ICRC closes in Ramallah amid protests

A day after its Gaza branch was shut down, a Ramallah-area office of the International Committee of the Red Cross has been shuttered amid protests over a Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli prison, the Palestinian Ma’an news agency reports.

Protesters have been urging the ICRC to intervene on behalf of Mohammed al-Qiq, a journalist on hunger strike for 76 days to protest his detention without charge.

Supporters of hunger striking Palestinian prisoner Mohammed al-Qiq hold portraits as they demonstrate in solidarity with him on February 7, 2016, outside the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross near the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AFP / ABBAS MOMANI) — Supporters of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Mohammed al-Qiq hold portraits as they demonstrate in solidarity with him outside the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross near the West Bank city of Ramallah, February 7, 2016. (AFP/Abbas Momani)

Protesters outside the al-Bireh branch in the West Bank tell the news agency they are rallying against “the silence by international community organizations — namely the ICRC in Palestine — about al-Qiq, who has been on hunger strike in Israeli custody for 76 days.”

On Sunday, the ICRC in Gaza shut its doors after protesters tried to force their way in, after several days of protests.

— with AP