Palestinian hunger striker tests Israeli force-feeding law

Israel authorities say troops have shot and killed a Palestinian after he stabbed a guard at a West Bank checkpoint.

Allan’s prior imprisonment was part of the judge’s basis for renewing his administrative detention order in May for a further six months, additionally claiming that Allan remained active with Islamic Jihad.

Israel’s Supreme Court has delayed a decision on whether to free a hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner.

If and when he regains consciousness – and if he continues to refuse to eat – Israel’s cabinet must decide whether it will invoke a law passed in July allowing the force-feeding of prisoners when their lives are endangered.

Israel recently released another Islamic Jihad member, Khader Adnan, after a 55-day hunger strike, when doctors said his condition was life-threatening.

Many Palestinian prisoners have gone on hunger strike to protest, including those on administrative detention.

A protestor receives medical care after police attack participants in a demonstration for the release of Palestinian hunger striker Mohammad Allan, outside of Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon, Israel.

Mohammed Allan, 33, who is a lawyer, has been held in Israeli custody without charge under a policy known as administrative detention since last November.

In context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, however, there is no moral equivalence with respect to how each side addresses the threat of terrorism. Force feeding has been condemned by numerous human rights organizations for being inhumane.

Initial accounts of the incident indicate that the Palestinian approached Tapuah Junction and told the Border Patrolmen there that he wasn’t feeling well. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club has submitted a request to hospital officials on Sunday, asking them to wake Allan from his coma, so they can assess his situation. Allan started the hunger strike after his detention without charge was renewed in May, his family has said.

Since the beginning of the year, the Israeli army killed fifteen Palestinians in the West Bank, according to a statement from the UN.

Israel does not allow its citizens to enter Gaza, partly over fears that they may be used as bargaining chips to demand concessions, including the release of prisoners.

The justice ministry’s offer came as Israel’s top court heard arguments over whether to release Mohammed Allan, 31, who lapsed into a coma on Friday after ingesting only water since June 18.

“This demonstration was supposed to be the highlight of the struggle for Allan, but the police, as usual when it comes to Palestinians, had other plans”, said political activist Naji Abbas.