Israel: court rejects petition to end administrative detention of hunger striker

The military court in Israel’s Ofer Prison has rejected a petition filed on behalf of Palestinian hunger striker Ahmed Zahran to end his administrative detention, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported. Zahran, who has spent a total of 15 years inside Israeli occupation jails, entered day 107 of his hunger strike on Tuesday.

According to the PLO’s Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, the court demanded that Zahran must suspend his hunger strike before responding to his demands so that he can recover from the effects of his hunger strike and be investigated.

The commission said that officials at Al Maskopia Detention Centre intended to investigate him on day 90 of his hunger strike, but they could not do so because of his bad health condition. Meanwhile, it said that it would appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court against the decision of the military court.

READ: Palestinian ends 112-day hunger striker after Israel agrees terms of release

Zahran has lost 30 kilograms of weight and suffers from several complications as a result of his prolonged hunger strike, including severe headaches, fatigue and joint pains. The 42-year-old father of four was arrested in March last year.

He ended his initial hunger strike after 39 days in July after pledges from the Israeli prison service to release him, which did not happen.