Palestinian Prisoner on Hunger Strike ‘Nears Death’ in Israel, Doctors Say

Clashes in Hebron on Friday during Palestinian solidarity marches with prisoners on hunger strike in Israel (EPA)
Clashes in Hebron on Friday during Palestinian solidarity marches with prisoners on hunger strike in Israel (EPA)
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Palestinian Prisoner on Hunger Strike ‘Nears Death’ in Israel, Doctors Say

Clashes in Hebron on Friday during Palestinian solidarity marches with prisoners on hunger strike in Israel (EPA)
Clashes in Hebron on Friday during Palestinian solidarity marches with prisoners on hunger strike in Israel (EPA)

Palestinian administrative detainee Kayed Fasfous is nearing sudden death after 122 days of hunger strike, the Palestinian Commission on Detainees' Affairs reported.

The Commission said that Fasfous remains detained at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. He is suffering from an intermittent loss of consciousness, irregular heartbeats, tingling in the chest, a decrease in blood pressure, kidney and heart problems, a shortage of fluids in his body, and recurring pains and aches through his body.

Fasfous’s brother, Hasan, said that doctors at Barzilai told him that his brother has been developing symptoms suggesting a clot in his blood, which is an early warning of the risk of sudden death.

Other prisoners on a hunger strike to protest Israel’s illegal administrative detention policy are Alaa Al-Araj (98 days), Hisham Abu Hawash (89 days), Louay Al-Ashqar (34 days), and Ayyad Al-Harimi (52 days).

The administrative law is based on the British Emergency Law of 1945, which Israel used to arrest Palestinians and imprison them without trial for various periods that are automatically renewed.

The administrative imprisonment relies on a case that the Israeli security services claim is confidential.

There are about 540 administrative detainees in Israeli prisons out of 5,000 prisoners. The number of administrative detention rulings since 1967 is estimated at more than 54,000, between new decisions and renewals of administrative detention.

Israel rejected a petition submitted Thursday by the Commission to the Israeli high court, demanding the immediate release of Fasfous and the annulment of his administrative detention order.

Further, the Palestinian prisoner Araj was “deceived”, and his administrative detention was extended for eight days.



Roadside Bomb Wounds Four in Iraq's Kirkuk

Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
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Roadside Bomb Wounds Four in Iraq's Kirkuk

Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)

A roadside bomb wounded four people in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Saturday, police sources said.
The bomb targeted a commercial district in the city center. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, according to Reuters.
Earlier in the week, four Iraqi soldiers were killed and three others injured in an ambush on an army convoy southwest of Kirkuk, which ISIS militants claimed responsibility for.
Despite the group's defeat in 2017, remnants continue to conduct hit-and-run attacks against government forces.