News / Palestine

Israeli regime to force-feed Palestinian hunger striker

Tuesday, 12 January 2016 6:45 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 12 January 2016 6:46 PM ]

The photo shows a general view of an Israeli prison.

The head of the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners' Affairs says the Israeli regime is due to force-feed a Palestinian prisoner who has been on a hunger strike for weeks now.

Issa Qaraqe said on Tuesday that Palestinian prisoner Muhammad al-Qiq is in Afula hospital where a team has been tasked with force-feeding him, Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported.

The inmate, who has been on a hunger strike since November 24, is said to be in critical condition.

A journalist from the village of Dura near the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), al-Qiq was taken to hospital after losing more than 20 kilograms. He was reportedly unable to move without a wheelchair.

Two other Palestinian hunger strikers, identified as Kifah Hattab and Abdullah Abu Jaber, are also hospitalized, Qaraqe said, adding that the Israeli Prison Service has not negotiated with the hunger strikers, and a medical team is now getting ready to force-feed al-Qiq.

In July last year, Israel's parliament (Knesset) passed into law the controversial legislation to force-feed prisoners on hunger strike.

The move met fierce condemnations, with critics insisting that it is a form of torture to silence protesting inmates.

Qaraqe at the time strongly condemned the Israeli law and said it is tantamount to legalizing murder and sets a "very dangerous precedent."

The Palestinian official also said that the controversial law, which passed with a slim majority, contradicts all international treaties and conventions.

Israel has long been concerned that hunger strikes by Palestinians in its prisons could end in death and trigger waves of protest in the occupied lands.

Palestinians hold flags and portraits shouting slogans during a demonstration in support of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, especially Mohammed Allan (on the poster left), in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the occupied West Bank, on August 17, 2015. (AFP photo)

Palestinian detainees have regularly staged open-ended hunger strikes in an attempt to express their outrage at the so-called administrative detention and to demand an end to the policy.

Administrative detention is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows the Tel Aviv regime to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months. The detention order can be renewed for indefinite periods.

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