World

Palestinian hunger striker held by Israel could die at any moment, lawyer says

2022.08.24 20:53

5/5
Palestinian hunger striker held by Israel could die at any moment, lawyer says
Palestinian administrative prisoner Khalil Awawdeh, who has been on a hunger strike for more than 160 days, is seen at Assaf Harofeh hospital in Be’er Ya’akov, Israel August 24, 2022. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

2/5

By Henriette Chacar

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A Palestinian prisoner who has been on hunger strike for over 160 days in protest over his detention by Israel could die at any moment, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Israeli forces arrested Khalil Awawdeh, 40, in December 2021 and have since held him without charge or trial, a practice known as administrative detention.

Israel has provided few details about the accusations facing Awawdeh. An Israeli military spokesperson said on Wednesday his detention had been confirmed several times by military courts “and it was determined that the confidential material in his case indicates that his release will threaten the security of the area.”

In March, Awawdeh launched a hunger strike demanding his freedom. He has subsisted only on water since, said his lawyer, Ahlam Haddad.

Egyptian mediators recently pushed for Awawdeh’s release under a ceasefire agreement to end three days of fighting in Gaza between Israel and the militant Islamic Jihad group.

With Israeli forces conducting near-daily operations against suspected militants in the West Bank, Awawdeh’s death could further inflame a crisis that has escalated for months.

“I feel that my body is consuming itself internally,” Awawdeh told Reuters from his hospital bed, his eyes widening and his voice fluctuating as he spoke. “God’s support, steadfastness and patience are what enable me to continue.”

Awawdeh was recently transferred from Ramle Prison to the Asaf Harofeh hospital in Israel due to his failing health.

Last Friday, the Israeli military temporarily suspended the administrative detention order against Awawdeh because his condition was deteriorating. However, he is not allowed to leave the hospital, a military spokesperson said.

Awawdeh has managed to survive this long without food likely because of a two-week break a couple of months ago, during which he received vitamin supplements, said Naji Abbas, the case manager for prisoners at Physicians for Human Rights – Israel.

At the time, Awawdeh, who now weighs 40 kilograms after having lost about 45 kilograms, agreed to end his hunger strike, thinking he was about to be released, said Abbas.

Awawdeh’s family, which lives near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, has so far been refused permission to visit him by Israel but have supported his decision to continue his hunger strike.

“He was detained with no charge or trial,” his wife, Dalal Awawdeh, said. “Just as he was detained forcefully and taken from us, he will demand his freedom whether the occupation approves or not.”

(Reporting and writing by Henriette Chacar; Additional reporting by Sinan Abu Mayzer and Yosri al-Jamal; Editing by James Mackenzie and Bernadette Baum)

Source

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 76,109.39 1.14%
vested-xor
Vested XOR (VXOR) $ 3,405.08 99,999.99%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,920.97 7.74%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.08%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 199.52 6.78%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 602.38 1.13%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 0.998954 0.12%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.556798 3.18%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.195227 0.34%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,918.97 7.65%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.413594 14.06%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.16031 1.06%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 4.96 3.73%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 3,458.06 7.65%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000019 1.94%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 27.83 2.45%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 76,148.40 1.28%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 2,923.40 7.79%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 12.77 5.50%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 381.11 0.72%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 2.34 2.66%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 4.19 2.01%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 6.25 0.34%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 0.999169 0.37%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 72.30 2.14%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 3,074.06 7.71%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 8.91 4.71%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 4.30 2.66%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 9.90 4.00%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000011 12.45%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 514.18 2.71%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 7.87 0.28%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.42 1.39%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 0.999011 0.14%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.102811 6.27%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 20.28 3.63%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 164.04 1.65%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.115421 3.45%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 0.99975 0.22%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 19.66 1.97%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 181.78 3.00%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.348588 4.82%
blockstack
Stacks (STX) $ 1.70 0.29%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.093342 9.37%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 2.48 2.93%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 40.50 2.97%
first-digital-usd
First Digital USD (FDUSD) $ 0.994308 0.63%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.585546 6.94%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 3.79 2.58%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.66235 10.63%