Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawda 40 continues his hunger strike for the 77th day and the prisoner Raed Rayan 27 for the 41st day Wednesday rejecting their administrative detention.
The Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs had recently warned of the deteriorating health condition of the hunger striker Rayan. The Palestinian prisoners in Ofer prison refused their meals early this week in solidarity with the striking detainees.
The Commission confirmed that Rayan suffers from pain in the head and joints stomach problems elevated eye pressure severe fatigue constant vomiting and moves in a wheelchair.
Awawda for his part suffers from a severe deterioration in his health: chest pains vomiting a significant lack of fluids blurred vision severe fatigue in addition to irregular heartbeat and breathing and he cannot move except in a wheelchair.
Awawda who hails from the town of Idhna in Al-Khalil was arrested on December 27 2021 and an administrative detention order was issued against him for six months. He had been arrested previously several times since 2002 and this is the fifth arrest including three administrative detentions. He is a father of four girls.
Rayan who hails from the village of Beit Daqu in northern Occupied Jerusalem was arrested on November 3 2021 and held in administrative detention for six months and when the end of his detention approached it was renewed for an additional four months prompting him to announce his open hunger strike. He is a former detainee who spent nearly 21 months in administrative detention.
Administrative detention is detention without charge or trial and without allowing the detainee or his lawyer to inspect the evidence materials.
The Commission said that the Israeli occupation authorities issued 154 administrative detention orders against a number of Palestinian prisoners last April for periods ranging from two to six months renewable several times.
The number of Palestinian prisoners in the occupation prisons is about 4450 of whom about 530 are administrative detainees according to human rights organizations.
