Palestinian prisoner on 150th day of hunger strike

Today marks Palestinian detainee Khalil Awawdeh’s 150th day of hunger strike to protest his continued administrative detention.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club warned that Awawdeh faces the risk of death in the Ramleh prison clinic, in light of the lack of serious solutions regarding his case.

According to Haaretz, it comes as the head of Islamic Jihad’s media office, Daoud Shihab, said in an interview yesterday that “prisoner Khalil Awawdeh will be released to a hospital within a few hours, and we are sure of that.”

Islamic Jihad claims that as part of the ceasefire deal agreed on Sunday, Israel said it would free both Awawdeh and the leader of Islamic Jihad, Bassam Al-Saadi, who the occupation arrested last week.

Khalil, a father of four, was detained on 27 December 2021, and placed in administrative detention – a policy that allows Israeli authorities to detain Palestinians for a renewable period of six months without charge or trial.

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He is suffering from severe aches in his joints, headaches, severe dizziness and blurred vision and is unable to walk and moves around in a wheelchair.

Although he has been transferred to hospital on numerous occasions, he has received no treatment.

Awawdeh resumed his strike on 2 July, after suspending it for a week, after 111 days of the strike, based on promises of his release, but the occupation broke its promise and issued a new administrative detention order against him for four months.

“Khalil’s health is in a very bad condition, and his life is at risk,” Ameen Shouman, head of PPS, told the New Arab.

“Israeli authorities gave a verbal promise to release Khalil Awawdeh without indicating the date,” Shouman added. “This has been a very hard battle for Khalil, and his life is still at risk.”

According to the PPS, there are around 4,700 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, including around 600 held without charge or trial.