Palestinian hunger striker jailed by Israel in imminent danger of death

Palestinians demonstrated, signs and photos in hand this weekend in Ramallah.

They all demand that Hisham Abou Hawash be released.

AP - Majdi Mohammed

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

In the Middle East, tension is mounting around a Palestinian hunger striker.

Hicham Abu Hawash, 40, has been without food for 140 days to protest his detention without trial by Israel since October 2020. And several Palestinian groups threaten the Jewish state with reprisals if the prisoner, in imminent danger of death, comes to die.

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With our correspondent in Ramallah,

Alice Froussard

Hisham Abu Hawash, father of five and from Dura, in the southern occupied West Bank, is under administrative detention - a measure allowing the Israeli authorities to detain without trial, without charge , one person for a renewable period of six months.

He is suspected by Israel of being linked to attacks on the Hebrew state and of being a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, accusations he refutes.

Irreversible sequelae

This Tuesday, he is on his 141st day of hunger strike, and the before / after photos of this Palestinian prisoner are shivering.

He has lost 47 kilograms and his condition is only deteriorating.

Teams from the

Red Cross

who visited him believe that his death may be imminent.

His wife talks about irreversible health problems even though he ends his hunger strike.

The ICRC continues to visit Mr. Hisham Ismail Ahmad Abu Hawash and is gravely concerned about his deteriorating health.


Every effort must be made to find a solution to avoid irreversible health consequences and possible tragic loss of life.

pic.twitter.com/YbnDqpbBxF

- ICRC in Israel & OT (@ICRC_ilot) January 1, 2022

And one thing is certain, his case is mobilizing in the occupied West Bank as in Gaza.

In Ramallah this weekend, Palestinians demonstrated, signs and photos in hand.

They all demand that Hisham Abou Hawash be released.

The Palestinian Authority calls for his “

 immediate 

” release and Hamas, the Islamic organization in power in the Gaza Strip, threatens Israel with reprisals, announcing that the Jewish state “ 

must understand that the issue of prisoners is a red line and must take full responsibility for Abu Hawash's life 

”.

See also

: in the Middle East, resumption of exchanges of fire between Israel and Gaza

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  • Palestinian territories

  • Israel

  • Human rights