Israel renews detention of Palestinian academic for fourth time

The Israeli occupation authorities have renewed the administrative detention order of a Palestinian academic for the fourth time, Safa News Agency reported on Wednesday. Professor Issam Al-Ashqar, 57, continues to be held in prison with neither charge nor trial despite suffering from ill health.

Prof. Al-Ashqar was arrested in a raid on his home last November. He also had his car confiscated by the Israeli authorities. The physics professor has been arrested several times before.

Last November he was held under an administrative detention order for four months; this was renewed for a further four months, then another two months and now, on Wednesday, for yet another two months. He suffers from hypertension and narrow arteries leading to the right kidney, and had a stroke in April, having been moved to Al-Ramleh Prison clinic two weeks after his detention.

Read: Israel issues administrative detention orders for 84 Palestinians