Israeli court rejects appeal to release Palestinian hunger striker

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday rejected an appeal to release a Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike for nearly six months in protest of his indefinite detention.

On Friday, an Israeli military court temporarily suspended the detention of Khalil Awawdeh to allow him to receive medical care as his health rapidly deteriorated.

His lawyer Ahlam Haddad filed an appeal for releasing Awawdeh, who launched his hunger strike to protest his detention without trial or charge under Israel’s policy of administrative detention.

“The court said it will not issue any verdict other than suspending the detention,” Haddad told Anadolu Agency. “This means that the court has rejected our request for Awawdeh’s release.”

Awawdeh, 40, was arrested by Israeli forces in December and held without trial ever since.

As part of an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire that brought a recent Israeli offensive on Gaza to a halt earlier this month, Cairo said it will seek to ensure the release of Awawdeh and Islamic Jihad detainee Bassam Al-Sa’di.

For years, Palestinians jailed by Israel have used these protests to demand better living conditions and an end to indefinite detentions.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara