Six Palestinian prisoners have been on open-ended hunger strike for different periods in protest at their detention administratively with no indictments or trials.
Prisoner Kayed al-Fasfous from Dura town in al-Khalil is considered the longest hunger striker as he has been on hunger strike for 112 days.
The other hunger-striking administrative detainees are Miqdad al-Qawasmeh Alaa al-Araj Hisham Abu Hawash Ayyad al-Harimi and Louay al-Ashqar. They have been on hunger strike for 105 88 78 42 and 24 days respectively.
Most of the hunger strikers especially Fasfous and Qawasmeh suffer from life-threatening health issues due to their protracted hunger strike according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs.
The Commission recently accused the Israeli occupation authority of trying to kill the hunger strikers slowly instead of taking a decision ending their administrative detention.
In a related context prisoner Rateb Heribat has been on hunger strike for 26 days in solidarity with the hunger strikers.
In another statement the Commission of Detainees said that cancer-stricken prisoner Muwafaq Arouk 78 suffers from serious health complications threatening his life.
Prisoner Arouk who had his stomach and a large part of his intestine removed in early February 2020 has been suffering since the surgery from severe pains high temperature and a considerable drop in body weight and he can only eat and drink using a tube going through a surgical opening in his abdominal area according to the Commission
Israeli doctors had discovered that Arouk had cancer in the liver and stomach in July 2019 but the Israeli prison service kept stalling his transfer to a special hospital to receive chemotherapy until November of the same year which aggravated his condition.
Arouk a 78-year-old from the 1948 occupied lands has been in jail since 2003 serving a 30-year term.