Palestinian Administrative Detainee -Ends 116-Day Long Hunger Strike

Palestinian administrative detainee Ahmad Zahran has agreed to end his 116-days-long hunger strike after reaching a deal with the Israeli prison authorities. His lawyer Jawad Boulus reported on Tuesday January 14 that Zahran has agreed to go through a security interrogation, following which his long standing demand for an end to his illegal administrative detention without charge or trial will be considered.

Boulus, who is also the head of the legal unit of the Palestinian commission for detainees’ and ex-detainees’ affairs, said that Zahran’s legal team participated in talks with the Israeli authorities to reach this agreement. Zahran, after the completion of his interrogation by Israeli interrogators from the al-Maskobiya detention and interrogation center, will await the results while the latest detention order against him ends, scheduled for February 26.

Earlier, on January 7, an Israeli military court had rejected Zahran’s appeal for release on the grounds that he has to go through an interrogation before his appeal is heard. Zahran’s deteriorating health condition due to his prolonged hunger strike had prevented this interrogation, as per the court, and he thus was ordered to end his strike.  

Zahran, who was arrested in February 2019, had been on hunger strike since September 20, 2019, to demand an end to his administrative detention. He had previously launched a hunger strike in July 2019, which lasted for 39 days. He had ended that strike following a commitment by the Israeli prison service that his administrative detention will not be renewed and he will be released. However, after the Israelis failed to live up to their commitment, Zahran began a hunger strike.