With two Palestinian administrative detainees in Israel recently ending their hunger strike, one after 37 days and the other after 22 days, nine detainees remain on hunger strike demanding their freedom, one of them has been fasting for 41 days, another for 39 days and a third for 38 days, according to an official with the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission (PAC).
Hasan Abed Rabbo, media advisor with PAC, told WAFA that as the hunger strike stretches, the health condition of the administrative detainees worsens.
The prisoners lost weight and suffer from severe fatigue and headaches, he said. They are being ill-treated, oppressed, harassed, constantly inspected and moved around with the aim of isolating them from the other prisoners while preventing their lawyers from meeting and visiting them, added Abed Rabbo.
Four of the nine administrative detainees have been on hunger striking for more than 30 days, one for 21 days, another for 17 and a fourth for 14 while the rest less than 10 days.
Palestinian administrative detainees, who are held without charge or trial and based on secret evidence, resort to hunger strike to force their release from prison because otherwise they could be incarcerated for indefinite periods without knowing what their charges are.
Often Israel reaches a deal with striking prisoners that would put a ceiling on their detention, which would prompt the prisoners to end their hunger strike.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency