Hospital: Palestinian hunger-striker in critical condition

A hunger-striking Palestinian security prisoner remained in touch-and-go condition on Sunday after doctors intravenously gave him water and nutrients over the weekend, hospital staff at the Barzilai Medical Center said.

Mohammed Allaan, who has been refusing food for 61 days, slipped into a coma on Friday. Allaan’s family has indicated that they respect his decision to refuse sustenance and will not authorize his force-feeding — even though doctors have made it clear his life is still in danger.

Lawmakers from the Joint (Arab) List party were set to arrive at his bedside on Sunday, along with a Palestinian doctor who will examine the prisoner on behalf of the Allaan family.

Allaan is being held without charge by Israel on suspicion of terror activities and membership in the Islamic Jihad group. Two months ago, he began fasting to protest his administrative detention — a move in which Israel detains suspects without formal charges for renewable six-month periods.

The case has sparked a wave of protest among Palestinians, Israeli Arabs and lawmakers from Joint (Arab) List, who have called for his release.

Allaan was arrested in November at the request of the Shin Bet security service on suspicion of planning to execute terror attacks. He had served prison sentences in the past on similar charges.

The Islamic Jihad terror group in Gaza threatened to “respond with great force” if Allaan dies in Israeli custody and said his death would release the group from commitment to any ceasefire with Israel.

“It will be an Israeli crime against the prisoners and the people if the inmate were to die, and it will force us to respond with great force,” a statement by the group read.

A statement from the hospital said Allaan “is being treated in accordance with the guidelines of the Ethics Committee. A message [regarding the patient’s condition] was transferred to the Red Cross, which sent representatives to the hospital, and to the patient’s lawyer.”

Protesters in support of Allaan gathered on Saturday to call for an intifada “in all [Israeli] prisons,” while others advocated kidnapping Israeli soldiers to be used as bargaining chips in future prisoner exchanges. The protest was led by Sheikh Raed Salah, a radical preacher who heads the Islamic Movement’s northern wing.

According to Ynet, chants like “There’s nothing quite like killing soldiers and cops,” were heard at the protest, where Arab-Israeli Knesset members were in attendance. Among the MKs present were Ahmad Tibi, Hanin Zoabi, Jamal Zahalka, Youssef Jabarin and Osama Sa’adi, all from the Joint List party.

MKs Tibi and Sa’adi submitted an urgent request to the attorney-general, seeking Allaan’s release on humanitarian grounds: “There is no justification to continue the administrative detention of a dying patient in the intensive care unit,” they wrote. They added that his death would start a domino effect of harsh responses among the Palestinians and all over the world.

In the southern West Bank city of Hebron, dozens of demonstrators also held a rally for Allaan, holding his picture and demanding his immediate release, an AFP reporter said.

According to the law, a district court judge can approve the force-feeding of a prisoner at risk only when a doctor confirmed that continuing the hunger strike poses real risk to the prisoner, including systemic damage that cannot be undone.

The law mandates the minimal amount of treatment necessary to keep an inmate alive, even if he opposes the procedure, so long as court approval is available. It also states that doctors refusing to force-feed prisoners for ethical reasons will not be prosecuted.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.