The health of two Palestinian administrative detainees on hunger strike against their illegal administrative detention by Israel has seriously deteriorated. Kayed al-Fasfous and Sultan Khlouf entered the 48th consecutive day of their open-ended hunger strike on Monday, September 18. The two are being held under the Israeli policy of administrative detention without charge or trial.
Several Palestinian prisoners have also embarked on a mass hunger strike in recent days to protest poor prison conditions and increasingly severe restrictions on prisoners’ rights.
According to reports, Kayed and Sultan are experiencing issues like headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, vomiting, and difficulty in standing. In spite of the threat posed to their lives, Israeli prison authorities have so far refused to end their administrative detention and are deliberately delaying medical treatment. The trials of the two detainees have also not yet started.
34-year-old Kayed has been in detention since May 2 last year. He was arrested and placed in administrative detention several times in the past as well and has spent approximately seven years in Israeli custody. He has waged hunger strikes against his arbitrary detention earlier too—for nine days in 2007 and again for 131 days in 2021.
42-year-old Sultan has spent a total of four-and-a-half years in Israeli detention. He was re-arrested by Israeli forces on August 4 last year and handed a four-month administrative detention order which was subsequently renewed. He had staged an extended 67-day hunger strike against his previous detention in 2019 as well.
According to human rights group Hakomed, Israeli authorities are currently holding around 1,260 Palestinians in administrative detention—the highest figure since the group started recording in 2001. Under this policy, Israeli authorities detain Palestinians based on secret evidence which is not shared with them or their lawyers. The detention orders can be renewed every three to six months without any further cause or justification provided, effectively keeping detainees in prison for indefinite periods.
Prisoners’ rights group Addameer has reported that a total of 5,100 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons and detention centers including administrative detainees. The Supreme National Committee for the Palestinian captive movement has called on the Israeli authorities to enter into dialogue with the striking prisoners and address their demands. It held the Israeli authorities solely responsible for the lives and health of the striking prisoners.
