the policies. In May 2017, Bernie Sanders along with three U.S. Senators and 32 Congressmen wrote to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to urge Israeli authorities to reconsider the charges against Amro. In 2017, he was arrested by the Palestinian Authority and charged with violating the new “electronic crimes” where he denounced the arrest of a journalist calling for the resignation of the Abbas. Released on bail, Amos continues to fight against the Palestine Authority.