RAMALLAH, May 22, 2011 (WAFA) – Palestinian prisoner Kifah Hattab, 51, Sunday ended his 13-day hunger strike after the Israeli Eshel prison administration agreed to treat him as a prisoner of war, said the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club (PPC).

Hattab, who was arrested in June 2003 and sentenced to life in prison, took an unprecedented step when he demanded that the Israeli prison administration treat him as a “prisoner of war,” in accordance to Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions and International humanitarian law.

Hattab, a former pilot who was director of the civil defense in Tulkarm until his arrest, refused to wear the orange prison uniform, which he said makes war prisoners appear as criminals, or to stand up during the daily count.

In fear of turning his initiative to a mass demand by all prisoners, Eshel administration isolated Hattab, banned him from seeing his lawyer or family and imposed fines up to $260 per month. He began his hunger strike while in solitary confinement on April 17.

The PPC said Sunday that following negotiations with the Israeli prison administration, it agreed to move Hattab to a prison in an area closer to his family’s residence where it will be easier for his wife and two children to visit him.

He also will not be forced to wear the prison uniform, which was confirmed by the PPC lawyer who visited him and noticed that he was not wearing the orange uniform.

He was also allowed not to stand up during count and the prison administration agreed to annul all penalties imposed on him as a result of his strike.

R.Q./M.A.