Saturday, June 7, 2014

G4S finally announces it will end all Israeli contracts within 3 years ( Inminds report)



Cautious Victory - G4S finally announces it will end all Israeli prison contracts within 3 years

7th June 2014, www.inminds.com

Yesterday the Financial Times reported that G4S has announced for the first time that it will end all its contacts with Israeli prisons within 3 years:


"G4S has confirmed that it will end all its Israeli prison contracts within the next three years after an annual general meeting that was severely disrupted by human rights protesters.. Mr Almanza said for the first time that the move would also include prison service contracts all over Israel."*



This follows last years announcement that due to "reputational dangers" to their business, mentioning the protests outside their London Headquarters, G4S would exit the contracts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories when they terminate in 2015. However, at the time they still maintained that they would continue their prison contracts in Israel.

We have held regular protests outside G4S HQ in London for nearly two years, since August 2012 when the Palestinian Prisoners Campaign was launched at Al Quds Day, with a protest at least every fortnight. Congratulations to all the dedicated activists who kept the pressure on G4S to finally force them to change their stated position and announce they will abandon all prison contracts in Israel.

Of course our campaign against G4S continues, this announcement on its own will not change anything other that ensure we go forward with extra vigour so that they follow-through on their promise. Our next protest will be next friday 13th June 2014 outside G4S HQ, the focus will be the Palestinian mass hunger strike against Israel's illegal practice of administrative detention where more than 2,000** Palestinians are caged every year without charge or trial for an indefinite period of time. This is another crime which G4S is inextricably complicit in, with 86% of administrative detainees caged in prisons they secure. Details for the protest will follow shortly.

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