2 Palestinian inmates continue hunger strike in Israel

By Anees Barghouti

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Two Palestinian prisoners on Sunday entered their 85th day on hunger strike to protest their ongoing "administrative detention" in Israeli jails, a Palestinian official said.

Ahmad Abu Fara, 29, and Anas Shadid, 19, were detained by Israeli forces in August and have been held since without charge.

On Sept. 25, they launched a hunger strike to pile pressure on Israeli authorities to free them.

Issa Qaraqe, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s committee for prisoners’ affairs, said the health of the two hunger-strikers – who are held at Israel’s Assaf Harofeh Medical center near Tel Aviv – has been rapidly deteriorating.

"The two have been unable to move their lower limbs,” Qaraqe said. “They were also unable to urinate for four days, which may indicate a kidney failure condition,” he warned.

Under Israel's policy of "administrative detention", prisoners can be held for up to one year without charge or trial.

Of the 7,000 Palestinians currently imprisoned in Israel, roughly 700 are being held in administrative detention, according to Palestinian figures.