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Israel moves hunger strikers to prisons with field hospitals

May 18, 2017 at 9:28 pm

Day 32 of the Freedom and Dignity hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails

All hunger striking Palestinian prisoners have been moved from their cells to three prisons which have field hospitals on site, the head of the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs said yesterday.

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In a statement, Issa Qaraqe said that all prisoners participating in the mass “Freedom and Dignity” hunger strike, which entered its 32nd day today, were transferred to the Beersheba, Shatta and Ramla prisons, all of which have field hospitals that were set up at the beginning of the strike.

This step indicates the seriousness of the health conditions of the hunger strikers,

Qaraqe said.

The move has raised alarm that hunger strikers, who have faced severe health deteriorations in recent days, will be force fed in violation of international standards of medical ethics and international law that regard the practice as inhumane or even a form of torture.

Read: Mosques, churches in West Bank unite to support hunger striking prisoners

A statement released on Tuesday by the media committee established to support the strike warned that striking detainees have “entered a critical health situation”, marked by chronic vomiting, vision impairment, fainting, and an average weight loss of 20 kilogrammes.