Palestinian hunger striker ends protest on 93rd day

Muhammad al-Qiq, 33, agreed Friday to end his hunger strike in exchange for being released from the detention in May rather than June, with no extension of the administrative detention.

An Israeli army spokesperson said an official statement was being prepared. He has refused all treatment unless he is released and was reportedly in serious condition. Israel says he has been involved in militant activities linked to Hamas. “On that date, the situation will be examined to determine whether there is new information or security circumstances which require extending detention”.

Qeq began his strike on November 25 to win release from administrative detention, which permits Israeli authorities to keep some prisoners in custody without charge for an indefinite amount of time.

Israel says the measure is necessary for security, but civil liberty groups say the practice is a violation of human rights.

Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, has a population of about 36,000 and is one of the largest Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Palestinians described the deal between Israeli authorities and a detained Palestinian journalist as a victory for him and the detainees in Israeli jails.

After weeks of demonstrations in support of a Palestinian journalist on hunger strike in Israel, an agreement appears to have been reached on his case.

Qadura Fares, the head of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, told the independent Palestinian news agency Ma’an that al-Qeq, who spent most of his hunger strike in the Emek Medical Center in Afula in northern Israel, was accepting medical treatment. Police said an initial investigation indicates it was “most likely” a Palestinian assailant who carried out the attack and then fled the scene.

A Palestinian was shot and killed while trying to stab soldiers in the West Bank, the military said Friday hours after an Israeli man was seriously wounded by a Palestinian armed with an axe and a knife, the latest in months of near-daily Palestinian assaults on Israeli forces and civilians.

Israel blames incitement by Palestinian leaders and media as a main cause of the violence.