Israeli High Court Rejects Hunger Striker’s Petition

Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a petition for the release of a Palestinian prisoner who has been on hunger strike for nearly six months and whose lawyer says is in danger of “sudden death.”

Khalil Awawdeh is protesting being held by Israel in what’s known as administrative detention, a practice in which detainees suspected of terrorist activities are imprisoned for months or years without charge or trial in order to keep dangerous persons off the streets without revealing sensitive intelligence.

Awawdeh’s lawyer, Ahlam Haddad, says Israel accuses him of being a member of the Islamic Jihad terror group, which he denies. Islamic Jihad demanded his release as part of a cease-fire that ended a flare-up of violence in Gaza earlier this month, but did not identify him as a member.

Haddad says the 40-year-old Awawdeh weighs 37 kilograms (around 80 pounds) and is suffering from neurological damage. He took vitamins over two weeks in June when he thought his case was being resolved but has otherwise only had water since the strike began in March, his family says.

“He is in a stage between life and death,” Haddad said. “According to the medical literature, he is in a danger of a sudden death.”

In its ruling, the court said it “hopes that the petitioner will come to his senses and stop the hunger strike,” adding that it was confident he would receive the necessary medical care.

Meanwhile, a thousand security prisoners said they will begin a hunger strike on Thursday if their demands for improved conditions are not met, Arutz Sheva reported.

The prisoners have already embarked on a campaign of civil disobedience within the prisons to protest the lack of response by the prison authorities. On Hamas’ Al-Aqsa channel, Palestinian Prisoners Society head Kadora Fares called for a “sweeping popular revolution” in all of ‘Palestine,’ at the same time as the prisoners’ “revolution.”