Palestinian hunger-striking prisoner might die ‘at any moment’: Lawyer
A Palestinian prisoner, who has been staging a hunger strike for over 160 days in protest at his illegal detention by the Israeli regime, could die any moment, his lawyer has said.
Khalil Awawda, a 40-year-old father of four, has been arrested five times since 2005 for political activism, and has been placed in "administrative detention" three times ever since.
Under the policy, which has been practiced by the occupying regime for decades, Palestinian prisoners are held for lengthy renewable periods of time without being charged, tried, or convicted.
Awawda initially staged a 111-day hunger strike, which he suspended in light of an Israeli promise to release him. He resumed the protest action when the regime's prison officials reneged on their promise to let him go free.
“I feel that my body is consuming itself internally,” Awawdeh said from his hospital bed, his eyes widening and his voice fluctuating as he spoke. “God’s support, steadfastness and patience are what enable me to continue.”
The prisoner has subsisted only on water ever since, Reuters reported, citing his lawyer Ahlam Haddad as saying. The prisoner now weighs only 40 kilograms after losing about 45 kilograms.
"I feel that my body is consuming itself internally," he told the agency from his hospital bed. "God's support, steadfastness, and patience are what enable me to continue."
"Just as he was detained forcefully and taken from us, he will demand his freedom whether the occupation approves or not," said his wife, Dalal Awawda.
The Israeli regime currently holds thousands of Palestinians in its jails. The number includes scores of children, dozens of women, and at least 530 administrative detainees.
Human rights organizations say the Tel Aviv regime violates all the rights and freedoms that are granted to inmates worldwide by the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
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