Jailed Palestinian ends hunger strike after 33 days

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Jailed Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq ended his 33-day hunger strike on Friday after receiving assurances from the Israeli authorities that he would be released next month, according to his wife.

“Mohammed ended his hunger strike after an agreement was struck for his release on April 14,” al-Qeeq’s wife, Fayha Shalash, told reporters.

On Tuesday, al-Qeeq was taken to Israel’s Assaf HaRofeh medical center following a sharp deterioration of his health in a prison hospital.

Last month, al-Qeeq began an open-ended hunger strike to protest his ongoing “administrative detention” by the Israeli authorities.

In May of last year, al-Qeeq was released from Israeli custody after waging a 94-day hunger strike. But the Israeli authorities rearrested him last month for allegedly “inciting violence” in the occupied West Bank.

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

According to official Palestinian figures, over 7,000 Palestinians are now being held in Israeli prisons, roughly 700 of whom are being kept in administrative detention.