Palestinian hunger striker said in critical condition after 2-month fast
In solidarity, more than 100 prisoners join Malik al-Qadi in refusing food
A Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jail who fell into in a coma after being on hunger strike for over 60 days is now in critical condition, Palestinian officials said Thursday.
The Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs said Thursday 25-year-old Malik al-Qadi is “fighting death,” the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported.
Al-Qadi launched the hunger strike over two months ago in protest of his detention without trial, under a policy known as administrative detention. A number of other Palestinian prisoners in administrative detention have won release in recent years after hunger striking for weeks.
Two other Palestinian prisoners, Mahmud and Muhammad Balboul, are also hospitalized after hunger striking since early July. On Wednesday, some 100 other Palestinian prisoners announced a hunger strike in support of the three.
The High Court of Justice on Tuesday rejected a petition to cancel al-Qadi’s administrative detention.
An Israeli army spokesperson said al-Qadi was jailed “due to his involvement in the terrorist organization, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which threatens the security of the region.”
Al-Qadi, who slipped into a coma on September 10, is said to have committed himself to continuing the hunger strike until he is released from Israeli detention.
Hunger striker Malik al-Qadi in critical condition as 100 prisoners join solidarity strikehttps://t.co/EpsxpDEI6G pic.twitter.com/pwit1fwibu
— Ma'an News Agency (@MaanNewsAgency) September 15, 2016
On Sunday, the High Court upheld a controversial law allowing the Israel Prisons Service to force-feed inmates who are on hunger strike.
Critics say force-feeding is inhumane and deprives inmates of a basic human right, and Israel has yet to use the measure, but could do so if the condition of the hunger strikers continues to deteriorate.
On September 1 Muhammad Balboul, 26, was rushed to intensive care in the Wolfson Medical Center in Tel Aviv after his health suddenly deteriorated. He began his hunger strike on July 7th.
On September 11 his mother Sanaa was permitted to visit him for the first time since he was arrested on June 9.
She also went to visit Mahmoud, who has been in the hospital since September 4 after refusing food since July 4 to protest being held without charge by the Israeli authorities. He has lost more than 30 kilograms (66 pounds) and has had difficulty speaking, according to Ma’an. He was being treated in Assaf Harofeh Hospital near Tel Aviv.
He remained asleep during his mother’s visit.
Doctors have warned that Balboul, 21, risks permanent paralysis if he refuses to take vitamin supplements. However, according to reports he has refused anything other than water.
Administrative detention is a controversial counterterrorism measure that allows terror suspects to be held without charge for six-month stints, and can be renewed indefinitely. It is generally used for Palestinians suspected of terrorist activity but has recently also been applied to several dozen Jewish terrorism suspects.
Of more than 7,500 Palestinians currently in Israeli jails, about 700 are being held in administrative detention, according to Palestinian rights groups.
