Palestinian prisoners hunger strike as tensions rise in Israeli prisons

• Author: TZVI JOFFRE
• Published date: 11 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The hunger striking prisoners included Zakaria Zubeidi, one of the prisoners who escaped from the Gilboa Prison and were recaptured. Israel Prison Services are monitoring Zubeidi's behavior.

Kayed Fasfous, Muqdad Qawasmeh, Alaa Aaraj, Hesham Abu Hawwash, Rayeq Besharat, Shadi Abu Akr, Akram Abu Bakr and Ratib Haribat are conducting hunger strikes as well. Some of the prisoners are conducting the hunger strikes in protest against their administrative detention, while other prisoners are striking in protest against stricter measures implemented after six prisoners escaped from Gilboa Prison.

Qawasmeh's health condition was serious as of Sunday morning, with family members telling Palestinian media that he was in severe pain and frequently losing consciousness as he marked 81 days of his hunger strike. Aaraj was also in serious condition as he marked 64 days of his strike, suffering from severe pain in his kidneys and general weakness.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called Qawasmeh on Saturday, telling him that the issue of Palestinian prisoners is still the priority of the Hamas movement and Palestinian factions, according to Palestinian reports.

Kaplan Medical Center announced on Monday it will not fire two Arab-Israeli nurses who posed for a photo with Qawasmeh. A video shared on social media earlier on Monday showed the nurses posing for the photo.

The nurses were summoned for a disciplinary inquiry by Kaplan management after the video emerged. They were made aware of the severity of the incident and have expressed remorse for their actions.

The Hamas movement announced on Saturday that it was closely following up on the hunger-striking prisoners and had contacted a number of parties, including Egyptian officials, about the issue.

"We have informed the brothers in Egypt that the continuation of the prisoners' strike and the intransigence of the occupation may lead the whole region to unimaginable consequences," said Hussam Badran, a member of Hamas's political bureau.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated recently that it is "seriously concerned" with the deteriorating health of Fasfous and Qawasmeh, warning of "potentially irreversible consequences" of such a long hunger strike. The ICRC encouraged the relevant sides to find a solution to avoid a loss of life.

Prisoners in Israeli prisons also launched escalatory steps on Sunday in protest against measures implemented after the escape of...