'Hunger-striking Palestinian inmate facing imminent death'

A Palestinian commission for prisoners has warned the health condition of Palestinian prisoner Hisham Abu Hawash has reached a critical stage, as the inmate has entered the 138th consecutive day of his open-ended hunger strike against Israel’s policy of administrative detention.

In a statement released on Saturday, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs said the 40-year-old Palestinian prisoner could face irreversible health consequences at any moment as a result of his prolonged hunger strike in protest at his indefinite, unfair and unexplained imprisonment at the hands of the Tel Aviv regime, Palestine’s official Wafa news agency reported.

Hasan Abed Rabbo, a spokesman for the commission, said Abu Hawash’s health condition is rapidly deteriorating, adding that he is suffering from frequent loss of consciousness.

The commission also noted that the Palestinian Health Ministry has reported that Abu Hawash’s health condition is seriously dangerous after its delegation visited the Palestinian inmate at Israel's Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, adding that he has lost his eyesight and hearing as well as his ability to speak.

The commission further held Israeli authorities fully responsible for Abu Hawash’s life, calling on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and human rights groups to make an effort to save him before it is too late.

Alarm sounds for Palestinian inmate’s health after over 100 days of hunger strike

Concerns are growing over the health condition of a Palestinian prisoner who has been on hunger strike for more than 100 days in protest against Israel’s so-called policy of administrative detention.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians Prisoners Society (PPS) has warned that Abu Hawash may fall into a coma at any moment due to his worsening health condition, adding that his family has been waking him up with great difficulty since dawn, according to Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television.

It also urged all the competent authorities to intervene decisively and seriously to save Abu Hawash’s life, stressing that the battle that Abu Hawash is waging is "a battle of every Palestinian who face administrative detention.”

Furthermore, the Islamic Jihad movement has announced that it will utilize all means at its disposal to support and save Abu Hawash, adding that it is ready to respond if the Palestinian inmate dies in the coming hours.

The PPS attorney, Jawad Boulos, has also said in a post on Twitter that the doctors have confirmed that Abu Hawash is facing the risk of sudden death at any moment.

Abu Hawash, a father of five children, was arrested in October 2020 and held in an Israeli jail under administrative detention, a form of imprisonment in which the individual is never tried and can be held indefinitely. He is one among several other hunger-striking Palestinians who are demanding an end to their detention without charge.

On Sunday, the Israeli occupation authorities had issued a decision to freeze the administrative detention order against Abu Hawash. However, his lawyer said the Palestinian inmate had decided to continue his hunger strike despite his deteriorating health condition until the order is canceled.

According to the PPS, the freezing decision does not mean ending Abu Hawash's administrative detention in any way but rather means that the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) and Israel's internal spy agency Shin Bet are no longer responsible for the hunger-striking prisoner's life and fate.

Palestinian inmate’s condition deteriorates on 135th day of hunger strike: Report

The health of Palestinian prisoner Hisham Abu Hawash has deteriorated as he has entered the 135th consecutive day of his hunger strike against Israel

More than 7,000 Palestinians are reportedly held in Israeli jails. Hundreds of them have apparently in "administrative detention." Some prisoners have been held that way for up to 11 years. Palestinian detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes in an attempt to express their outrage at the practice.

Over a dozen Palestinian lawmakers and nearly 20 journalists are also held in Israeli detention centers, several of them under the same detention policy.

In 2015, Israel approved a law that authorizes force-feeding the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, a practice rejected by the UN as a violation of human rights.

The United Nations and the ICRC, as well as many human rights groups, have frequently expressed serious concern about the hunger strikers' health condition and call for their immediate release.

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