Two Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike to protest administrative detention

Two Palestinian inmates have reportedly gone on hunger strike in an Israeli prison to protest against Israel’s so-called policy of administrative detention as well as dire conditions at the detention facility.

The Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS) said in a statement released on Sunday that the advocacy group was closely monitoring the situation of 25-year-old Mohammad Awwad and 28-year-old Ghadanfar Abu Atwan, who were arrested from the occupied West Bank cities of Bethlehem and al-Khalil (Hebron) last year.

The pair was placed in administrative detention – a form of imprisonment without trial or charge, allowing authorities to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months. The duration could be extended for an infinite number of times.

The PPS said that the duo had stopped eating their food portions about four weeks ago and expressed serious concerns over their deteriorating health conditions. 

The circumstances surrounding the abduction of the duo were yet unknown, but the Israeli forces carry out such swoops on a nearly daily basis, taking away Palestinians, whom the regime usually accuses of acting against its so-called interests.

There are reportedly more than 7,000 Palestinians held at Israeli jails. Hundreds of the inmates have been apparently incarcerated under the practice of administrative detention.

The Palestinian inmates regularly stage hunger strikes in protest at both the administrative detention policy and harsh prison conditions.

Administrative inmates in Israeli jails say going on hunger strike is one of their few options to make their voice heard and to force Tel Aviv end this illegal policy.

The Israeli parliament, Knesset, has already approved a law which made way for Israel’s prison officials to force-feed hunger strikers if their condition becomes life-threatening.

Critics say Israel uses the policy of administrative detention to silence the voices of Palestinians but lacks any concrete evidence that could be presented in an open, military court. Palestinians say administrative detention is a whole other level of injustice.

Amnesty International described Israel’s use of administrative detention as a “bankrupt tactic” and has long called on Israel to bring its use to an end.

According to figures by the Defense for Children International, between 500 and 700 Palestinian children at the age of 12-17 are also arrested and tried in Israeli military courts every year. Israeli forces had arrested more than 17,000 minors since 2000.

Israel sends 17-year-old Palestinian to jail for 5 years

Israel holds more than 7,000 Palestinians in its jails.

Israeli troops have also on numerous occasions been caught on camera brutally killing Palestinians, with the videos going viral online and sparking international condemnation.

Tel Aviv has been criticized for its extensive use of lethal force against and extrajudicial killing of Palestinians who do not pose an immediate threat to the occupation forces or to the Israeli settlers.

The latest developments as Israel launched a devastating bombing campaign on Gaza on May 10 after harassment of Palestinians in Jerusalem al-Quds and attempts to steal their lands in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the city.

The Gaza-based resistance movements responded by launching over 4,000 rockets into the occupied territories, some reaching as far as Tel Aviv and even Haifa and Nazareth to the north.

The Israeli regime was eventually forced to announce a ceasefire, brokered by Egypt, which came into force in the early hours of May 21.

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