NABLUS, January 31, 2016 (WAFA) – Minister of Health Jawad Awwad Sunday demanded that a Palestinian medical team be allowed to oversee and provide medical care to hunger striking Palestinian detainee in Israeli jails, journalist Mohammad al-Qiq, whose health has reached a very critical stage in Israeli hospitals.
Awwad warned that the critical health condition of al-Qiq cannot withstand any further delay to release him, noting that he is on the verge of death.
The minister called on the international community to intervene to ensure the release and save the life of al-Qiq, who has been on hunger strike for 68 consecutive days against being detained without a charge or trial.
He noted that President Mahmoud Abbas, and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah are exerting all possible efforts to ensure his release and end his long-suffering.
Meanwhile, Heba Masalha, a lawyer working for the commission of detainees and ex-detainees affairs, said after she was allowed to visit al-Qiq on Sunday, that he is in a very critical condition; he is hardly able to communicate as he has completely lost his ability to speak, coupled with a 60% loss in his hearing ability.
She noted that al-Qiq is suffering from a severe eye infection, noting that both eyes have turned bloodshot red, adding that he still refuses to undergo any medical checkups and take any nutritional supplements and relies on water only, fearing that he‘d lapse into a coma within the next few hours.
In the meantime, Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqi noted that al-Qiq’s health status cannot withstand further deterioration, demanding that Israel releases him at once.
In the meantime, Nabil Shaath, member of the central committee of Fatah movement, called on the United Nations, international community, and relevant human rights organizations to promptly act to free al-Qiq from Israeli jails ‘before it’s too late’, holding the Israeli government fully responsible for his life.
Al-Qiq, a 33-year-old Palestinian journalist, launched a hunger strike on November 25, 2015, in protest of being held in jail under administrative detention, without charge or trial. Since then, al-Qiq has been refusing to take nutritional supplements or undergo medical checkups.
On January 16, 2016, the Israeli military court of Ofer rejected an appeal to release al-Qiq and ordered that he remains an administrative detainee regardless of his health deterioration.
Israeli Supreme Court has initially scheduled a hearing on February 25 before rescheduling it to January 27 following a request submitted by the Palestinian Prisoner‘s Society (PPS).
Al-Qiq is the first Palestinian hunger striking detainee to be force-fed by Israeli authorities since the enactment of the force-feeding law by the Israeli Knesset in July 2015.
In July 2015, Israel‘s parliament enacted the force-feeding law of prisoners on hunger strike, a move that was met by vehement opposition from the country‘s medical association.
There are more than 500 Palestinian prisoners being held under administrative detention, a controversial Israeli practice that allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for up to six-month intervals that can be renewed indefinitely.
Israeli officials claim the practice is an essential tool in preventing attacks and protecting sensitive intelligence, but it has been strongly criticized by the international community as well as by both Israeli and Palestinian rights groups.
The Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem, said international law stipulates that administrative detention may be exercised only in very exceptional cases. Nevertheless, Israeli authorities routinely employ administrative detention on thousands of Palestinians.
Israel uses administrative detention regularly as a form of collective punishment and mass detention of Palestinians, and frequently uses administrative detention when it fails to obtain confessions in interrogations of Palestinian detainees.
M.N./T.R.
