Palestinian hunger striker faces serious health condition in Israel

RAMALLAH, Palestine

A Palestinian NGO has raised the alarm on the deteriorating health condition of a hunger-striking Palestinian detainee in Israel.

Hisham Abu Hawwash, 40, has been on hunger strike for 127 days in protest of his detention without trial.

“Abu Hawwash is facing a very serious health condition,” the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement on Tuesday.

It said prison authorities refuse to transfer the Palestinian detainee from his prison hospital to a civilian hospital for treatment.

On Sunday, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal to suspend Abu Hawwash’s administrative detention and transfer him to a civilian hospital.

Abu Hawwash, from the town of Dura in southern West Bank, was detained by Israeli forces on October 27, 2020 and placed under administrative detention.

The policy of administrative detention allows Israeli authorities to detain anyone for six months without charge or trial, which can be extended indefinitely.

According to the NGO, there are around 4,650 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, including at least 500 held without charge or trial.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara