Israel delays request to release Palestinian hunger striker

An Israeli court yesterday postponed a request to release a Palestinian prisoner who has been on a hunger strike for more than two months, Palestinian officials said.

In a statement, Director of PLO’s Prisoners’ Committee Eassa Qaraqe’a said delaying the request to release prisoner Mohamed Allan would endanger his life.

Qaraqe’a expressed his anger over the delay in releasing Allan, criticising Israel’s “indifference”.

“In today’s hearing, the Israeli attorney proposed to deport Allan outside the Palestinian territories on condition to release him and ending his hunger strike,” said Qaraqe’a, adding that “Allan’s lawyer rejected the offer.”

He added that the “deportation of Palestinian prisoners or any Palestinian in the Palestinian territories is rejected and is considered a war crime against humanity.”

Adalah Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel lawyer Jameel Al-Khatib, who represents Allan, announced the centre’s complete rejection on the prisoner’s release being approved on condition of his deportation.

Allan, 30, is a Palestinian lawyer who started his hunger strike on 15 June to protest against his administrative detention, he is now being held at an Israeli hospital as he is in a critical condition.