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Israel court rejects call for immediate release of Palestinian prisoner

Hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras (file photo)

Israel’s Supreme Court has refused to order the immediate release of Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras, who has been on hunger strike for 78 days.

The Islamic Jihad’s Muhjat al-Quds Foundation for Prisoners said in a press statement on Monday that the Israeli Supreme Court had contented itself with issuing a recommendation to release Akhras on November 26th despite calls for his immediate emancipation due to his deteriorating health conditions.

Akhras rejected this recommendation and confirmed his determination to continue his hunger strike until his definite release and freedom.

The 49-year-old Palestinian prisoner faces extremely dangerous health conditions after entering the third month of his strike as he is unable to move and refuses to take supplements.

Akhras was detained on July 27, and was held under the administrative detention, with no charge. This has led him to start a hunger strike in an attempt to seek justice against the unfair detention.

Last week, the Commission of Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees said Akhras would only end his strike if he was released immediately.

Akhras’ wife also announced a hunger strike and sit-in outside the hospital in support of her husband, calling for his immediate release.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are under administrative detention, in which Israel keeps the detainees for up to six months, a period which can be extended an infinite number of times. Women and minors are among these detainees.

Palestinian detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes in an attempt to express their outrage at the detention. Palestinians hold Israeli authorities fully responsible for any deterioration of the circumstances in jails. 

More than 7,000 Palestinians are reportedly held in Israeli jails.

In May 2019, a study revealed that Israel had arrested some 16,500 Palestinian children since the outbreak of the Second Intifada (uprising) in late-2000.

In recent months and in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, several Palestinian prisoners have been infected in an Israeli detention center amid mounting concerns about medical negligence by Israeli authorities.


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